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Environment and development AL-BIA WAL-TANMIA Leading Arabic Environment Magazine

January 2020 - 262
Editorial
Forum
NAJIB SAAB
Education on environment creates prosperity and stability
NAJIB SAAB
When discussing environmental changes and challenges, and their relation to sustainable development, the role of education cannot be underestimated
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PADDY PADMANATHAN
Ten Years of ACWA Power and Corporate Responsibility
PADDY PADMANATHAN
Since 2007 the Arab region has undergone a number of changes because of economic cycles
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Yihui Wang
AFED Synthesizes Decade of Arab State of the Environment Reports
Yihui Wang
The Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) has published a report titled, ‘Arab Environment in 10 Years’, which
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Meet the
 Editor-in-Chief Najib Saab 		 
 
Selected articles News
Wastewater Treatment: Overview, Types, Energy Consumption & Actual State in Lebanon with Proposal of Using Renewable Energy 3/7/2019
This paper provides an overview of Wastewater Treatment issue in Lebanon, past, present, and Future. The paper briefs the status of wastewater types adopted in the general study approved by Lebanese Government to cover the country at the level of design and implementation along with the relevant energy consumption. Accordingly, we shall consider that paper as a recapitulation on exerted efforts by both Government and Council of Development and Reconstruction (CDR) to reach reliable and sustainable wastewater network and wastewater treatment plants. The perspective that we intend as a conclusion is the potential of renewable energy exploitation and treated wastewater reuse assisting the path of autonomy of WWTP’s and improvement of the energy management in wastewater treatment based on the integration of renewable energy and biogas. ...more
 
Climate change, conflict: Strategic risks for 2019 11/2/2019
Climate-fueled security risks will overwhelm the Middle East in 2019, while enmity and hostility rather than unity will characterize Europe; the U.S. will tumble in its war on terrorism, and an unsustainable future will daunt Russia. These are some of the global security challenges anticipated in a report entitled “Strategic Outlook 2019,” carrying the theme “Towards a Zero-Sum World ...more
 
Environmental Conservation in the UAE: An Authentic Cultural Heritage and Experience 8/1/2018
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has prioritized the conservation of the environment and natural resources, both being integral to its national heritage, almost since the establishment of the federation in 1971. The founding father of the UAE, late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, considered the environment and sustainable development to be cornerstones of the nation’s progress. ...more
 
PREVENTING DISEASE THROUGH HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT: ASSESSMENT OF THE BURDEN OF DISEASE FROM ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS IN ARAB COUNTRIES 1/6/2017
The realization of how many diseases and illnesses can be prevented by focusing on the management of environmental risks adds impetus to efforts to encourage preventive health measures through all available policies, strategies, interventions, technologies and knowledge. This is generally true to sustain development in most countries of the world, but is more significant in Arab countries where environmental risks are higher and rates of development slower. ...more
 
FactCheck: The facts on Trump's EPA nominee 15/12/2016
Scott Pruitt, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to head the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, has made some questionable claims related to global warming, fracking and the Clean Power Plan. ...more
 
AFED Secretariat Annual Work Report 2016 10/11/2016
Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) is closing its most challenging year, in a region overwhelmed by security and economic turmoil. Although we continue to believe that, after all sorts of conflicts and wars, people will still need to preserve and develop their natural capital that they need for survival, AFED is being stripped of minimum resources to execute its mission ...more
 
Waste trade: exporting countries responsible to return refused waste. Interview with Rolph Payet. 2/3/2016
As part of its cover story about Waste trade, in the March-April 2016 issue, Al-Bia Wal-Tanmia magazine conducted this interview with Rolph Payet, executive secretary of the Basel Convention on the control of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal. ...more
 
Strong climate deal good for Arab countries 4/12/2015
Climate change, once considered an issue for the future, has now moved firmly into the present. Few days before a new climate change deal is due to be agreed in Paris, the question is no longer whether there will be an agreement but what shape and how strong it will be. ...more
 
