Arab Region

At the beginning of the 21st century, clearly the most striking issue facing the world today is that of the environment. Environmental problems have featured heavily in scientific warnings, political agendas, public concern, and media attention.

The Arab region is not isolated from the rest of the world when it comes to this issue. The Arab world has undergone huge changes in the last century. Its population has risen from below 50 million a century ago to over 325 million today. During this same period, the environment has degraded and natural resources have decreased, due to development patterns, which were largely unsustainable.

In most cases, policies were overwhelmingly sets of provisional short-term measures, meant to manage momentary challenges rather than engage in long-term planning. Some parts of the region have seen unprecedented growth, bringing both economic and social wealth to millions of Arabs during the last decades, thanks, largely, to the rising income from oil. Has this economic development, however, come at a cost?

Can the patterns of development which some Arab countries are experiencing continue, while sustaining livelihood and quality of life for future generations? We have doubts about it. Today, the state of the Arab environment stands at a radical juncture, with numerous environmental problems both current and forthcoming threatening the region. At the same time, awareness of the issues, as well as signs of political and social willingness to act, provide hope for timely intervention.

Regional Context

The Arab region, which stretches from Morocco and Mauritania in the west, through northern Africa and the Levant, to the Arabian Gulf in the east, is a region facing distinctive environmental circumstances and challenges. Although the region is provided with unique and rich natural resources, there is inadequate awareness of the importance of the environment in fueling and sustaining economic growth and human well-being. Environmental considerations are insufficiently integrated in national development plans and policies, resulting in the unsustainable use of natural resources for development programs. Climate change, high population growth rates, and in some countries, fast economic growth and urbanization, all amplify the region’s vulnerability to environmental challenges and limit its ability to manage them.
Among the major challenges that the region faces are water scarcity, land degradation and desertification, insufficient capacities for waste management, coastal and marine environment degradation, air and water pollution and global warming.

The Cost of Environmental Degradation

Although they are often largely invisible or ignored, the economic costs of environmental degradation in the Arab region are real, significant, and growing. Natural resources is being used unsustainably, undermining economic development and poverty reduction efforts. The World Bank evaluates that the annual cost of environmental degradation amounts between 4 and 9 % of GDP for certain Arab countries.
To place these figures into perspective, in Eastern Europe and the OECD countries the ratios are 5 and 2 to 3 % of the GDP respectively. In the Arab region as a whole, the cost of environmental degradation is estimated at 5 % of GDP. At the same time, governments of the region have failed in addressing these mounting economic costs with clear and effective policies. The budgetary allocations for environmental purposes do not even come close to 1 % of GDP for any of the countries in the region.
Beyond that, the environmental agencies that do exist to have not been granted any real support or powerful legislative mandates, limiting their ability to be effective.

Institutional Reform

It should be clear that environmental issues urgently need to be recognized as deserving political and economic priority, in line with other main macroeconomic issues. Specifically, the issue of environmental sustainability needs to enforce into all aspects of development and macroeconomic policies. At present, this is not the case.
Once the importance of environmental issues within the countries of the Arab region has been recognized and acknowledged, the capacities for action need to be strengthened. This has to be tackled through a two-pronged approach: first of all, holistic, integrated, clear, and effective legislation needs to be created, and secondly it needs to be ensured that environmental agencies are provided with both the resources and the political mandates to achieve the necessary progress.
Aside strengthening official agencies and legislation, governments of the region need to support research and development efforts. The private sector should also take more initiatives to integrate environmental considerations into its planning, moving from the charity attitude towards the social responsibility concept and the environmental responsibility sense. None of this would work without the support of the people, which cannot be achieved in the absence of a real effort on the part of the media and the civil society, especially non- governmental organizations, to raise awareness.

Air Quality

As the air quality in Arab cities continues to steadily deteriorate, the costs of health and environmental consequences are radically rising. Health problems caused by air pollution from the transport sector alone cost Arab countries over 5 billion dollars per annum.
Countries in the Arab region are highly dependent on personal transport, a fact highlighted by the soaring car ownership rates. For example, the number of vehicles per 1000 residents is 434 in Lebanon, 378 in Qatar, 357 in Kuwait, 336 in Saudi Arabia, and 322 in Bahrain.
The transport sector is responsible for around 90 % of total emissions of carbon oxides in Arab countries. In spite of many welcome initiatives to ban it, lead remains an additive in petrol in some Arab countries, and still accounts for more than half of total lead atmospheric emissions. Some countries abruptly introduced unleaded fuel, without imposing the use of additives required for efficient operation of the old fleet of vehicles with older engines, which constitute the bulk of the cars in most countries.

