| | The endangered planet
| | By Najib Saab
January 2000
The world has never witnessed an era like ours in which hope and despair are in equal measure. Modern science promises to unveil many hidden secrets of the universe, strengthen man's control over natural resources, promote health and revolutionize communications. The danger, however, is that such developments could lack spirit and commitment. In this case, technological expansion will be superficial and will come at the expense of the basics of life. Power over resources will lead to endless depletion, so that we lose the basis of life. | | more... | |
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| | Arab Environmentalists! Unite!
| | By Najib Saab
November-December 1999
Before you finish reading this page, the lungs of 160 million Arabs would have been filled with ten billion liters of polluted air, deserts would have expanded few hundreds of meters and 75 million Arabs would have drunk polluted water. While the population of the Arab countries will exceed 340 million at the beginning of the 21st century, Arab environment continues to deteriorate steadily and unchecked. The fact is that 160 million Arabs live in air-polluted cities, 75 millions have no access to clean drinking water, and drought is spreading to cover the last five percent of Arab green lands, while desert constitutes more than 95 percent of the total area. Before the sun sets today, the size of waste mountains in the Arab region will increase by more than 76,000 tons, as we produce some 30 million tons of wastes annually. | | more... | |
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| | "Save the waves" … pollute the seas!
| | By Najib Saab
September-October 1999
"Save the Waves" reads the slogan on buttons displayed by the crew and hostesses working on the cruise ships of a multinational tourism company. Over the years, the ships of this company carried tourists around the Caribbean islands under the slogan "Save the Waves". | | more... | |
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| | Boycott the environmental circus
| | By Najib Saab
July-August 1999
Around the World Environment Day this time of the year, environment becomes a popular subject in mass media and among the public. This verbal momentum needs to be encouraged if it supports spreading environmental awareness through lectures, debates, radio and TV programmes and field activities. But exploiting environmental occasions for the promotional campaigns of certain commercial ventures is a practice that should be rejected and exposed. Even worse, certain sectors of the media have become victims of commercial campaigns camouflaged by environmental mottoes, designed to tame the public opinion. | | more... | |
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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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