Sustainable consumption: AFED’s 2015 report and public opinion survey 19/11/2015
In 2009, an Arab Regional Strategy for Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) was adopted by the League of Arab States. This was one of the first such regional strategies to be developed before the RIO+20 summit, which had adopted the 10 Year Framework of Programs (10YFP) on SCP. Consequently, the Arab Region moved forward and became the first region to develop and adopt a Roadmap for Implementation of the 10YFP on SCP at the regional level in June 2013. However, as is the case in most Arab regional strategies, both the roadmap and the SCP regional strategy are far from being implemented at the national levels. Development and implementation of SCP strategies in most Arab countries are still lagging. ...more
 
ACWA Power Develops 200 MW Solar PV Plant in Dubai: 5.84 Cents per kWh Sets New Global Pricing Benchmark 19/11/2015
In March 2015, the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) signed a 25-year power purchase agreement with a consortium of ACWA Power and TSK for a 200 MW net solar photo-voltaic (PV), under Phase II of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the Middle East’s largest renewable energy park. The bid tariff set a new global pricing benchmark for renewable energy generated from utility scale PV panels at USD 5.84 cents/kWh without subsidies. The second phase is based on the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model and is intended to be operational by April 2017. The project, which occupies 4.5 Km2, will help to achieve a reduction of 400,000 tonnes of carbon emissions. ...more
 
Impact of phasing out water subsidies in Tunisia and Morocco on consumption: a general equilibrium approach 19/11/2015
Morocco and Tunisia are considered among the countries where the scarcity of water resources may cause a serious constraint to the development of their economies. The agricultural sector is the most important consumer of water with more than 80% of the total. Moreover, both countries have shown an increase in the share of GDP accounted for by the nonfarm sectors, which imply an increase in residential water demand as well as manufacturing and service sectors. Consequently, if production growth in the non-farm sectors requires a proportional increase of water demand factor , then water can be a major constraint to economic growth in both countries. ...more
 
GENETICALLY ENGINEERED CLIMATE-RESILIENT SEEDS AS A POSSIBLE RESPONSE TO CLIMATE CHANGE-INDUCED FOOD SHORTAGES 4/9/2015
Climate change is predicted to have dramatic impacts on agricultural production globally. Although food production in some regions of the world may benefit from increasing average temperatures, most of the world will face severe challenges in adapting agricultural systems to the predicted climatic changes. ...more
 
Food Security and Climate Change: the UAE Experience 15/5/2015
The Arab world faces critical challenges in ensuring its food security. Our region is already the world’s largest net importer of essentials such as cereals and sugar, low water supplies in the region mean that expanding agricultural production is difficult, and population growth means that more people must be fed each year. In many ways, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) presents an exemplary case of this challenge. ...more
 
The UNDP-CEDRO Program’s Solar Power Initiatives 5/3/2015
The CEDRO project, a UNDP executed program, has been established since 2007, originally through a generous grant from the Government of Spain, through the Lebanon Recovery Fund, of approximately $10 million. At that time, renewable energy at large, and solar power in specific (with the exception of residential solar hot water systems), have not yet begun to be well propagated and/established. ...more
 
Conflict, refugees and food insecurity in the Arab region 5/3/2015
Conflict has a direct and indirect effect on food security, undermining it through various channels. Its direct effects are numerous – the destruction of infrastructure and machinery; death of livestock; razing of farm land,; and blocked access to markets for producers, distributors, and consumers. Indirectly, conflict discourages productive investment in agriculture, thereby reducing the availability of food. It strips government of tax revenues that prevent the establishment of social safety nets which promote food security. ...more
 
Virtual Water Trade as a Policy Instrument Contributing to the Achievement of Food Security in the GCC Countries 5/3/2015
The concept of ‘virtual water’ has been introduced by Tony Allan in the early nineties (Allan, 1993; 1994). However, it took nearly a decade to get global recognition for the importance of the concept of achieving regional and global water security. The "virtual water" content of a product, as often defined, is the volume of water used to produce the product, measured at the place where the product was actually produced (i.e., a production site specific definition). ...more
 
