This past January President Bashar Assad issued Legislative Decree No. 12 for 2012 related to organic farming in Syria. The decree aims at laying the foundation for developing organic production and the marketing of organic products in Syria. This Legislative Decree followed a Syrian cabinet decision taken on November 22, 2011 to pass a bill on developing organic farming. This bill was prepared in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization.

According to the Syrian Minister of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform, Riyad Hijab, the bill “comes as a result of the growing demand on organic products,” adding that it will help protect consumers and increase production. But what does this mean in light of a potential civil war for Syria?

Combining farming traditions with innovation

According to the definition of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), an international umbrella organization for organic farming organizations established in 1972, “organic farming is a production system that sustains the health of soils, ecosystems and people. It relies on ecological processes, biodiversity and cycles adapted to local conditions, rather than the use of inputs with adverse effects. Organic agriculture combines tradition, innovation and science to benefit the shared environment and promote fair relationships and a good quality of life for all involved.”

Indeed, organic farming is the form of agriculture that relies on techniques such as crop rotation, green manure, compost and biological pest control. Organic farming uses fertilizers and pesticides but excludes or strictly limits the use of manufactured fertilizers, pesticides, plant growth regulators such as hormones, livestock antibiotics, food additives, genetically modified organisms, human sewage sludge, and nanomaterials.

Interest in organic products is increasing throughout the world, particularly in industrialized economies. As of 2008, organic farming extended over almost 30.4 million hectares, in 138 countries with the highest growth in the USA, Argentina and Canada. The worldwide market was quantified in 2006 at about 38.6 billion US dollars. The biggest market is Europe (52 percent), followed by North America (45%).

The aim of this article is to describe the development of the organic farming sector in Syria.

Challenges Facing Organic Farmers in Syria

Syria has a good potential for organic farming because of its weather and because a significant percentage of its farmers attempt to preserve their ancestors’ traditions, which are already close to organic farming. Thus, chemical pesticides or other artificial farming methods are not used and the fields are irrigated with rain water.

Instead, Syrian farmers prefer natural insect traps, many of which are available locally. So, in order to qualify as an organic farm, the Syrian farmers will only have to introduce crop rotation in their fields, which would prevent depletion of soil nutrients and improve soil structure and fertility. Furthermore, there are many virgin fields in Syria that could be easily converted to organic fields and many products, like olive oil, for example, that don’t require pesticides.

The Syrian Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform (Arabic: وزارة الزراعة والإصلاح الزراعي‎) has already been using chemical-free pesticides in citrus, cotton and vegetables.

Syrian farmers, especially in the southern regions, started to practice organic farming in the mid-1980s. They first learned about it from expatriate engineers and investors. One of the first organic farmers is Ahmad al-Masalmeh, who has been producing organic olives and grapes in his organic farm, which is located in the Dar’a Governorate, south of Damascus. He started his farm in 1985 after he found out that in organic farming there is no need for expensive chemical fertilizers and pesticides and it is enough to make organic insect traps and raise farm animals to use their compost as fertilizers, what makes it a healthy, cheap and profitable endeavor.

Challenges of organic farming for Syrians

Yet, practicing organic farming in Syria has turned out to be very costly. Two main challenges have been facing the organic farmers. First of all, there is no local market for organic products as few Syrians are aware of their importance. Secondly, there is no organic certification body in Syria. Therefore, the organic farmers who wish to apply for accreditation, need to turn to an international body and pay high registration fees as well as the full cost of an inspector’s trip. The price of the accreditation varies according to the size of the farm.

Few Syrian organic farmers can afford these high costs and, as a result, they do not apply for accreditation and sale their produce as regular, non organic food.

Cotton a big organic export

Despite these challenges, Syria is producing organic crops and products, chief among them is cotton. According to Industry Research House Organic Exchange, Syria was the world’s third-largest producer of organic cotton in 2009. According to Souhel Makhoul, director of the Horticulture Research Administration at the General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research, organic cotton was produced on only 373 hectares just in 2005, but that has increased to around 28,000 hectares in 2010. A growing number of Syrian textile companies are also moving to make use of the organic cotton.

