AL-BIA WAL-TANMIA (Environment & Development) magazine was established by Najib Saab in 1996 as the first regionwide Arabic mass circulation magazine. It soon became the source where decision makers and public alike obtain accurate and up-to-date information on all what relates to environment and sustainable development.

 

AL-BIA WAL-TANMIA doesn’t preach from afar. It gets right in among the community.

 

With a circulation of 38,500 in 22 countries, the magazine is used in schools and universities, and its articles are syndicated in 12 daily newspapers. The magazine helped create over 500 school environment clubs. Annual competitions under the title “a better environment begins with you,” aimed at creating environmental awareness among students, have attracted more than a million entries.

 

Quarterly wall chart called green bulletin distributed to schools free of charge. AL-BIA WAL-TANMIA publishes books for various age groups.

 

It has developed for teachers an environmental education program and trained thousands of teachers in Lebanon, Syria, UAE, Djibouti and elsewhere. On its tenth anniversary in 2006, the magazine was behind the creation of Arab Forum for Environment & Development (AFED), the foremost pan-Arab environment organization.

 

Between 2006-2012, AL-BIA WAL-TANMIA (Environment & Development) magazine acted as AFED’s media platform. Since beginning 2013, Najib Saab handed over the magazine to AFED, to be published by the organization, while retaining its editorial independence.