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Association for Environmental and Developmental Studies in the Arab World
- AEDSAW ACTIVITIES AT WOCMES 2002, Mainz, Germany
Panel Title: ENVIRONMENT IN THE ARAB WORLD: PROBLEMS,
POLICIES,
CULTURE, ACTIVISM, REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS.
Organized by Gloria Ibrahim Saliba, UCLA-USA
Session I
Chair: Gloria Saliba, UCLA - USA
Discussant: Hussein Amery, Colorado School of Mines- USA
Title: ADAPTING TO MULTINATIONAL OIL EXPLORATION: THE MOBILE
PASTORALISTS OF OMAN
By Prof. Dawn Chatty, Oxford University-UK
Nomadic pastoral societies in the Middle East throughout the 20th
century have faced enormous pressure to change their way of
life and to adapt to what is perceived by settled society to
be a more `progressive', modern, and sound
existence. Projects, mainly in the first half of the 20th
century, designed to settle these peoples, largely failed and
were followed in rapid succession by international
`development efforts' designed to make nomadic peoples
modern. The failure of these more recent technological
schemes have led to a stalemate and often a state policy of
benign neglect which has indirectly permitted some nomadic
pastoral peoples to change and adapt as best suited their own
institutions and structures. After briefly examining the
success of some nomadic pastoral groups [ Bedouin] in
Northern Arabia to manipulate state ` neglect' into economic
successes, this paper turns to examine the situation in Oman,
where a different state policy was envisaged. Determined to
provide social benefits to the nomadic pastoral communities
of the Central Desert without forcing them to settle, the
government of Oman extended basic health, education and
social services to these communities and no more. It was,
however, the lack of a meaningful relationship with the oil
companies whose concession areas covered vast swathes of the
traditional tribal lands which has highlighted the
fundamental neglect of nomadic pastoralists, even though they
formed significant stakeholder group. Recent international
pressure for accountability and transparency among the
multinational oil companies, the call for socially sound
investment policy and a concern with respecting human rights,
has given these nomadic communities a new voice and leverage
in demanding sound social investment policies from the
government and the oil companies for them and their
communities in the deserts of Oman.
Title: CONSERVATION, HIMAS AND PROTECTED AREAS IN SAUDI
ARABIA
Prof. Peter Vincent, Lancaster University-UK
The hima system of land management was developed in the
Arabian peninsula at least 1500 years ago and as such is
probably theoldest known organised approach to conservation
anywhere in the world. Himas are types common property in
which local stakeholders control use of the rangeland in
order to conserve pasture and the seed stock in times of
environmental stress. In former times there were literally
thousands of himas run by village communities of the Hijaz
and Asir highlands of Saudi Arabia. There, hima areas ranged
in size from a few to many thousands of hectares and their
use controlled by complex, largely unwritten, rules.
Nowadays only a few working hima survive due mainly to rural
depopulation, changes in rangeland use and the imposed
weakening of tribal structures in the 1960s. As compared
with the open rangeland, hima were extremely successful in
combating the ecological and erosional effects of
overgrazing. Attempts to revive elements of the system are
now underway, especially as part of the management program
for Saudi Arabia's growing number of protected areas.
Title: LAND, WATER AND THE COMMUNITIES OF AL-HASSAKA REGION
(N. SYRIA), A CASE OF DEVELOPMENT?
Gloria I. Saliba, UCLA-USA
In pursuit of modernization and progress the Syrian
governments -since the late fifties- initiated a number of
agricultural policies aiming at increasing productivity,
achieving socioeconomic justice and development. However,
limited natural resources accompanied by poorly designed
projects hindered reaching these objectives. Consequently,
Syria has awakened to a great interest in environment
protection and conservation. The government with the help of
international organizations began integrating sustainable and
environmentally sensitive measures into its agricultural
policies and projects.
This paper examines the effect that the implemented
agricultural policies (old and new), and the scarcity of
natural resources, especially water and fertile land, are
having on the Bedouin and Assyrian communities in al-Hassaka
region in Northern Syria. These communities were greatly
affected by land reform policies, irrigation projects and
more recently by some of the conservational policies.