Syria also produces organic olive oil, laurel soap, medical herbs and grapes which are generally exported to the EU. However, it is hard to know the exact quantity of the organic exports since organic products have not been issued with a separate customs number and as such are simply recorded as agricultural exports.

In order to face all these challenges, the ever-increasing organic farming sector in Syria needs serious government support as well as the establishment of a local certifying body to make the accreditation costs lower.

Italy helps train organic farmers

The Syrian government stood up to the challenge and on September 4, 2005, Syria signed an agreement with the Food and Agriculture Organization for the development of organic farming in Syria from scientific and institutional points of view in order to increase its production while contributing to a better environment. This agreement was valued at 1 million USD, which was granted by the Italian government.

As a result of this agreement, the Institutional Development of Organic Agriculture in Syria (IODAS) was launched in 2006. This project was implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN in partnership with the Syrian government, represented by the General Commission for Agricultural Scientific Research (GCSAR) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform. Its aim was to prepare the grounds for the establishment of legal, institutional and scientific platforms for organic agriculture in Syria.

The project’s first part, which lasted until 2010, focused on training farmers all over the Syrian provinces on organic farming methods and interesting perspectives on the market for organic products and for this purpose, more than twenty training workshops were organized throughout the country. Yet, its main achievement was drafting a law to govern and promote organic farming in Syria, which was issued as Legislative Decree No. 12 for 2012 related to organic farming in Syria by President Bashar Assad on January 22, 2012.

The second step of the project, which started at the beginning of 2010 and is supposed to be completed in 2012, involves the creation of infrastructures to support the launch of new productions from both traditional crops, such as pistachios, olives, tomatoes and cotton, and new crops, such as cherries, citrus fruits and several vegetables.

Moreover, it aims to establish an organic farming department within the Syrian Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform to be responsible for the organic farming sector in Syria. Furthermore, it compiles market research on potential local, regional and international markets. One such market research, which was conducted in Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, and Lattakia, found that more Syrians were willing to pay more to eat organic food. It also continues to organize more workshops in order to train farmers on organic farming methods.

Another aim of this project is to consider the possibility of the establishment of a non-profit organic farmers association, which will unite organic farmers and will be able to better defend their interests and seek governmental, NGOs’ and international organizations’ support. This kind of association might also be able to attract more farmers and to lower the cost of production.

Factors Driving the Syrian Government towards Organic Farming

The question asked in this context is what has driven the Syrian government to encourage organic farming.

First of all, the Institutional Development of Organic Agriculture in Syria (IODAS) was launched following the Venice Meeting of the Ministers of Agriculture of all Mediterranean countries in 2003, which declared that organic farming is a priority and that all efforts should be spent for its development. Also, the EU looked for more potential markets, from which to import organic foods and products in relatively cheap prices. Syria, which is located close to Europe and where the force labor is cheap, answered all these criterion.

Secondly, the conventional agri-food system is becoming less sustainable from an ecological, economic and socio-ecological point of view. The Syrian government has been supporting some unsustainable agricultural conventional systems with subsidized seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation plants, fuel. The prices of raw commodities have been kept artificially high, and the prices at consumption are kept artificially low, but all these subsidies cannot last forever, because their financial weight is becoming unbearable. Still, the average agricultural incomes remain low and the rural exodus is strong.

In addition, conventional agriculture requires water and competition over the use of water has been growing everywhere in Syria. Moreover, trees and shrubs have been cut down in order to facilitate the mechanization, but it also increased wind and rain erosion, causing the loss of millions of tons of fertile topsoil every year.

Rotations and mixed farming have been abandoned, while overgrazing is menacing the pastures. Nitrates and fine chemicals, as well as heavy metals, antibiotics and animal wastes are flowing into the aquifers, whose waters are now dangerous for all forms of life.

Conflict leaves organic farms in limbo

To sum up, the deteriorating ecological conditions and the ever-increasing population pressure over dwindling natural resources, such as water and grazing land, together with the desire of the EU to create a new organic market from which it will be able to import organic products in relatively cheap prices, brought about the development of organic farming in Syria and the adoption of a more sustainable approach to agriculture. In that respect, the conversion from conventional agriculture to an organic one might be a key factor for improving both Syrian food security and the food trade balance.