The inefficient incineration has consequently led to an alarming increase in the levels of ground ozone, a gas with devastating effects on health. Per person carbon oxides emissions have risen steadily in most countries of the region in the last three decades. Regionally, the Gulf countries emit about 50 % of the total of all Arab countries; in addition, the countries in this Arab sub region are the only ones with carbon dioxide emissions levels above the world average.

To give a few examples, in 2003, emissions in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait were respectively 13, 9, 8, and 7 times higher than the world average. Countries such as Libya, Oman, and Saudi Arabia also have per person emissions higher than the world average, whereas the rest of the Arab countries are approximately equal or fall below it.

A main problem in the Arab region is that only a few countries monitor air pollution levels sufficiently, systematically and consistently, which makes scientific research and policy recommendations difficult. Monitoring results in Egypt recorded levels of emissions in urban areas and coastal industrial complexes that have reached pollution levels between six to eight times higher than the limits set by the relevant Egyptian environmental laws.

Comparable results were collected in Lebanon and Syria. More action needs to be undertaken. In the transportation sector, engines need to be made more efficient, hybrid vehicles and cleaner fuels needs to be advocated, and public transport needs to be developed and promoted, alongside more sensible urban planning which reduces the use of cars to communicate between residential, work, commercial and leisure locations.

Energy generation and consumption in the Arab region tend to be inefficient in most countries. Market-distorting subsidies should be phased out, thermal efficiency should be improved through technological advancement, hydropower resources should be fully utilized, renewable energy sources, especially solar and wind, should be widely used, and less polluting fuels, such as natural gas, should be increasingly utilized.

Aridity, Drought & Desertification

Aparticularly pressing concern for much of the Arab world is the high degree of aridity and the associated increased vulnerability of lands to climate change as well as water scarcity and variability. Specifically, the land resources of the Arab region face three main challenges: aridity, recurrent drought, and desertification.
The primal importance of the issue can barely be overstated; as the productive capacities of Arab agricultural lands are compromised by land degradation, the bases of food security are undermined. As populations increase and economic growth causes per person consumption rates to rise, the gap between production and consumption of food increases, and dependence on the importation of food grows.
The issue of aridity is closely related to that of the scarcity of water resources. Indeed, all agriculturally productive lands in the Arab countries are fragile systems prone to degradation and highly vulnerable to desertification. Desertification is posing the most pressing threat to productive lands in the whole Arab region.

What is extremely important is to recognize that desertification is essentially a man-made phenomenon which is exacerbated by climate change. Meaningful measures are needed in every Arab country to reduce the human role in expanding desertification. As for cooperation in international endeavors, a number of regional examples exist. Sudan created a national plan of action to fight desertification in 1976, as did Tunisia and Egypt shortly afterwards.

Still, the response of other Arab countries has so far been lacking, as an insufficient degree of priority has been attached to the formulation and implementation of plans and programs for fighting desertification.

What is needed in the Arab region is an integrated approach that recognizes the importance of addressing the menaces of land degradation. Such an approach should comprise scientific, industrial, social, and legislative efforts. Institutes such as ACSAD (Damascus) and ICARDA (Aleppo) exist, as do dedicated universities research units and national research centers on desertification.

However, more resources need to be mobilized to support scientific research geared at devising solutions which find their way to implementation. Promising examples are the initiatives in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt to establish funds for supporting research, which will hopefully include programs for the sustainable development and management of land and water resources.

Biotechnology, Fertilizers and Pesticides

Fertilizers and biotechnology play a central role in the agricultural sector in the Arab region. Apart from for a few products for health care, none of the Arab countries currently produce their own biotechnology products.
However, 13 Arab countries are parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB) which regulates the import and export of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The issue is thus limited to the import of biotechnology commodities by Arab countries, and the role of the Arab region in international negotiations on the issue should also be viewed from this perspective. At present, the main problem in the Arab region is one of insufficient implementation of the protocol, leading to situations in which certain GMO commodities (such as maize, long grain rice, soybean seeds and cooking oil) are imported and available in Arab markets undeclared and unlabelled.

The crux of the problem is a lack of regulatory and enforcement mechanisms, legislation, administrative structures, and technical expertise. As such, more resources need to be directed to the areas of biotechnology development, allowing Arab countries to take informed decisions on the products they import, as well as developing their own technologies in areas such as agriculture, medicine and chemicals.

Pesticides and fertilizers are widely used in the Arab region, and in many cases, misused. The use of NPK fertilizers in Arab countries quadrupled between 1970 and 2002, with the UAE and Egypt (more than 900 kg fertilizers per hectare), Oman (644 kg), and Lebanon (414 kg) using some of the highest quantities of fertilizers per hectare in the world.

The intense use of pesticides and fertilizers brings about concerns regarding food safety as a public health issue. What is lacking in most of the Arab region is regulation and control over the sale, handling, and use of pesticides.

