| | Syria needs to invest in the environment
| | By Najib Saab
November 2000
The Syrian economy is on the brink of a new era, signified by the government's program to create some 500,000 new job opportunities, which entails encouraging investment and revitalizing management methods in the public sector, along with modernizing industrial and agricultural production processes. The new regulations to support private investment facilitate procedures, at the central government level as well as at the provincial scale, through establishing investment commissions whose job is to study project applications and issue final decisions within 48 hours. | | more... | |
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| | Is It a Dilemma of Journalism or Science?
| | By Najib Saab
October 2000
The crisis of scientific journalism in the Arab region has long been the subject of discussion in both media and science circles. A meaningful approach to the dilemma begins by breaking it down into its basic components: The state of Arab journalism in general, and the deficiencies of scientific research across the Arab countries. | | more... | |
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| | EU follows UN in wasting development aid
| | By Najib Saab
September 2000
British parliamentarians were the last party to join a growing group of official and public bodies urging radical reform in international aid programs. They described those programs as crippled by delay, confusion and political interference. In a recent report, the British Parliament's International Development Committee said that the European Commission needed urgent changes to its assistance programs and an implementation plan. "The Commission should give up its addiction to half measures and have the courage to reform for the benefit of the world's poor," the report asserted.
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| | Appropriate technology center for south Lebanon
| | By Najib Saab
July - August 2000
As grand plans are being developed to rebuild south Lebanon, "international sales representatives" from a variety of agencies are flocking the country to promote their catalogue products and services, based on a pre-conceived model of development. While international experience and financial support are essential, development projects should be designed to suit the needs of the people concerned, not the agendas of foreign experts, agencies and their local associates. The reconstruction of the liberated south should be seen as an opportunity to introduce integrated development concepts, based on capacity building of the rural communities, and involving people as real partners in planning and execution. This includes taking environmental considerations into account at the planning stage, to ensure that rush bandage solutions do not produce self-destructive effects in the future.
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 | | | Arab Environment in 10 Years | | | ARAB ENVIRONMENT IN 10 YEARS crowns a decade of the series of annual reports produced by the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) on the state of Arab environment. It tracks and analyzes changes focusing on policies and governance, including level of response and engagement in international environmental treaties. It also highlights developments in six selected priority areas, namely water, energy, air, food, green economy and environmental scientific research. |
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