[WLRC, September 12, 2025] –A Dutch high-level delegation led by H.E. Ms. Eva Schreuder, Head of Water in the Inclusive Green Growth Department of the Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs, visited on the Water and Land Resource Centre and progress with Dutch-supported development projects, specifically water-sensitive urban planning and green infrastructure in Ethiopia.
In his welcoming remarks, WLRC’s Deputy Director General Dr. Tena Alamirew outlined the Centre’s vision, mission, and priorities. This was followed by technical presentations from Dr. Alazar Assefa and Dr. Bitew Kassaw, who highlighted the designs and progress of the Water Sensitive Urban Planning (WSUP), Green Infrastructure (GI), and Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) high-priority projects which are implemented in five Ethiopian cities as part of the BRIGHT Project, funded by EKN and the EU. They emphasised notable progress of those initiatives in Addis Ababa and Debre Birhan.
A key focus of the discussions was the development of constructed wetlands (CWs) as sustainable wastewater treatment systems designed to address the pressures of rapid urbanization. It was indicated that the BRIGHT project has already secured 3,700 m² of land around Kilinto Condominium and is in the process of finalizing an additional 1,500 m² at Tirunesh Beijing Hospital, sites which will serve as pilots for tertiary wastewater treatment.
The Delegation later visited the Melka-Shene demonstration site, where CW construction is set to begin as soon as the rainy season would exit. Reflecting on the project’s progress, H.E. Ms. Schreuder remarked: “The BRIGHT Project is an excellent example of how research, policy, and practice can come together to create scalable solutions for sustainable cities.” She signaled strong optimism about the BRIGHT Project.
At the field visit that was led by the WLRC thematic group, H.E. Ms. Schreuder was joined by Ms. Paula Schindeler, Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (EKN), along with policy officers Ms. Lisan Bijdevaate and Mr. Aytenew Tatek, both based at at EKN in Addis Ababa.