Review of the likely impact of climate change on agriculture in selected Arab countries 5/3/2015
Climate change is expected to impact agriculture in the region in one way or another. Below is a short review of the anticipated impact of climate change on agricultural in selected Arab countries. ...more
 
How should we tackle natural conservation of Lebanon?: Japanese Ambassador `s observation 5/3/2015
The East Mediterranean, a cradle of the civilizations, is blessed with a diverse and plentiful nature. But this nature is endangered. Nowadays we can observe that the growth range of the Lebanese Cedars has diminished quite drastically. ...more
 
Developing Fish Resources in the Arab World 7/1/2015
The Arab World is rich with large fish resources providing health and cheap proteins to Arabs, compared to animal proteins from other resources. Since the Arab World suffers a shortage in grazing and animal feed resources, which limits the capability to expand meat production, it is very important to sustain the contribution of fish resources in providing animal proteins to the Arab food basket; actually, this sector must be developed to sustainably increase its contribution to the Arab food security system. ...more
 
UAE firm 'to grow a tonne of tomatoes a day' in the desert 17/1/2020
UAE residents will soon be able to buy fresher produce after plans were unveiled to grow a tonne of tomatoes a day in the Abu Dhabi desert. ...more
 
New York sues Trump administration to enforce Clean Air Act 17/1/2020
New York and Connecticut sued the Trump administration on Thursday, alleging it has failed to enforce the U.S. Clean Air Act and allowed five neighboring states to pump unhealthy levels of pollution into their states. ...more
 
China to curb farming near rivers in push to reverse water pollution - official 17/1/2020
China will impose more curbs on agriculture and widen restrictions on industrial development in the next five years in a bid to protect scarce, already contaminated water supplies from further pollution, a government official said on Friday. ...more
 
Microsoft to erase its carbon footprint, past and future, in climate push 17/1/2020
Microsoft Corp on Thursday set a new ambition among Fortune 500 companies in addressing climate change, pledging to remove as much carbon as it has emitted in its 45-year history. ...more
 
Germany adds brown coal to energy exit under landmark deal 17/1/2020
Germany is set to become the first country to drop both nuclear and coal power under a landmark agreement to compensate workers, companies and regional governments as it switches off brown coal-fired plants by 2038. ...more
 
New Abu Dhabi Climate Initiative to fast-track efforts to protect the planet 16/1/2020
A forward-thinking Abu Dhabi effort to fast-track the fight against climate change and create a "more sustainable future for all" has been launched. ...more
 
Rising sea levels threaten sovereign credit ratings: Moody's 16/1/2020
Economic shocks stemming from rising sea levels pose a long-term risk to the sovereign credit ratings of dozens of countries which have large areas at risk of submersion, including Vietnam, Egypt, Suriname and the Bahamas, Moody’s said on Thursday. ...more
 
Leaders fear for planet as they pack for 'green' Davos 16/1/2020
Climate change and environmental destruction top the risks highlighted by world decision-makers in a survey ahead of the 2020 gathering of the global elite in the Swiss ski resort of Davos. ...more
 
Nestle to invest up to 2 billion Swiss francs to shift to recycled plastics 16/1/2020
Food giant Nestle said on Thursday it would invest up to 2 billion Swiss francs ($2.07 billion) to source more recycled plastics to package its products. ...more
 
Amazon deforestation could speed up in 2020: expert 16/1/2020
Deforestation of Brazil’s Amazon rainforest threatens to accelerate and draw increased global concern since no new fire prevention measures have been taken in the crucial run-up to this year’s dry season, according to Tasso Azevedo, coordinator of a group called MapBiomas that monitors the rate of forest destruction. ...more
 