Also, accredited pesticide residue analysis laboratories are not available in most Arab countries. As such, new legislation and institutional commitments are necessary in this regard. These issues need to be tackled at the regional level. Many countries in the region have the resources and capacities for a better performance; what is missing is clear awareness of the subject.

With several parts of the world moving towards organic farming, the demand for chemical fertilizers is expected to decrease. This will pose a serious challenge to the big producers of fertilizers in the Arab petro-chemical industries, who will have to be ready for diversification into new products.

Climate Change

Among global environmental issues, the one that has received most attention across nearly all domains (political, media, scientific, and civil society) is that of climate change. Although the Arab region does not contribute more than 5 % to the causes of global climate change, its effects on the region will be very severe.
In fact, the region is particularly vulnerable given already scarce water resources, high levels of aridity and the long coastal stretch threatened by the rising sea levels. Natural and physical systems in the Arab world are already facing heavy pressures, and these will only be intensified as temperatures in the region get higher and/or rainfall gets lower. According to up to date modeling studies, the Arab region will face an increase of 2 to 5.5° C in the surface temperature by the end of the 21st century.

Additionally, this temperature increase will be coupled with a projected decrease in rainfall of between 0 and 20 %. The consequences for the region include shorter winters, dryer and hotter summers, a higher rate of heat waves, increased weather variability, and a more frequent incidence of extreme weather events. Without a doubt, adaptation and mitigation strategies need to be researched, discussed, and implemented.

Sea level rise, or SLR, persuant to rising temperatures, has the potential to cause the loss of significant portions of agricultural land in the Arab region. As an example, even a 1 m SLR could potentially cause the loss of 12 % to 15 % of agricultural land in the Nile Delta region, and could shrink Qatar’s land area by 2.6 %.

In addition to the agricultural sector, the industrial and tourism sectors, urban areas and the GDP in a number of Arab countries are in danger to be negatively impacted by sea level rise. Higher temperatures will also increase the incidence and impact of drought in the region, threatening water resources and productive land.

Drought frequency has already increased in Algeria, Morocco, Syria, and Tunisia. Recent droughts in Jordan and Syria were the worst recorded in many decades. In addition, increased rainfall variability and water resource availability directly related to climate change influence a number of the countries in the region.

A warmer climate brings with it increased climate variability, higher risk of both floods and droughts, and aggravate the already precarious situation created by chronic water scarcity faced by most Arab countries. It is recognizable that an alarming deficiency in scientific and technological capabilities, as well as the political will to tackle and face problems posed by climate change in the Arab region.

Too little scientific facilities exist to study this phenomenon, insufficient funds are allocated to such research, and the studies that are undertaken still leave gaps to be filled. Climate change mitigation and adaptation need to be included into development strategies, and issues of planning, scientific capacity, stakeholder involvement, and public awareness need to be urgently addressed.

Marine and Coastal Environment

Among global environmental issues, the one that has received most attention across nearly all domains (political, media, scientific, and civil society) is that of climate change. Although the Arab region does not contribute more than 5 % to the causes of global climate change, its effects on the region will be very severe.
In fact, the region is particularly vulnerable given already scarce water resources, high levels of aridity and the long coastal stretch threatened by the rising sea levels. Natural and physical systems in the Arab world are already facing heavy pressures, and these will only be intensified as temperatures in the region get higher and/or rainfall gets lower. According to up to date modeling studies, the Arab region will face an increase of 2 to 5.5° C in the surface temperature by the end of the 21st century.

Additionally, this temperature increase will be coupled with a projected decrease in rainfall of between 0 and 20 %. The consequences for the region include shorter winters, dryer and hotter summers, a higher rate of heat waves, increased weather variability, and a more frequent incidence of extreme weather events. Without a doubt, adaptation and mitigation strategies need to be researched, discussed, and implemented.

Sea level rise, or SLR, persuant to rising temperatures, has the potential to cause the loss of significant portions of agricultural land in the Arab region. As an example, even a 1 m SLR could potentially cause the loss of 12 % to 15 % of agricultural land in the Nile Delta region, and could shrink Qatar’s land area by 2.6 %.

In addition to the agricultural sector, the industrial and tourism sectors, urban areas and the GDP in a number of Arab countries are in danger to be negatively impacted by sea level rise. Higher temperatures will also increase the incidence and impact of drought in the region, threatening water resources and productive land.

Drought frequency has already increased in Algeria, Morocco, Syria, and Tunisia. Recent droughts in Jordan and Syria were the worst recorded in many decades. In addition, increased rainfall variability and water resource availability directly related to climate change influence a number of the countries in the region.