Yet, it should be mentioned that despite the huge environmental step taken by Bashar Assad in relation to organic farming, most of the organic farms are located in southern Syria, where one of the rebels’ stronghold against Bashar Assad’s regime is located. So, it is very hard to know if the organic farms are functioning nowadays.

Last but not least, the development of organic farming in Syria is not unique in the Arab world. Nowadays, all Arab countries are developing the organic farming sector as a means to improve their food security, to develop a more sustainable kind of agriculture, and to import less food products from abroad. Therefore, the organic farming sector is expected to develop very fast throughout the Arab world.

Above image via gtzecosen

On October 9, 2010, Hizbullah‘s Secretary General, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, briefly came out of hiding to mark the end of Hizbullah’s campaign to plant million trees in Lebanon to restore the country’s forests. This campaign was organized by Jihad al-Binaa, Hizbullah’s reconstruction arm, and sponsored by the Lebanese Minister of Agriculture, Hussein Hajj Hassan.

With a shovel on his hand, Hassan Nasrallah was shown on Hizbullah’s al-Manar television station digging a hole, planting and watering a small tree outside his home, which was destroyed by air raids during the July 2006 War. Hassan Nasrallah, who had been last seen in public in July 2008, was accompanied by the Lebanese Minister of Agriculture for the ceremony.

Nasrallah gave a speech at the event in which he praised Jihad al-Binaa for its role in organizing this campaign.

He said that “this is an ancient Jihad for Jihad Al Binaa. However and praise be to Allah Al Mighty it was an ascending jihad. Perhaps the only period of time in which the agricultural and tree-planting side retreated was in 2006 when Jihad Al Binaa was occupied with a greater priority – namely facing the repercussions of July War in 2006. This year the effort was advanced and made greater through the advertisement and the execution of the million tree campaign.”

Nasrallah plants a tree near his home

Click here to view the embedded video.

However, Nasrallah said that planting trees should not be organized and implemented only by Jihad al-Binaa, but “we must deal with it as an important great national issue which needs mustering all efforts. Hence was the cooperation between the Ministry of Agriculture in Lebanon, the various municipalities, the youths’ societies and others.”

He added that “We, Lebanese. Always extol the green Lebanon. Of course this will soon be a thing of the past.”

According to Nasrallah, green Lebanon is not going to last much longer due to desertification, rampant building and environmental neglect.

Another reason for that, according to Nasrallah’s speech, is that the trees have a very significant role as one of Lebanon’s natural defensive characteristic.

In this context, he blamed Israel for setting trees on fire, shelling and destroying trees within the territories occupied by her in south Lebanon and the Biqa’ between the years 1982 – 2000. Also during the July 2006 War, Israel shelled many forests without any reason other than destroying one of Lebanon’s natural defensive characteristics.

Therefore, Nasrallah urged all Lebanese to follow his example and plant trees outside their homes. Nasrallah gave religious justifications to his plea by citing Islamic traditions and hadiths.

He said that “afforestation is part of Lebanese national security”, since “Lebanon Protects the tree so that it will protect Lebanon.”

The Planting Activities of Jihad al-Binaa

This ceremony marked the end of Jihad al-Binaa’s campaign to plant one million trees throughout Lebanon during the year 2010. The campaign would not be possible without the help of Syria. Its Ministry of Agriculture donated more than 800,000 trees for the project. The campaign focused on reforesting green areas burned during the July 2006 War. About 290,000 of the trees were planted in south Lebanon.

Jihad al-Binaa’s General Manager, Architect Muhammad Hajj, said a few days before the end of the campaign that “throughout 18 years, we have planted around 7,300,000 trees. The average increases yearly.”

He stressed that during the past few years, Jihad al-Binaa had been successfully planting one million trees every year and the “one million tree campaign” in 2010 just emphasized this frame of work. According to him, in 2010, the tree plantings involved cooperation with around 4,700 groups throughout Lebanon including community groups, municipalities, organizations, farmers, associations and scout groups. This campaign is expected to continue to be conducted on a yearly basis, while each year a certain region will be prioritized.

