Berlin, 10.11.2022: Global Nature Fund (GNF) and EcoPeace Jordan were awarded the Energy Globe Award 2022 for Jordan for a wastewater treatment plant project in the Jordan Valley. Together with its local partner, EcoPeace Middle East, GNF equipped the existing Tal-Al-Mantah wastewater treatment plant in the Jordan Valley with a photovoltaic system and constructed a constructed wetland in the Jordan EcoPark.
"The project makes an important contribution to the reduction of water scarcity in this conflict-ridden region and we are very pleased that this significant commitment has been recognized by this prestigious award," says Udo Gattenlöhner, GNF Executive Director.
About 500,000 people live on the Jordanian side of the Jordan Valley, 130,000 of them in the catchment area of the Tal-Al-Mantah wastewater treatment plant. Domestic wastewater in the region is usually collected in septic tanks and then transported to the treatment plant by tanker trucks. In the past, however, frequent power outages led to severe fluctuations in the treatment performance of the wastewater treatment plant. As a result, sewage pits could not be emptied in time and overflowed. This, together with illegally disposed of commercial wastewater, led to severe contamination of groundwater and surface water with significant health risks for humans and nature. Thanks to the construction of the photovoltaic plant, the wastewater treatment plant can now cover 90 percent of its own electricity needs. It is thus almost independent of the expensive and fluctuating national power grid and can use its capacities to the full. The Tal-Al-Mantah wastewater treatment plant is the first solar-powered plant in this sunny region and thus has a beacon character for the population as well as for the responsible persons and decision-makers in local and regional water authorities.
Wastewater treatment plant as innovative inspirationThe award-winning wastewater treatment plant was built in the Jordan EcoPark, also located in the Jordan Valley, and treats wastewater from the visitor center there. At the same time, it provides an opportunity to raise awareness of wastewater issues among the many visitors to the park and to introduce them to this cost-effective wastewater treatment solution, which is particularly well suited to the decentralized, efficient treatment of domestic wastewater.
The project was funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and is supported by Kärcher and the Wilo-Foundation.
According to an American survey, the Energy Globe Award is the world's most prestigious environmental prize and was established in Austria in 1999 with the aim of publicizing innovative and sustainable projects from around the world.
The award ceremony took place on November 06, 2022 at the Austrian Embassy in Amman. Our partners from EcoPeace Middle East accepted the award in the presence of the Austrian Ambassador Dr. Oskar Wüstinger, the "UNIDO Country Representative" Sulada Mdanat as well as the Secretaries General of the Jordanian Ministries of Energy and Water.
Learn more about the project Wastewater Treatment Plant Operation with Solar Power in the Jordan Valley Contact Global Nature Fund (GNF)
Udo Gattenlöhner
Executive Director
Phone: +49 7732 9995 80
E-Mail: gattenloehner@globalnature.org