In Lebanon, where water scarcity constitutes a major challenge, the EU-funded NAWAMED project is helping to redefine water management, promoting nature-based solutions for circular practices. Through a partnership with the American University of Beirut (AUB), the project has developed green infrastructure to recycle greywater in an innovative way, championing sustainability in urban settings and sparking environmental awareness across generations.

Innovation sprouting from concrete

Where once stood a plain wall outside a student dormitory at AUB in Beirut, now grows a vertical ecosystem. Lush, green, and alive, the Living Green Wall is more than just a pleasant view: it is a functioning greywater treatment system. It was built as part of the NAWAMED project, a multi-country EU initiative aiming to bring nature-based circular economy solutions to urban areas across the Mediterranean.

“When we started, there was nothing like it in Lebanon,” recalls Maya Melhem, landscape architect and project coordinator from AUB. “Green walls existed, but only for decoration. This was our first time using plants to actually clean water.”

Greywater -used water from sinks and showers- typically flows down the drain and disappears. But, in this pilot project, it is now rerouted and filtered through a layered structure of vegetation and engineered substrate, which mimic natural purification processes. Once treated, this water is then reused for toilet flushing and irrigation of green areas. 

Led by the Italian Province of Latina and rolled out across five countries, including Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Malta and Tunisia, the project fostered  cross-border cooperation in science and engineering. AUB brought local knowledge, student involvement, and an eagerness to learn. “It was a knowledge transfer,” says Maya Melhem, noting that “we were not the inventors, but we became the implementers, adapting the design to our sites and needs.”

Learning by doing, teaching by showing

For Professor Yaser Abunnasr, Director of the Nature Conservation Center and project lead at AUB, the initiative has been as much about education as technology. “Two of our students wrote their master’s theses on this,” he says, adding that“besides them, we engaged students from architecture, engineering, and even the maintenance team. Everyone learned how to build, monitor, and sustain these systems.”

The educational ripple didn’t stop at the university gates; AUB’s team brought in schoolchildren, particularly from underprivileged public schools, through hands-on workshops. With simple models using plastic bottles, they demonstrated how wetlands and green walls work. “We focused on awareness,” says Abunnasr. “Children were amazed. Some said they’d try it at home with their families. That kind of reaction is priceless.”

Maya Melhem agrees: “Seeing joy and curiosity in those children, knowing they were learning about sustainability and water reuse: this was a huge part of the impact for me.” These outreach efforts were supported by a traveling “Nature Bus” run by a former AUB student, who toured schools teaching kids about ecology. “This project was not only technical,” says Yaser Abunnasr. “It was deeply social and human.”

Challenges of greening the future

However, the success stories did not come without setbacks. “Implementing this in Lebanon was harder than in Europe,” Melhem explains, citing how some materials were not available in Lebanon. “We had to improvise, source alternatives locally, test them in the lab and adapt. That took months.” The green wall itself suffered during the recent conflict, when the irrigation was halted for two weeks. “Some plants suffered,” she admits, “but we revived it. It’s still there. It still works.”

The initiative also included a portable wetland designed as a mobile, self-sufficient solution for greywater treatment in emergency settings like refugee camps. As of today, it remains grounded, stored safely at AUB. “The vision was big,” Melhem remembers. “We imagined it deployed in underserved areas, even in crisis settings. But, due to economic instability and the recent war, we haven’t been able to make that happen … yet!”

Despite challenges, the long-term gains are visible. AUB’s campus sustainability ranking improved. The once-neglected area around the green wall has become a spot where students gather, study, or just sit. “They started using the space like a small garden,” says Maya Melhem. “Even that small shift matters.” Yaser Abunnasr sees the prototypes as crucial stepping stones. “In a country struggling with priorities, this won’t scale overnight. But we have shown that it works. That it is possible to develop circular water use through low-cost technologies.” 

“And perhaps the most important of all: the next generation is watching, and learning.”