Contracts for world's largest solar plant in Abu Dhabi to be signed within months 15/1/2020
The contract to build and run the largest solar energy plant in the world in Abu Dhabi is to be awarded within months, it has been confirmed. ...more
 
Brazil Amazon deforestation jumped 85% in 2019 vs 2018: government data 15/1/2020
Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rose 85% in 2019 compared to the previous year, according to a data-based warning system from Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE), in the latest piece of evidence to highlight rampant tree-felling. ...more
 
Trump administration moves closer to rolling back U.S. vehicle fuel economy increases 15/1/2020
New rules enacting President Donald Trump’s reductions in fuel efficiency standards for new vehicles through 2026 moved closer to reality on Tuesday when U.S. agencies sent proposals to the White House for final review. ...more
 
EU sets out trillion euro plan to avert 'climate crash' 15/1/2020
The EU budget chief said the bloc needs to invest dedicated funds to avert a “climate crash” as Brussels detailed how it planned to pay for a trillion euro push to cut net C02 emissions to zero by 2050 and protect member countries dependent on coal. ...more
 
Rome bans all diesel cars in battle to curb pollution 15/1/2020
Rome banned all diesel vehicles from its roads for the first time on Tuesday to try to combat rising pollution, with numerous other cities in central and northern Italy also imposing curbs to cut harmful emissions. ...more
 
UAE to double renewable energy portfolio in next ten years: ADNOC 14/1/2020
The United Arab Emirates grew its renewable energy portfolio by more than 400% in the last 10 years, and is on track to double that again in the coming decade, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. chief executive Sultan al-Jaber said on Monday. ...more
 
Australia's massive fires could become routine, climate scientists warn 14/1/2020
Bushfires ravaging Australia have provided a foretaste of the kinds of conditions that could become normal unless the world moves rapidly to curb emissions of the greenhouse gases driving global warming, scientists have warned. ...more
 
U.S. coal-fired power plants closing fast despite Trump's pledge of support for industry 14/1/2020
U.S. coal-fired power plants shut down at the second-fastest pace on record in 2019, despite President Donald Trump’s efforts to prop up the industry, according to data from the federal government and Thomson Reuters. ...more
 
China to make national carbon trading 'breakthrough' by year-end: official 14/1/2020
China expects to make a “breakthrough” on the establishment of a nationwide carbon emissions trading scheme (ETS) by the end of this year, the country’s senior climate change official told Reuters on Tuesday. ...more
 
EU Commission bans Bayer pesticide linked to harming bees 14/1/2020
The European Commission decided on Monday not to renew approval for a pesticide linked to harming bees, effectively banning Bayer’s insecticide known as thiacloprid. ...more
 
UAE funds renewables schemes in developing countries 13/1/2020
Renewable energy projects in developing nations from Cuba to Nepal are set to go ahead thanks to hundreds of millions of dirhams in UAE funding. ...more
 
Air pollution could kill 160,000 in next decade – report 13/1/2020
More than 160,000 people could die over the next decade from strokes and heart attacks caused by air pollution, a charity has warned. That is the equivalent of more than 40 heart and circulatory disease deaths related to air pollution every day. ...more
 
Koalas, wallabies endangered by Australia bushfires 'ecological disaster' 13/1/2020
The Australian government committed A$50 million ($34.58 million) to an emergency wildlife recovery program on Monday, calling the bushfires crisis engulfing the country “an ecological disaster” that threatens several species, including koalas and rock wallabies. ...more
 
Thailand helps sea turtle swim again with prosthetic flippers 13/1/2020
Thai turtle Goody lost her left flipper years ago after she was entangled in a fishing net, leaving her immobile and stressed out in captivity. ...more
 
New diesel cars exceed particle limits: EU environmental group 13/1/2020
New diesel vehicles are exceeding the limit for particle emissions, European campaign group Transport and Environment (T&E) said on Monday, calling on EU lawmakers to make emissions testing and regulations stricter. ...more
 
 
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