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

September 2019 - 258
Editorial
Forum
NAJIB SAAB
Trump is transient coincidence, climate change is lasting reality
NAJIB SAAB
When I first met him 20 years ago, I did not notice that the veteran international banker had a particular interest in environment and climate change
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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
 
Scientists set out how to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 19/9/2019
Greenhouse gas emissions could be halved in the next decade if a small number of current technologies and behavioural trends are ramped up and adopted more widely, researchers have found, saying strong civil society movements are needed to drive such change. ...more
 
As Amazon burns, 230 big investors call on firms to protect world's rainforests 19/9/2019
With widespread fires wreaking havoc on the Amazon, over 200 investors representing some $16.2 trillion under management on Wednesday called on companies to do their part in halting the destruction of the world’s largest tropical rainforest. ...more
 
Make smartphones last longer to cut emissions in EU: activists' report 19/9/2019
Extending the lifespan of smartphones by just one year would significantly reduce carbon emissions in the European Union, a report from environmental groups said on Wednesday, urging new EU rules to make electronics last longer. ...more
 
ECB should take climate change into account - Villeroy 19/9/2019
The European Central Bank should take climate change into account in the way it runs monetary policy, ECB policymaker Francois Villeroy de Galhau said on Wednesday, backing a suggestion from the bank’s incoming chief. ...more
 
Surfing gets sustainable with first recyclable wetsuit 19/9/2019
Surf culture often prides itself on an affinity for nature. But there’s a dirty secret hiding in many surfers’ cupboards - old wetsuits. ...more
 
Can Abu Dhabi's palm trees help combat climate change? 18/9/2019
Researchers at UAE University are using satellite imagery to determine how much carbon is sequestered in the emirate’s date palms. ...more
 
Investors turn heat on Big Oil ahead of U.N. climate summit 18/9/2019
Investors managing $15 trillion in assets turned up the heat on oil and gas sector on Wednesday ahead of a United Nations summit in New York aimed at accelerating efforts to fight climate change. ...more
 
China to tackle climate change with 'nature-based solutions' 18/9/2019
China said it will try to persuade other countries to support “nature-based solutions” to tackle the root causes of climate change, the country said in a position paper published ahead of a United Nations summit in New York. ...more
 
Swedish climate activist Thunberg asks U.S. Congress for action, not praise 18/9/2019
Swedish teenage climate change activist Greta Thunberg on Tuesday called for action, not praise, from U.S. lawmakers as she joined other youth leaders in kicking off two days of meetings and speeches on Washington’s Capitol Hill. ...more
 
Trump to bar California from setting vehicle emission rules: sources 18/9/2019
The Trump administration will announce as early as Wednesday it is revoking California’s authority to set its own greenhouse gas and vehicle fuel efficiency standards and barring all states from setting such rules, two auto industry officials said on Tuesday. ...more
 
UAE residents turn private gardens into public composting sites 17/9/2019
Gardeners across the UAE are turning their private gardens into public composting sites in an effort to help cut food waste. ...more
 
Reuters Exclusive: Cities to step up at U.N. to push climate fight, sustainable development 17/9/2019
As some world leaders question whether the world is facing a climate emergency, more than a dozen cities are stepping up to tackle global warming and sustainable development and will next week pledge to report their progress to the United Nations. ...more
 
Reuters Exclusive: Germany wants to cap next EU budget at 1%, seeks more funds for climate and migration 17/9/2019
Germany wants to cap the European Union’s next budget for 2021-27 at 1% of the continent’s economy, a scenario that would still see Berlin contribute some 10 billion euros more every year, according to a document seen by Reuters. ...more
 
China says faces 'new challenges' in ozone layer protection 17/9/2019
China faces “new challenges” when it comes to cracking down on the production of chemicals that deplete the ozone layer, the country’s environment minister said, adding Beijing has shown “zero tolerance” to violators. ...more
 
U.S. solar market growth slows this year as projects pushed back 17/9/2019
The U.S. solar market will grow more slowly than previously forecast this year as some large projects are shifted into 2020, an industry trade group said on Tuesday. ...more
 
Faster pace of climate change is 'scary', former chief scientist says 16/9/2019
Extreme events linked to climate change, such as the heatwave in Europe this year, are occurring sooner than expected, an ex-chief scientist says. ...more
 
$1m a minute: the farming subsidies destroying the world 16/9/2019
The public is providing more than $1m per minute in global farm subsidies, much of which is driving the climate crisis and destruction of wildlife, according to a new report. ...more
 
Climate protesters tell carmakers 'the party is over' 16/9/2019
Thousands of protesters marched in front of Frankfurt’s IAA car show on Saturday to demand a swift end to combustion engines and a shift to environmentally friendly vehicles as Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government prepares to unveil climate protection measures. ...more
 
If marathons weren't hard enough already: strap a tree to your back 16/9/2019
This Sunday in South Africa, an accountant, an entrepreneur and a boxing executive are among 20 friends running the Cape Town marathon - with saplings strapped to their backs. ...more
 
Biggest Alpine glacier 'could disappear by 2100' 16/9/2019
The mighty glacier known as Aletsch, the largest in the Swiss Alps, could completely disappear by the end of this century if nothing is done to rein in climate change, a study published on Thursday said. ...more
 
World 'losing battle against deforestation' 13/9/2019
A historic global agreement aimed at halting deforestation has failed, according to a report. ...more
 
Climate-change activists plan to disrupt Heathrow with drones on Friday 13/9/2019
Climate-change activists plan to disrupt Heathrow airport with drones on Friday morning, despite the arrest of five of their members in a pre-emptive strike by London police. ...more
 
Filipino villagers swap trash for rice in fight against plastics 13/9/2019
A village in the Philippines is trying to tackle the scourge of plastic waste by offering rice to residents in exchange for their trash. ...more
 
Climate change pushes U.S. fund managers to bet on AC makers 13/9/2019
Record heatwaves in Europe and Asia this summer are leading fund managers to buy shares of air conditioning manufacturers, betting that the public health risks of rising temperatures will compel businesses and apartment building owners to install cooling systems. ...more
 
Nestle institute aims to develop packaging of the future 13/9/2019
Nestle has set up a research institute to develop more environmentally friendly packaging for its products and reduce plastic waste, taking matters into its own hands rather than relying on its suppliers. ...more
 
Pollutionwatch: how skilful driving can reduce toxic fumes 13/9/2019
Local authorities are encouraging people not to leave their cars idling as tests show we can reduce air pollution by changing the way we drive. ...more
 
 
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