Arab Forum for Environment and Development Concludes Consultation Meetings on Green Economy in Cairo, Beirut, Amman

The Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) concluded Wednesday in Amman a series of consultation meetings to discuss the first draft of its upcoming report on an Arab Green Economy, due to be released in October 2011. The AFED report will address the transformations needed to achieve desired economic, social, and environmental sustainability goals in Arab countries. The report will address the enabling strategies and development policies for navigating a green transition in eight sectors: energy, water, agriculture, tourism, waste management, industry, cities/buildings, and transportation. The Arab Green Economy report is the fourth annual report by AFED, and follows publication of three reports, Arab Environment: Future Challenges in 2008, Impact of Climate Change on Arab Countries in 2009, and Water: Sustainable Management of a Scarce Resource in 2010.

The consultation meeting in Amman was hosted by the University of Petra (UOP), under the patronage of its President H.E. Dr. Adnan Badran, Former Prime Minister of Jordan and Chairman of AFED Board of Trustees. Fifty officials, authors, experts, business executives and civil society organizations from Jordan and abroad addressed urban city planning, green buildings and tourism. They included H.E. Mr. Khaled Irani, Former Minister of Environment and Energy, H.E. Ms. Suzanne Afanah, Former Minister of Tourism, the report’s main editor Hussein Abaza, and a wide spectrum of participants from Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Oman, UAE, Morocco, United Kingdom, USA and Sweden. The meeting discussed specific strategies to institutionalize green practices that reduce energy and water consumption and enhance the quality of life, while promoting economic growth and employment.

In his opening statement, H.E. Dr. Badran stated that “it is critical to make the case for coupling economic prosperity and environmental sustainability. This report sets out to prove that economic well being can be achieved while protecting our natural resources.”

Najib Saab, Secretary General of AFED, explained that “the consultation meetings are held in order to give an opportunity to all stakeholders to provide their input and feedback to the findings of the report, to ensure that the perspectives of different stakeholders are reflected in the findings.” Saab added that “the concept of a green economy will be embraced only if business, government, academia, and NGOs are involved in its making. We, at AFED, are committed to bringing these groups together to generate a buy-in for the report’s proposals and recommendations.”

Cairo

The consultation meeting in Amman was the third in a series of meetings that were held within the week in different locations. The first consultation meeting, held in Cairo on April 14, was hosted by the Center for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe (CEDARE), under the patronage of its Executive Director H.E. Dr. Nadia Makram Ebeid, Former Minister of Environment in Egypt. Dr. Ebeid opened the day-long meeting, which addressed the water, agriculture, and waste management sectors, by announcing a host of joint programs between AFED and CEDARE. Participating in the discussions were H.E. Dr. Mahmoud Abuzeid, President of the Arab Water Council and former Minister of Water in Egypt, Dr. Mostafa Kamal Tolba, the renown environmental authority, in addition to a group of scientists, NGOs and business executives, including member of AFED Board of Trustees Samer Younes. The meeting provided an important opportunity to discuss how a green economy can contribute to achieving food and water security in the Arab world, and shed light into novel waste treatment technologies.

Beirut

The second consultation meeting, held in Beirut on April 18, was hosted by the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture at the American University of Beirut (AUB), and sponsored by the Munib and Angela Masri Institute of Energy and Natural Resources. The meeting addressed the energy, transportation, and industry sectors. Participants were unanimous in their belief that to achieve energy security for all Arab countries, there needs to be a commitment to investments in energy efficiency as well as renewable energy sources. In addition, speakers presented strategies for Arab governments to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions while securing financing through the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) or other mechanisms. Developing a safe, affordable, and convenient public transit system was presented as a cornerstone for any strategy to create a green transportation sector.

Saab announced that the authors will submit their revised drafts, based on the outcome of the consultations, by mid-May, when another round of revisions will kick off. He revealed that a team of researchers is working on developing dozens of case studies and success stories to be included in the report, which will be first presented during AFED’s annual conference in Beirut in October 2011, and later in the climate change summit in Durban in November.