As a partner of the joint venture selected to build and operate the wastewater treatment plant of Wathba 2 (Emirate of Abu Dhabi), Veolia Water plans to create a 4 hectare forest near the site, to be funded by sponsorships, in an effort to make the populations aware about the value of water and the preservation of biodiversity.
Un projet biodiversité unique aux Emirats arabes unis
As a partner of the joint venture selected to build and operate the wastewater treatment plant of Wathba 2 (Emirate of Abu Dhabi), Veolia Water plans to create a 4 hectare forest near the site, to be funded by sponsorships, in an effort to make the populations aware about the value of water and the preservation of biodiversity.
Hayat (meaning "life" in Arabic) is the name of the first project of its kind in this region, combining an industrial site — the Al Wathba 2 wastewater treatment plant in Abu Dhabi — with an ecological project. Under a private initiative agreement, the Veolia Water teams are planning to transplant some 20,000 indigenous plants of 45 species, some of which endangered, on the land next to the sanitation facilities. The forest will be irrigated with recycled water from
the plant and nurtured with organic inputs from treated sludge. It will also provide food and shelter for the local fauna in a protected habitat, thereby preserving the natural heritage of the Emirate for future generations.
A learning experience
In an area impacted by intensive grazing by camels, goats and other herbivores, by motor vehicle travel, construction activities and over-tapping of aquifers, the Hayat project serves several purposes, not the least of which is to demonstrate that wastewater is not just waste but also a resource that can be reclaimed for irrigating and fertilizing. It illustrates as well that, with a smart strategy of plantation and irrigation, the water demand can be reduced: the forest will only require 0.05% of the total volume of wastewater treated by the sanitation plant (300,000 m3/d).
An educational center will be built in the midst of the forest to raise visitors' awareness on biodiversity issues.
Hayat, a corporate engagement project
While the wastewater treatment plant should become operational next August, the forest land is being prepared and the search for sponsors (corporate and private) has begun. The project will be fully funded via sponsorships and, if the donations collected allow it, the actual plantation should start late this year. An original sponsoring mechanism was created to involve Veolia Water employees in this unique and ambitious project: every employee can become a sponsor by buying 1 square meter (for €20) to 1 hectare (for €200,000) of forest, one square meter being the unit symbolizing the space necessary for one fauna species to live and thrive. As an example:a Butterfly sponsorship (1 m² for 20 euros); a Fennec sponsorship (500 m² for €10,000); a Falcon sponsorship (1 hectare for €200K)...