Rome (TAN): European cruise line Costa Group has collaborated with Norwegian nonprofit Sahara Forest Project Foundation to expand the possibility of sustainable farming in the desert of Jordan with the use of innovative and sustainable technologies.
Sahara Forest Project, that was started in 2017, helps revegetate desert areas as well as create local green jobs using environmental technologies – production of food, freshwater and clean energy, using saltwater and sunlight as the key factors.
Costa Group signed an agreement to partner the project through its Italy-based nonprofit that works to promote the social and environmental welfare of the country’s communities on board Statsraad Lehmkuhl at Arendalsuka, an annual political festival held in Norway.
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Lars Myren, Chairman of the Sahara Forest Project Foundation, who signed the deal along with Group Chief Executive Officer Costa Group and Carnival Asia, Michael Thamm, said ‘new long-term agreement for the supply of vegetables to Costa and AIDA ships’ will make it easier for the company to expand its project in Jordan and inform the world to accelerate ‘innovative solutions to combat global warming and create local jobs in desert areas’.
The partnership will help increase the project to 20 hectares of commercial facility, so that the vegetables produced will pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere to store it in the land. The Sahara Forest Project presently operates three hectares of commercial size facility using saltwater-cooled greenhouses and solar energy panels for outdoor revegetation in dry areas.
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“In 2050 there will be almost 10 billion people on the planet who will need sustainably produced food, freshwater and clean energy. It is urgent to prove that it is possible to shift away from current agricultural practices traditionally using 80% of scarce freshwater resources and contributing with 25% of CO2 emissions in many dry countries and scale up concepts that are good for the environment, social development and business,” he added.
Costa Cruises and AIDA Cruises guests visiting the Jordanian port city Aqaba will get to taste the sustainably produced vegetables.
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“We are proud to support this path-breaking project that represents a model for future sustainable farming in desert areas. By supporting the Sahara Forest Project, we serve our guests vegetables grown in a way that fights the spread of deserts and creates a sound livelihood for the local population, in line with our sustainable development strategy and our concrete commitment to creating a greener planet. Costa Group is leading the cruise industry when it comes to sustainability, as demonstrated by the introduction of the first ever LNG powered cruise ship earlier this year and by the significant investments in shore power and innovative technologies for a zero-emission future,” Thamm said.
Four Costa and four AIDA ships bearing over 45,000 guests will call at Aqaba 20 times between October 2019 and October 2020.
