Last updated: June 2024
The marshes in southern Iraq, formed by the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, are home to one of humanity’s oldest cultures, once the third-largest wetlands in the world. The Eden In Iraq wastewater garden project started as a humanitarian project that has developed as a necessity for the people of Al Chibaish and the localities surrounding the town. This water remediation project holistically looks at wastewater, trying to include this type of water and its nutrients in a sustainable form by using it to create green spaces. The Eden project in Iraq regards human waste as a valuable source of nutrients and freshwater, which can add to local greenery and landscape beauty if properly treated close to its source. From a climate change point of view, the project focuses on the creation of a wetland with wastewater that can support a garden within the marshes of Iraq. Marsh restoration is a powerful tool against warming temperatures and loss of vegetation, especially in arid areas such as Iraq. From a biodiversity point of view, the project bares a great deal of significance as marshes support a myriad of rare wildlife and rich biodiversity. (1,2,3)
Blueprint for below ground pipe system for Wastewater Garden
https://edeniniraq.com/design-and-location/
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Blue infrastructure
- In-land wetlands, peatlands, swamps, and moors
- Parks and urban forests
- Other
Key challenges
- Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
- Climate change adaptation
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Habitat and biodiversity conservation
- Green space creation and/or management
- Water management (SDG 6)
- Stormwater and rainfall management and storage
- Improvements to water quality
- Cultural heritage and cultural diversity
- Preservation of natural heritage
- Protection of historic and cultural landscape/infrastructure
Focus
Creation of new green areas, Creation of semi-natural blue areas, Ecological restoration of ecosystems
Project objectives
The intervention has a strong social component as it responds to the needs of Iraqi citizens to access fresh, uncontaminated water as well as a green space in a climate known for rising temperatures, intense droughts, declining precipitation, desertification, salinisation, and the increasing prevalence of dust storms.
The project aims to fulfil the following goals:
1. To protect the rich cultural heritage and traditions of the marshes of the original Garden of Eden and current and future Marsh Arab communities, one of the world's oldest and most distinctive cultures.
2. To utilise simple and sustainable wastewater recycling technology to support a garden (the very first demonstration Wastewater Garden) that embodies the rich cultural heritage and tradition of the marshes and the Marsh Arab community - to collect waste, treat wastewater, and advocate better health and sanitation practices.
3. To renew environmental stability and conserve a natural environment of Outstanding Universal Value.
4. To safeguard the marshes and their unique ecosystem that sustains the economy and livelihood of the Marsh Arabs.
5. To build a wetland - Wetlands have been aptly called “the kidneys of the planet” for their ability to cleanse water of pollutants and remove carbon from the atmosphere.
6. To offer opportunities for ecological education. (1,2,3,4,5)
Implementation activities
In 2013-2017, the initial phase of the project was funded in Singapore by a $65,000 Ministry of Education Research Grant awarded to Associate Professor Meridel Rubenstein and Assistant Professor Peer Sathikh from the School of Art, Design and Media of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, in collaboration with Dr. Sander van Der Leeuw, Dr. Mark Nelson, and Dr. Davide Tocchetto. This initial grant allowed their international team to research and design the garden, with numerous trips to the area sites. In addition, the university awarded $36,500 to exhibit all aspects of the project (designs, photographs, videos, and writing) at the National Design Centre in Singapore in 2017. This comprehensive exhibition of the project and its relation to Mesopotamian history is available. (4) Between 2014 and 2016, three of the largest town councils in the region enthusiastically approved of the garden by donating the use of five large sites, each serving 5-10,000 people. They understood that their current situation endangers both their health and the health of the wetlands. (3) The project continues to this day however it is dependent on funding.
