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Al-Ahram Weekly 24 - 30 August 2000 Issue No. 496 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 24 - 30 August 2000 Issue No. 496
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters
Tomorrow, in the tree-tops
By Mahmoud BakrThe Ninth Arab Youth Forum on the Environment, held recently in Damascus, served as eloquent testimony to the fact that the "green movement" has spread far beyond government decrees and the creation of specialised bodies -- positive steps in themselves, but which could not be effective if they remained top-down measures, unsupported by strong grass-roots convictions. Two hundred and fifty young men and women from seven Arab countries (Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Tunisia, Sudan, Bahrain and Syria) participated in the 12-day meeting. The Egyptian delegation included 50 members of the Arab Federation for Youth and the Environment and the Egyptian Society for Youth and the Environment. These were accompanied by a group of university professors and officials from the Ministry of Youth.
A number of high-ranking figures addressed the forum. Farouq Al-Adli, Syrian minister of the environment, told the participants that the ministry had just drafted a unified environment bill. Although Syria was the first Arab country to establish a ministry for the environment in 1991, he said, no unified law regulating environmental matters had existed until now. Said Hamadi, head of the Revolutionary Youth Council, recognised the effectiveness of such fora in rallying Arab youth, building solidarity and raising awareness of local and international issues. Ali Belan, member of the Revolutionary Youth Council and forum rapporteur, said the meeting aimed at promoting the important role of youth in disseminating information and enhancing environmental awareness at both the local and international levels.
Abu Ouf Hamed, head of the Egyptian delegation, stressed the need for environmental policy-making in the Arab world, and dwelt on the important role of youth in this context. New generations, after all, will bear the brunt of mistakes made today, and they certainly have a stake in improving the quality of air, water and soil. Brought up in a more globalised context than that their parents knew, furthermore, they are acquainted on a far more immediate and practical level with the fact that environmental improvement and environmental cataclysms alike pay no attention to political borders.
Mamdouh Rashwan, executive director of the Arab Federation for Youth and the Environment, turned to more concrete matters when he recounted the Egyptian delegation's experiences on its way to the forum. Rashwan said that Egypt always sends a large delegation to the forum, which is hosted by Syria every summer. On its way to Syria this year, the delegation travelled through Jordan and met with members of the Royal Society for Environmental Divers in Jordan, Minister for Youth and Sports Said Shaqam and Abdallah Al-Khattab, deputy governor of Aqaba. The Egyptian Society for Youth and the Environment and the Royal Society for Environmental Divers in Jordan signed a protocol for cooperation and exchange on environmental matters. The two sides also agreed to hold a meeting of Arab youth in Aqaba, in October, addressing environmental protection of the coastline.
Not in the background for long: The forum was a chance for some fun and games -- participants went horse-back riding, among other activities -- but the real work was the cleanup of Lake Zarzar's shores
photo: Mahmoud Bakr
As part of the forum's programme, participants took part in environmental activities in Jebel Qasyoun and Zarzar Lake region. According to Diaa Mishmish, this year's forum chair, next year's programme will be drawn up based on the recommendations of this year's participants, who were especially keen on more dynamic involvement in environmental campaigns, such as planting trees and cleaning up shorelines.
In addition, participants attended workshops discussing problems related to the ozone layer, climate change, desertification, biological diversity and air and water pollution as they relate to the Arab world. Galila Habashi, expert at the National Institute for Maritime Studies and Fisheries in Alexandria, supervised a number of workshops dealing with climate change and the ozone layer. During his presentation of a study entitled "The Effects of Climate Change and Ozone Depletion on the Environment and Public Health," Abdel-Razeq Safargal, professor of organic chemistry and head of the air safety department at the Ministry of the Environment, described the damage to the ozone layer caused by industry, leading to the greenhouse phenomenon, the effects of which include global warming, the melting of the polar caps, the rise in sea levels and the increased incidence of cancer, especially skin cancer. He highlighted Egyptian and Syrian plans to set common goals regarding the ozone layer, and noted that at last month's international conference on the environment in Geneva, Egypt, Syria, Tunisia and Jordan were classified as countries concerned with the protection of the ozone layer and global climate change -- clear recognition of their respect for international agreements.
On the whole, participants were satisfied with the organisation and content of the forum. Most were not professional activists, but remain committed to environmental causes. Some were attending for the first time; others, indeed, had never heard about environmental problems and their causes in such detail. Fida, 19, a Syrian high-school student, said the workshops helped her understand much more about environmental problems, including the ozone problem, climate change and desertification. Perhaps most importantly, the knowledge she had gained was not purely academic, or restricted to purely theoretical applications: Fida felt that she could use the information she had acquired to help solve such problems. Amr Abu Zeid, an applied arts student from Egypt, was pleased that the forum offered an opportunity for young people to meet decision-makers and scientific experts, and he particularly enjoyed the forum's discussion of environmental problems linked to political issues -- specifically those connected to the Arab--Israeli conflict, such as the water issue.
There were a few gripes, however: Nadia Mohsen Murad, a 20-year-old law student from Cairo University, thought that the programme was a little strenuous, while Amal Selim, a graduate in computer science from Egypt, felt that each annual meeting should be devoted to a specific environmental topic, rather than dealing superficially with a large range of topics at a single meeting.
For some, the forum was simply a good opportunity to network with young people from other parts of the Arab world, and to visit a different country. First-timer Bahga Al-Sirr Osman, a 22-year-old student of agriculture at the University of Khartoum, was pleased to have met young men and women from other Arab countries and to have seen Syria. Essam Ramadan, a student of Azhar University, also expressed his happiness at meeting other young people.
Maya Ali, 19, an art student at the University of Damascus, hoped that next year, participants would be able to see other parts of Syria and that Egypt, which she has always dreamed of visiting, would host a similar event. Khaled Tawfiq, from the Egyptian Ministry of Youth, argued that the forum was especially beneficial in enabling the exchange of information and personal contacts among members of different delegations. Others would have liked more field trips; Reem Arab, 22, a student of architecture at the University of Aleppo, wanted "more activities to integrate the participants. Also, the forum, as an environmental meeting, should be held outdoors."
As in all events of this sort, the participants worried that initial enthusiasm would be followed by apathy. Nearly all wanted to make sure that the forum's activities would be followed up. Hanan Soliman, 27, from south Lebanon, thought a committee should follow up on the implementation of recommendations "to guarantee that they are not forgotten at the bottom of a drawer." She suggested that recommendations be checked against actual achievements at the next forum. Others gave examples of real environmental work that could inspire the forum's participants. Mohamed El-Fati, 21, head of the Lebanese Scouts' Union, said that the Scouts had organised five annual events to clean up parks and coastlines.
Magdi Allam, chair of the Arab Federation for Youth and the Environment, reported that last year's meeting advocated the establishment of an environmental federation under the auspices of the Arab League to apply environmental standards to industry. Protective measures included sound waste disposal and providing job opportunities for young people in environment-related areas. The forum also called for the implementation of the build, operate, transfer (BOT) system in the field of waste disposal. Academic degrees in environmental studies should be created, Allam said, while tax and customs exemptions and soft loans could be provided to young people to establish environmental enterprises in new industrial zones. He also stressed the importance of the forum in building networks and creating links to enable Arab youth organisations to adopt unified positions on the environment at international and regional fora.
The Ninth Arab Youth Forum on the Environment concluded by calling for financial and technical support to establish an Arab Environmental Development Fund. The fund could provide grants and soft loans to enable young people to set up projects -- for instance, much-needed solid-waste recycling ventures. Participants also called for the rapid establishment of institutions to train environmental experts.