Based in part on interviews with members of these communities
collected by the author, in addition to supporting documents
and literature, this paper will show first, that different
communities react differently to the same policies. Second,
that the effectiveness of these policies in these communities
is determined by the tradition, way of life and the
availability of natural resources in their environment or the
lack of it.
In particular, this paper looks at the impact of these
policies on improving the living standards and on the
socioeconomic development of these communities. It will also
question whether or not these policies are achieving their
objectives in promoting socioeconomic justice and
environmental conservation.
Title: PROBLEMS OF PRESERVATION AT SIJILMASA, MOROCCO
Prof. Jim Miller, Clemson University-USA
Sijilmasa, among the first cities founded by the forces of
Islam in the West, is today an abandoned site in the heart of
the Tafilalt Oasis of southeastern Morocco. From the 700s to
the 1500s AD, however, Sijilmasa led a dramatic career as a
city perched on the edge of the Sahara Desert that organized
the gold trade with ancient Ghana and later West African
societies. Sijilmasa was also responsible for the diffusion
of the earliest message of Islam to West Africa. After 6
seasons of excavations at the site, the joint
Moroccan-American Project at Sijilmasa (MAPS) has focused on
the preservation of the central site. Problems of
preservation include encroaching urbanization, public
indifference to local patrimony, lack of funds, and the
skilfull manipulation of space for modern facilities. In the
last 3 years, extensive areas of Sijilmasa have been lost.
This paper investigates these conditions and outlines the
project to preserve the mosque at the site.
AEDSAW Panel : Session II
Chair: Gloria Saliba, UCLA
Discussant: Professor Mike Reibel, California State Polytechnic
University, Pomona-USA
Title: People and Environment in Oases: The Geography of Ingeniousness.
A Comparative Study on Maghreb Countries
Andrea Corsale, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
Many studies and researches tend to stress on the social,
economic and environmental crisis that African and Asian
traditional oases have been facing since the decline of
caravan trade and the entrance into the world economy. It is
true that most of the circumstances that favoured their
creation and their development in the past have now
disappeared. Deep changes as the spread of western-like
lifestyles and the competition with modern agriculture, as
well as the abolition of slavery and the demographic growth,
have made the old oasis world obsolete and inadequate. It is
now necessary for these communities to carefully reflect on
the reasons why people should decide to inhabit, irrigate and
cultivate the desert in the 21st century.
Maghreb countries offer a range of ancient and modern cases
and solutions that is worth analysing. The variety of
physical features in the Pre-Saharan belt, which is about
2000 km long and 300 km wide, naturally causes a great
diversity in the stock of natural resources, namely fresh
water and fertile soil. The historical events produced deeper
differences that made up a very variegated range of human and
natural landscapes. It was after the independence of Morocco,
Algeria and Tunisia that the most interesting experiments of
land management took place. Morocco tended to slacken the
changes in the rural environment, trying to preserve the
traditional social system on which the Alawi monarchy
relies. The great dams and the growing market economy are
nevertheless leading to deep and sometimes chaotic
transformations, that often cause serious environmental
problems such as sand encroachment, salinization and palm
tree diseases.
Algeria chose a more active and innovating policy of rural
development, associated with radical agrarian reforms,
villagization schemes and creation of new oases, often linked
with the exploitation of oil, gas and fossil water. The rain
of centre-led projects, though, did not always produce the
expected results.
Tunisia is making great efforts to promote capitalistic
farming and tourist development in the arid regions. Her
oases appear to be destined to a positive future, though high
risks of overexploitation of natural resources are to be
faced. A reflection on these different approaches and a
balance of their results can hopefully stimulate the
geographical research on the changing relationships between
people and environment in arid regions.
