Costa Group, through its Costa Crociere Foundation, joins forces with the Sahara Forest Project Foundation to enlarge the scope of the innovative initiative to revegetate the desert in Jordan with sustainable technologies.
The agreement was signed by Lars Myren, Chairman of the Sahara Forest Project Foundation, and Michael Thamm, Group CEO Costa Group and Carnival Asia, onboard the historic sailing ship Statsraad Lehmkuhl at Arendalsuka.
Currently, the Sahara Forest Project operates 3 hectares-commercial size facility 12 kilometers north of the port of Aqaba, combining saltwater-cooled greenhouses, solar energy panels and different techniques for outdoor revegetation in dry areas.
Green desert areas
The mission of the Sahara Forest Project - inaugurated under the patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan and HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway in September 2017 – is to green desert areas and create local green jobs through production of food, freshwater and clean energy, using saltwater and sunlight as the main input factors.
Costa group
The partnership between the Sahara Forest Project Foundation and Costa Crociere Foundation represents a concrete step forward for the project in Jordan. The support from Costa Group – through its two brands Costa Cruises and AIDA Cruises – will allow to scale-up the project to 20 hectares of commercial facility, realizing the potential where every vegetable produced will suck out CO₂ from the atmosphere and store it in revegetated land.
Tourism
“The Sahara Forest Project is very proud to join forces with a global leader within the tourism industry. The new long-term agreement for the supply of vegetables to Costa and AIDA ships will pave the way for an expansion of our project in Jordan, while raising international awareness for the need to scale-up innovative solutions to combat global warming and create local jobs in desert areas”, said Mr. Myren of the Sahara Forest Project.
"Guests cruising on Costa and AIDA ships calling at Aqaba will have the unique chance to taste, for the very first time in the world, at least ten different environmentally friendly vegetables produced by using solar power and saltwater in the Jordan desert, through special recipes created by the Executive Chefs of the two cruise companies to emphasize their taste and quality."
Mr Lars Myren, Chairman of the Sahara Forest Project speaking. Mr. Michael Thamm to the left.
“We are proud to support this path-breaking project that represents a model for future sustainable farming in desert areas”, stated Michael Thamm, Group CEO Costa Group and Carnival Asia. “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."
Aqaba
The governments of Jordan and Norway, the European Union Commission and USAID have been crucial in financing and supporting the first Sahara Forest Project facility in Jordan.
From October 2019 to October 2020, four Costa ships (Costa Mediterranea, Costa Victoria, Costa Diadema and Costa Deliziosa) and four AIDA ships (AIDAvita, AIDAbella, AIDAprima and AIDAblu) will be visiting Aqaba, for a total of 20 calls, bringing more than 45,000 guests.
For more information:
Sahara Forest Project
+47 960 48 828
[email protected]
www.saharaforestproject.com