In October 2025, an ICARS delegation travelled to Sousse, Tunisia, to participate in the official launch of the ‘Constructed wetlands for mitigating Antimicrobial Resistance in reclaimed water used for the irrigation of food crops’ (CARMA) project.
The launch event gathered about 50 delegates and brought together key stakeholders including representatives from the Ministries of Health, Agriculture, and Environment; the University of Sousse; the National Research Institute for Rural Engineering, Water and Forestry (INRGREF); Â the Alliance Against Antimicrobial Resistance (ACRA); the BEDER Organization for citizenship and equitable development; and a representative of the World Health Organization (WHO).
During their opening remarks, Drs. Wejdene Mansour and Olfa Mahjoub highlighted how this project could provide the evidence needed to convince first, the policy makers and also the farmers on the value of using wastewater treated using nature-based solutions such as constructed wetlands (CWL) in a water scarce country like Tunisia.
About the project
The CARMA project implements constructed wetlands as a nature-based solution to address the environmental and health risks associated with antibiotic residues (ATBs), antimicrobial-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) that may be present in wastewater.
Current wastewater treatment processes often fail to effectively remove these contaminants. As treated wastewater is commonly used for agricultural irrigation, improving its quality is essential to reducing environmental contamination and the spread of AMR within the food-chain.
By generating evidence on the effectiveness of CWL, the CARMA project aims to inform national strategies to scale-up the project, whilst also engaging key stakeholders through awareness and capacity-building initiatives.
Next steps
Following the launch, the project team will be developing the full economic and social protocols, alongside an analytical plan for data collection and evaluation. The project team will also be inviting local farmers to participate as well as national, regional and local stakeholders, providing important context for project activities.
Find out more about the CARMA project.