Architect Muhammad Hajj further said that the aims of the 2010 one million tree campaign are manifold: “its major aim is to enhance the environment and fight desertification, which has become a phenomenon in Lebanon due to the fires, cutting trees and other reasons. Therefore, this campaign pours into recovering Lebanon’s green cover.”

However, this project had also other aims including education of the people concerning the importance of the land, of reconstruction, of recovering greenery and of resistance. Architect Muhammad Hajj mentioned that “the Holy Qur’an focused on the importance of reconstruction and agricultural works”.  But, according to him, the most important thing is the resistance aspect of the trees, since they have served as shelter for thousands of Hizbullah fighters.

Architect Muhammad Hajj added that there have been efforts to make the Dahiyah quarter in Beirut green along with the process of its continued reconstruction following the damages that it suffered during the July 2006 War. These efforts are managed by Jihad al-Binaa in cooperation with the municipalities.

He said that “the municipalities own few lands in the suburbs, and these are rather used for public services like building schools and organizations. Therefore, they work on planting small fields instead, and plant greenery on the sides of the highways, roads, and sidewalks. Due to that, one of the ideas the municipalities consider is to plant green field on the buildings’ roofs as well”.

Jihad al-Binaa’s Environmental Activities

Nasrallah’s speech as well as the interview conducted with Jihad al-Binaa’s General Manager, Architect Muhammad Hajj, shed light on the environmental activities of Jihad al-Binaa, which began already in the late 1980s and have been going on uninterruptedly ever since, except for the July 2006 War.

Jihad al-Binaa (Holy Reconstruction Organ) is an organ within Hizbullah which   provides support services to its members, new recruits, and supporters. These services range from medical care to financial aid, housing, and public utilities. It is divided into 8 committees. Three of these committees are engaged in environmental or environmental-related issues.

The Water and Power Resources Committees has fixed over one hundred water and power stations from the Biqa’ to the South. The Environmental Committee has been active in studying and surveying polluted areas, while the Agricultural Committee has established agricultural cooperatives selling insecticides, seeds, and fertilizers to farmers at prices lower than the market price. The work of all committees is supervised by a technical and administrative committee, which is part of Jihad al-Binaa, whose main aim is to study and provide help for impoverished regions of Lebanon.

Jihad al-Binaa’s environmental activity began in the late 1980s, when Hizbullah seized control of the Shi’ite Dahiyah quarter in Beirut after defeating the Amal faction. Then, the Hizbullah leaders found themselves responsible for finding immediate solutions for the social service crisis faced by about half million inhabitants of the quarter which was about to exacerbate even more because many families, who were displaced by the fierce fighting between the Shi’ite factions in the south, continued to find refuge there.

During that period, which overlapped General Michel Aoun’s administration (1988 – 1990), the Dahiyah was almost completely cut off from water and electricity services due to neglect and fighting. As a result, about 40 percent of the water from Ayn al-Dilbin, the Dahiyah’s major source of drinking water, had been lost and its purity had been gravely compromised. In an attempt to supply the ever-growing populace, water authorities dug artesian wells but this ultimately resulted in contamination of the whole water network.

On this background, Hezbollah decided to first deal with the severe public health hazards threatening the Dahiyah, i.e., the piling garbage and the short water and electricity supply, especially in the absence of any other effective local or central authorities. Already in 1988, it started to build daily garbage collection service to remove the mountains of waste that had built up over the years.

This mechanism replaced a basic governmental function in several municipalities. This service operated five years until the Lebanese Sanitation Department started to get back on its feet. Yet, Hizbullah is still operating its daily garbage collection service and treats it with insecticides to supplement the government’s service.

In addition, Jihad al-Binaa was engaged in the installation of drinking fountains and decent toilets at public school in the Dahiyah as well as in supplying its inhabitants with emergency water delivery and electricity. With help from the Iranian government, Jihad al-Binaa constructed public water containers, provided cisterns and employed several drivers to transport water to the suburbs from nearby sources, in addition to extending the water network by some 15,000 meters of water pipes.