Title: Investing for Climate Protection in the Maghreb Countries
Ali Agoumi, The Regional Coordinator for the Maghreb climate
change Project- MOROCCO
A paper coauthored By: Ali Agoumi, Samir Amous, Menouer
Boughadaoui,Faouzi Senhaji, Mohamed Senouci, and Bill Dougherty
Deeply embedded in the process of Rio, the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) raised a new
problem, that of the effect of human activities on the global
climate. Future changes in climate are likely to have an
adverse impact on natural systems and on the socioeconomic
development of societies. Climate changes are especially
important for the countries of the arid and semi-arid regions
of the world, of which the Maghreb countries (Algeria,
Tunisia, and Morocco) are part. Confronting the challenge of
global climate change is inseparable from the development of
financial mechanisms to aid and preserve development
aspirations of developing countries. Actions have been
undertaken within Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia to build
awareness among key national stakeholders of the nature of
these financial mechanisms, and to assist the countries to
develop strategies where national development priorities and
climate protection intersect.
This paper addresses one aspect of the Maghreb strategy,
namely the development of a portfolio of projects eligible
for support under the Convention's financial
mechanisms. Eight types of projects are considered in the
areas of renewable energy, energy efficiency, alternative
fuels, cogeneration, forestry, and solid waste. The portfolio
elaborates projects that represent a set of important and
concrete opportunities for investment, forms the basis for
both promoting sustainable development in the region, and
secures long-term carbon emission reductions for the world.
Title: The importance of Egyptian Mediterranean Wetlands
Tarek Abulzahab, Environment Affairs Agency, Cairo-Egypt
Wetlands are among the most prolific ecosystems on
earth. They provide living space and food to aquatic,
amphibious, and terrestrial species. Development has led to
the destruction of wetlands around the world. Just in the
last three decades have scientists, policy makers, and the
public begun to appreciate the inestimable value of wetlands
and the critical role they play in the recreation of
ecological processes.
The Ramsar Convention (1971) implemented a program to
designate and preserve wetlands that are of global
significance for their value as habitat. Egypt, as part of
the Mediterranean Basin, embraces two biogeographical
corridors (Red Sea and the River Nile) which link the tropics
in the south with the palearctics in the north. The Red Sea
and the Nile Basin are two principal highways along the
migratory routes of the palearctic-tropics journey of
birds. The northern lakes, Bardawil, Burullus, Mazala, Idku
and Mariut are vital resting stations. Lake Bardawil and Lake
Burullus are two internationally recognized sites within the
framework of the Wetland Convention (Ramsar, 1971), both of
which are influenced by human activities in entirely
different ways. The LAKE BARDAWIL coastal Lagoon is located
on the Mediterranean coast of the Sinai Peninsula and had
been identified as one of the most important wetlands for
water birds in the entire Mediterranean Region. Lake Bardawil
essentially compromises two lagoons. The Bardawil lagoon
covers most of the area with 595 km2 while the Zaranik lagoon
covers 9 km2. The Zaranik Lagoon was declared as protected
area(1984). It is located in the eastern part of the Lake
Bardawil. At present there are no direct threats to the
protected area, due to its low population density and its
isolation. Despite these circumstances, the ambitions of the
national North-Sinai Development Plan could have fundamental
negative influences when ecological issues are not considered
as part of the planning process. In comparison to the
remotely located Bardawil Lake a total different situation
can be observed in LAKE BURULLUS, which is located in the
highly populated Delta-Region. The catchment area of the
Burullus Lake extends from the Nile River sources until the
Nile Delta. Throughout its course, the Nile collects
pesticides and fertilizer and laden water, which flows,
through a number of drainage channels, into the southern
shore of the lake, thus disturbing the natural balance.