Climate-focused activities
Climate change adaptation:
- Implement measures that prevent/manage desertification, soil erosion and landslides
- Implement solutions to capture/store water to increase its availability and prevent shortages from droughts
- Increase or improve urban vegetation cover to help reduce outdoor temperature
- Restore wetlands and/or coastal ecosystems to dissipate the effects of flooding and/or storms
Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities
Biodiversity conservation:
- Protect and enhance urban habitats
- Preserve and strengthen existing habitats and ecosystems
- Protect species
- Undertake specific measures to protect species
- Undertake specific measures to protect native species
- Undertake specific measures to protect endangered species
- Means for conservation governance
- Raise public awareness
- Public engagement
Main beneficiaries
- Citizens or community groups
- Marginalized groups: Socio-economically disadvantaged populations (e.g. low-income households, unemployed)
Governance
Management set-up
- Co-governance with government and non-government actors
Type of initiating organisation
- Non-government organisation/civil society
- Researchers/university
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
- Crowd-sourcing/Crowd-funding/Participatory budget
- Dissemination of information and education
- Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
This project is a collaboration between co-directors artist/photographer Meridel Rubenstein and environmental engineer Dr. Davide Tocchetto, with environmental engineer Dr. Mark Nelson and engineer and managing director Nature Iraq NGO, Jassim Al-Asadi. This project, sponsored by NGO Nature Iraq in Iraq and the Institute of Ecotechnics in both the UK and USA, responds to decades of conflict in this region and continued tension due to climate change, external water rights violations, and social upheaval. Initial support since 2011 spans from Iraqi municipalities, the region and State, to international sources. (2)
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
No
... a national policy or strategy?
No
... a local policy or strategy?
Yes
(The intervention was not created as a response to a local strategy; however, local authorities participated in different stages of the action. It is however unclear if the local authorities have indeed a strategy that focuses on green spaces or wastewater treatment. This certainly is an effect of the long years of the Iraq war. (2))
Financing
Total cost
€500,000 - €2,000,000
Source(s) of funding
- Crowdfunding
Type of funding
- Donations
Non-financial contribution
Unknown
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Climate change
- Enhanced carbon sequestration
- Environmental quality
- Improved air quality
- Water management and blue areas
- Improved water quality
- Green space and habitat
- Increased green space area
- Reduced biodiversity loss
- Increased number of species present
Economic impacts
- Generation of income from NBS
Socio-cultural impacts
- Cultural heritage and sense of place
- Protection of natural heritage
- Protection of historic and cultural landscape / infrastructure
Type of reported impacts
Expected impacts, Achieved impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Yes
Presence of indicators used in reporting
Yes
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
Yes
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
References
1. Tocchetto, D., Rubenstein, M., Nelson, M. and Al-Asadi, J. (2022). Chapter 11 - Circular economy in the Mesopotamian Marshes: The Eden in Iraq Wastewater Garden Project. [online] ScienceDirect. Available at: Source link [Accessed 28 Mar. 2022].
2. Meridel Rubenstein Studio (no date), Website of the artist, available at Source link (accessed 28-03-2022)
3. Nature in Iraq, EchoTechnics (no date), EDEN IN IRAQ: The Wastewater Garden Project. Ecological and Cultural Restoration in the Mesopotamian Marshes, available at Source link (accessed 28-03-2022)
4. Unesco Green Citizens (no date), Eden in Iraq WasteWater Garden Project, available at Source link (accessed 28-03-2022)
5. Eden in Iraq Website (no date), available at Source link (accessed 28-03-2022)
6. Dr. Mark Nelson, PhD Dr. Davide Tocchetto, PhD Institute of Ecotechnics/Wastewater Gardens International Wastewater Gardens International (2014), EDEN IN IRAQ Al-Manar Project - Environmental Impact Assessment- attached.
2. Meridel Rubenstein Studio (no date), Website of the artist, available at Source link (accessed 28-03-2022)
3. Nature in Iraq, EchoTechnics (no date), EDEN IN IRAQ: The Wastewater Garden Project. Ecological and Cultural Restoration in the Mesopotamian Marshes, available at Source link (accessed 28-03-2022)
4. Unesco Green Citizens (no date), Eden in Iraq WasteWater Garden Project, available at Source link (accessed 28-03-2022)
5. Eden in Iraq Website (no date), available at Source link (accessed 28-03-2022)
6. Dr. Mark Nelson, PhD Dr. Davide Tocchetto, PhD Institute of Ecotechnics/Wastewater Gardens International Wastewater Gardens International (2014), EDEN IN IRAQ Al-Manar Project - Environmental Impact Assessment- attached.
Photo 5
https://edeniniraq.com
Photo 4
https://edeniniraq.com
Landscape architectural plan for our site in El Chibaish
https://edeniniraq.com/design-and-location/
Information about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the UNA global extension project funded by the British Academy.