It built 4,000-litre water reservoirs in each district of the southern suburbs and filling each of them five times a day from continuously circulating tanker trucks. Generators mounted on trucks also made regular rounds from building to building to provide electricity to pump water from private cisterns. For that aim, Jihad al-Binaa has been purchasing the portable water from the Beirut Water Board on a daily basis and the cistern fills up from the main reservoir of Bourj Abi Haidar in Beirut. To this date, the inhabitants of the Dahiyah are still dependent on Hizbullah to provide them with drinking water.

In order to solve the problem of regular supply of water for the residents of the Dahiyah, Jihad al-Binaa presented at the beginning of the 2000s a construction plan to build the Bisri Dam project on the Awali River, which would have the capacity of collecting 600,000 cubic meters of water, from which it would draw 120,000 cubic meters for the regular water supply of the Dahiyah’s residents.

The construction of the dam has not been finalized yet. On April 24, 2010, the Lebanese cabinet finally tasked the Council for Development and Reconstruction with completing the Bisri Dam Project despite its location near a major seismic fault line.

Jihad al-Binaa has also been engaged in environmental activities in rural areas in south Lebanon and in the Biqa’. In these areas, Jihad al-Binaa has been focused on agricultural projects including training, laboratories and forestation projects. Indeed, already in 1992, Jihad al-Binaa started the “Good Tree” Project, which has been conducted annually since then. The project has involved planting trees in the different Lebanese regions.

As of 2003, Jihad al-Binaa was planting some 40,000 trees annually in each reforestation campaign.

It developed an agricultural project in the Biqa’, which emphasized farming as a religious duty that met the needs of the Muslim people. Between 1998 and 2002, Jihad al-Binaa built or renovated seven agricultural center cooperatives.

As of 2004, Jihad al-Binaa served about 5,000 farmers across Lebanon, offering pesticides and fertilizers at cost as well as a free extension service. Its veterinarians held yearly vaccinations for cows, goats and sheep, and keep tabs on fish as well. Jihad al-Binaa is also engaged with organic farming to reduce environmental stress and help meet a new domestic demand for healthy food. It used to distribute every year about half a million forest and fruit-bearing seedlings in order to help combat desertification and prevent erosion.

Summary

From the late 1980s, Hizbullah has shown itself to be really engaged in environmental activities in the Dahiyah, south Lebanon and the Biqa’, regions populated heavily by Shi’ites, and also elsewhere throughout Lebanon. These environmental activities have included public health, agriculture, and organic farming.

In the absence of governmental, regional or local and municipal authorities, Hizbullah had first conducted these environmental activities without any competition and, thus, succeeded to win the Shi’ite Lebanese allegiance and loyalty, which later on would be translated into political power in the Lebanese parliament.

Alongside the above mentioned environmental activities, Hizbullah has also been engaged in planting trees. Indeed, trees are very important to the Lebanese. Trees, and especially cedar trees,  have been connected with Lebanon from ancient times.

The cedar tree is the symbol of modern Lebanon and is shown on its flag. Lebanon without trees will not be the same country anymore. Hizbullah, as a Lebanese Islamic organization, has really worked hard on reforestation of the parts of Lebanon which have suffered deforestation and combating desertification is one of the stated goals of Jihad al-Binaa.

Green as a tactic of war

Yet, according to Hizbullah’s ideology, the greening of Lebanon has not been done for the sake of fighting desertification and afforestation of the country alone, but mainly as means of fighting against Israel.

The trees are a main strategic natural element in the struggle of Hizbullah against Israel. The trees have been serving as a place of refuge and hiding for Hizbullah’s fighters. The forests’ canopy used to hide ammunition, rocket launchers and other fighting means of Hizbullah. Thus, the trees have been an inseparable part of the strategy of Hizbullah’s ongoing struggle against Israel.

Therefore, from Hizbullah point of view, planting millions of trees in Lebanon is not only important from an environmental point of view, but it is also important for ensuring its present and future role, as it used to be in the past, as a vital strategic natural asset in the struggle against Israel. Thus, the current plantation of trees and reforestation of south Lebanon, among other regions, might also serve from Hizbullah point of view as a preparation for the next cycle of fighting against Israel, when, as Nasrallah put it, “Lebanon protects the tree so that it will protect Lebanon.”