A warmer climate brings with it increased climate variability, higher risk of both floods and droughts, and aggravate the already precarious situation created by chronic water scarcity faced by most Arab countries. It is recognizable that an alarming deficiency in scientific and technological capabilities, as well as the political will to tackle and face problems posed by climate change in the Arab region.

Too little scientific facilities exist to study this phenomenon, insufficient funds are allocated to such research, and the studies that are undertaken still leave gaps to be filled. Climate change mitigation and adaptation need to be included into development strategies, and issues of planning, scientific capacity, stakeholder involvement, and public awareness need to be urgently addressed.

Waste Management

The Arab region produces some 250,000 tons of solid waste every day, with most of it ending untreated in landfills. Less than 20 % is appropriately treated or disposed of in landfills, and no more than 5 % is recycled.
The per person production of municipal solid waste in some Arab cities, such as Kuwait, Riyadh, and Abu Dhabi, is over 1.5 kg per day, making it one of the highest levels in the world.

Furthermore, parts of the Arab region that are undergoing rapid economic development and urbanization are also producing a lot of demolition and construction waste. Therefore, a by-product of increasing economic development, and prosperity, is that per person waste production levels are increasing.

In some countries, a significant proportion of the waste produced is not collected. In Egypt, for example, it is estimated that 35 % of municipal solid waste is not systematically collected. Another issue is the inappropriate handling, collection, and treatment of hazardous wastes originating from agricultural, industrial, medical, and urban activities. In this regard, however, it is recognizable that a number of promising initiatives that are being undertaken in the Arab region, such as legislative initiatives in the GCC, Egypt, and Oman, as well as investments into facilities can separate and handle hazardous wastes, and an increased private sector investment in recycling industries, especially in Saudi Arabia and UAE.

Ultimately, the countries in the Arab region should embark on projects towards creating an integrated system of waste management, capable of safely handling and disposing of the rising quantities of wastes that are being produced, starting with reduction and reuse, and soon reaching a high percentage of recycling.

As for industries, cleaner production technologies should be applied to reduce waste generated, instead of limiting efforts to end-of-pipe remedial treatment. New technologies are not a financial burden, as they have a very high rate of return on investments, in addition to meeting the social and environment responsibilities of industry and business in general.

Water

Is it acceptable to drain groundwater to the last drop? Is it rational that the level of water consumption per person in some of the most water-scarce Arabian Gulf countries is among the highest in the world? The unfortunate result of such unsustainable policies have been that these countries lost basic elements of water security.
The problem for the Arab region is that it is among the water-scarcest regions in the world. The average annual available water per person in the Arab countries was 977 cubic meters in 2001, falling below the UN definition of water scarcity.

The projections are dreary: by the year 2023, the figure is expected to decrease to 460 cubic meters. Actually, except for Egypt, Sudan, Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria, all the Arab countries are projected to experience severe water stress by the year 2025. Even at present, most countries in the Arab region find themselves with levels of renewable water resources far below the levels of other major regions in the world.

In fact, for many, if not most Arab countries, renewable water resources cannot cover the sustainable human needs as defined by the United Nations. Projected global warming and consequently, climate change have the potential of placing increasing pressure on already decreasing water supplies. Policy issues remain a problem when it comes to watering. Most of the available water supplies in the Arab region, surpassing 80 %, are used for irrigation. Additionally, water use efficiency levels are relatively low in the region, typically ranging between 37 % and 53 %.

Water loss and inefficient technologies need to be corrected. As per person water supplies get tighter, governments will have to implement strategic planning that can both increase water use efficiency and optimize the allocation of this scarce resource among the agricultural, industrial, and domestic domains.

The suggestion is that water policies in the Arab region will require improved management of both the supply side and the demand side, together with dedicating more resources for developing local desalination technologies. A principally striking example of the conflict that exists between rapid economic development and scarce water resources is the current boom in the construction of golf courses in certain parts of the region.

In fact, most of the present and planned golf courses are in Egypt and the Gulf region, particularly the United Arab Emirates, where water resources are already low, even by regional standards. Expansion of water-intensive projects like grass golf courses cannot go on unchecked, especially with scanty investments to develop sustainable desalination technologies.

There are plans to enlarge the 16 golf courses operating in the GCC countries now to 40 in the near future. In most cases, golf courses in the region are irrigated with desalinated sea water, treated effluent or a combination of the two.

A 2007 report released by the international consultants KPMG estimated the use of water for each golf course in the region at an average of 1.16 million cubic meters per year, reaching 1.3 million cubic meters in Dubai, enough to cover the water consumption of 15,000 residents. Using such an amount of water on leisure projects in an arid desert throws up questions about sustainability and how could this infringe on the water needs of the local community.

This is not at all a call to impede development, but rather to allocate more resources towards inventing innovative environmentally-friendly desalination methods and reliable saline agriculture techniques, suitable for the arid desert environment.