Water quality problems have combined with increasing levels
of commercial fishing activity, resulting in major declines
in fish production, a supported eutrophication. The whole
Burullus Lake was recently declared a protected area, but the
current economic use makes nature protection very difficult
due to the modicum of environmental awareness of the
inhabitants and local decisions-makers. Primarily we will
discuss these two protected areas, the contemporary question
about the protection of existing wetlands, the journeys of
the migrating birds and the survival of local inhabitants
will be pointed out. It is worth to notify that these
protected areas are part of a regional protection project
(MedWetCoast) in which several Mediterranean countries are
participating, specially Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Palestine
Authorities, Lebanon and Albania. Throughout the importance
of protection of wetlands, the projects supports the
cooperation and communication of the political authorities
and scientists that are highly interested in preserving the
existing resources, and making obligatory a sustainable and
comprehensive Regional Development Plan for the protection of
Wetlands.
Title: Towards Islamic Water Policies.
Prof. Hussein A. Amery, Colorado School of Mines- USA
Islamic doctrine views humans as an integral part of (not
apart from) the natural system, and advocates "living in
peace" with the biotic and abiotic species. Islamic water
management principles can be succinctly summarized as
advocating wise-use. People, accordingly, may control
nature, consume its resources, but may not cruelly conquer it
in such a way that irreversibly degrades God's creation. This
paper outlines Islam's injunctions on human-environment
interactions and details water management guidelines as
specified in the Koran and Prophet Muhammad's hadith
(traditions). It argues that Islam requires its adherents to
conserve water, consider the water needs of non-human
species, and to not irreparably degrade water and other
natural resources. Based on these and other evidence, the
paper argues that affective Islamically-grounded water policy
ought to be drafted to reflect alternative, non-traditional
worldviews and value systems. Demand management, and more
broadly sustainable use of water resources in Islamic
countries are more likely to be realized if the management
instruments incorporate a host of alternative incentives and
disincentives such as spiritual rewards and penalties. Water
policies have generally been based on the premise of "one
size fits all", and have frequently disregard the variable
requirements of local cultures and norms only to find
resistence and high default rates with respect to
implementation. In an era of mounting interest in and
"return" to Islam's teachings throughout the Islamic World
from Indonesia to Morocco, the author argues that
culturally-sensitive water management policies are likely to
be broadly embraced by the majority of Muslims.
Title: TROUBLED WATERS
Zeina Hajj, GP MED - LEBANON
Under pressure to solve immediate economic problems, Middle
Eastern and Arab countries seek to industrialize as quickly
and as cheaply as possible. Too often, the myopic drive for
quick economic gains means that destruction is taken for
development and deterioration for progress. Dumping of
certain obsolete technologies in the guise of "investment" in
the Middle East is often backed by international financial
institutions like the World Bank, the International Monetary
Fund and the European Investment Bank. Greenpeace and other
international and local organizations are combating this
mindset on several fronts. One of the main challenges in the
work lead by environmentalist in this region is to provide
the public the access to information and their "Right to
Know" about the pollutants they face and their impact on
their health. Past experience has shown a direct correlation
between public access to information and environmental
quality. The government is the key to ensuring public access
to information - and armed with information, the public can
become a powerful catalyst for pollution prevention and
cleaner production methods. Through legislation that demands
disclosure of information, mandatory reporting, and free
access to data, national governments can give citizens
control over their environment. When UN Environmental
Program adopted the Mediterranean for its first ever Regional
Seas Program in the mid-1970s, it recognized that the
degradation of the sea could be halted only by fully
integrating environmental concerns into national plans for
economic development. The Barcelona Convention for the
Protection of the Marine Environment and Coastal Region of
the Mediterranean today includes six protocols, which, if
implemented by regional governments, would effectively lead
to the protection of the most important economic and
environmental resource in the region. But government rhetoric
has masked inaction. Twenty-five years down the line, the
Mediterranean Sea is more threatened than ever. The
environmental problems facing the Middle East today have
afflicted developing countries elsewhere. But rather than
applying the lessons learned from other countries'
experiences, and shifting to less polluting technologies, for
example, Middle Eastern countries simply re-enact old stories
of environmental degradation. Sustainable economic
development in the region must take full account of scarce
natural resources and assess development's likely impact on
the environment. Squandering natural resources will
negatively affect all economic sectors, including
tourism. Immediate action is needed if this region is to
remain beautiful and safe in the future.
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