"Green Economy for a Real Arab Spring" was the topic of a keynote speech by Najib Saab, Secretary General of the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED), at the opening of a regional conference in Malta. Organized by UNEP Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP), the conference reviewed a strategy for sustainable development in the 16 Mediterranean countries members in the Barcelona Convention.
Saab said that although change should not lead to destruction, such a slogan should not conceal a hidden agenda which justifies oppression. Sustainability cannot be a tradeoff between change and freedom with chaos on one hand, and stability with oppression on the other. Urging a transition to green economy, he explained that it incorporates social equality and freedom, with sound resource management, while producing sustainable economic gain. Also present at the conference was director of AFED's Green Economy program Hussein Abaza, who contributed to drafting the resolutions.
Many AFED recommendations included in Saab's speech were endorsed, especially those related to food security, water, climate resilient agriculture, fisheries, retrofitting of existing buildings, and creating job opportunities for the youth. The conference agreed with Saab's remark that "the present influx of war refugees from the Arab side of the Mediterranean to Europe is just a rehearsal and a drop in the sea, compared to the mass influx of climate change refugees expected in the future, from drought stricken south-east to the north-west side of the basin." Cooperation to build resilience to climate change should be a priority. A sustainable development strategy, Saab concluded, cannot bear fruits if not accompanied by sound governance.
|