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Pollution from old disused phosphate and iron mines that has lingered in derelict Moroccan, Portuguese and Tunisian mining sites for decades may have finally met its eco-friendly match. Resistant plants which could suck up toxins and harmful metals through their roots are being developed under a collaborative science project sponsored by NATO.
“The problem is that the mining activity highly increases the concentrations of metals available to be absorbed by organisms, and hence available to cause toxic effects,” explains Ruth de Pereira, Assistant Researcher at the University of Aveiro, Portugal, and project director. “This occurs because mining activities usually create acidic conditions which favour the solubility of metals from the ore. What plants can do is to absorb these metals, removing them from soils and reducing their bioavailability,” she adds.
Since the project was launched two years ago in April 2009, a group of scientists from Germany, Morocco, Portugal and Tunisia have been working to identify helpful bacteria that could be used to inoculate local species of resistant plants to allow them to absorb more metals from soil without being poisoned. The resistant plants are then grown in a controlled environment and will later be transferred to local authorities and mine owners in Portugal, Tunisia and Morocco to help with reforestation.
Instead of using expensive mechanical processing to clear affected sites, governments could grow the plants in the polluted areas. Over time they would absorb and store any harmful substances in their roots, thereby improving the quality of the soil. This process reduces the risk of possible groundwater contamination and causing further environmental damage. In addition it is also a more efficient and inexpensive way of restoring the landscapes and ecosystems.
“The clean-up project is part of a wider programme introduced by the Tunisian authorities to eliminate the main sources of pollution in the region, which will be followed by urban development,” explains Professor Mohamed Ksibi, Head of Department of Biotechnology and Health, University of Sfax. “It will help facilitate the creation of a climate that is conducive to private investment and contributes to the sustainable and peaceful development of the region.”
Fostering links and building capacity
The project is sponsored under the NATO Science for Peace and Security (SPS) Programme, which helps to connect scientists and experts from NATO countries with their counterparts in the Euro-Atlantic and Mediterranean Dialogue countries. Each year 10,000 scientists participate in SPS activities, with over 400 institutions currently involved in more than 100 projects.
In this project the University of Aveiro, Portugal, is working alongside the University of Sfax, Tunisia, the University of Sultan Moulay Silmane, Morocco, the University of Coimbra, Portugal, and ECT Oekotoxikologie GmbH, Germany.
“The NATO project encourages students and researchers to work together with their counterparts from different countries,” says Professor Ksibi. “The collaboration partners represent a wide variety of expertises and working together they promote and advance the development which provides a basis for the development of new solutions for the restoration of these areas all over the world.”
Environmental security, one of areas that the SPS programme focuses on, is a key concern for many partners. Since the SPS Programme opened up to partner countries in the 1990s, environmental security has become the most active topic supported by the programme.
Professor de Pereira underlines the need to take environmental security concerns seriously. “Some environmental problems compromise the health of populations and increases the degradation of natural resources,” she says. “The lack of natural resources is a motif for several wars, so if nations learn together how to preserve and restore their natural resources, they don’t need to fight for them.”