Sources for this article can be derived via Moshe Terdiman’s website here.

Sheikh Ali Gomaa is the Grand Mufti of Egypt since September 2003 and one of the highest ranking and respected religious authorities throughout the Sunni world. He holds the second highest religious position in Egypt, after that of Sheikh al-Azhar. As the Grand Mufti, he oversees the premier institution throughout the Muslim world for religious legal direction, Dar al-Iftaa. It turns out his educational approach is also very “green”.

Sheikh Ali Gomaa (Ali Gomaa Muhammad Abdel Wahhab) was born on March 3, 1952 in Bani Suwaif in Upper Egypt. After graduating from college, Sheikh Ali Gomaa enrolled in al-Azhar University. In 1988, he obtained a PhD from the al-Azhar University’s Department of Shari’ah and Law.

During the 1990s, Sheikh Ali Gomaa served as a Professor of Juristic Methodologies in the al-Azhar University. In addition, as from the mid-1990s, he reestablished the tradition of giving informal lessons in the al-Azhar Mosque. In these lessons, Sheikh Ali Gomaa succeeded to convert Muslims who used to hold extremist views into Muslims who hold a more moderate Islamic approach. In 1998, Sheikh Ali began delivering the Friday sermon at Cairo’s Sultan Hasan Mosque.

Sheikh Ali Gomaa has taken a very clear stance against extremist interpretations of Islam and has become one of the most explicitly anti-extremist clerics in mainstream Sunni Islam. According to him, the use of violence to spread Islam is prohibited and the problem of the radical Muslims is that they have not been educated in genuine centers of Islamic learning. As from the 1990s, he used to go to the prisons and work with radical Muslim prisoners, who denounced violence and embraced the Nonviolence Initiative.

In addition, Sheikh Ali Gomaa is in favor of dialogue and understanding with other religions. He is one of the signatories of A Common Word between Us and You, an open letter dated October 13, 2007, which was written by Islamic scholars to Christian leaders, calling for peace and understanding between the followers of both religions.

Moreover, Sheikh Ali Gomaa is a signatory of the Amman Message, which gives a broad foundation for defining Muslim orthodoxy, states that nobody has the right to excommunicate a Muslim, and restricts the issuing of fatwas (religious rulings) to those with the scholarly qualifications to do so. Furthermore, he has publicly asserted that the famous anti-Semitic book, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, is a forgery.

Sheikh Ali Gomaa also issued some controversial fatwas, whose aim is to strive to show the continued relevance of Islam for people living in the 21st century, such as: the permission to sell pork and alcohol in the West; the equal political rights enjoyed by men and women in Islam, including the right to become president of a modern state; and the prohibition of female circumcision.

As part of his progressive and modern thinking and his wish to show the continued relevance of Islam for people living in the 21st century, Sheikh Ali Gomaa made Dar al-Iftaa a modern institution with a fatwa council, systems of checks and balances, a website and a call center, through which people may ask for fatwas even if they cannot come in person to the institution.

Sheikh Ali Gomaa’s progressive and modern thinking is also reflected in his statements and fatwas concerning the environment. In this article, I would like to focus on Sheikh Ali Gomaa’s environmental ideology and activity.

Sheikh Ali Gomaa’s Green Ideology

The question of how to utilize religious teachings to solve current environment-related problems has become a priority in Sheikh Ali Gomaa’s agenda. He believes that the religious traditions can offer us moral ways and principles for dealing with current environmental issues.

In his speech in front of the Parliament of World Religions in Melbourne on December 10, 2009, which was titled “the Role of Religion in Preserving the Environment”, Sheikh Ali Gomaa said that despite the fact that “in our day we are struggling with a number of issues related to the environment such as climate change, the pollution of the air, oceans, seas, and waterways, and the challenges of feeding a growing global population” and despite the fact that “many of these issues are relatively new so that our forebears did not address them explicitly, our religious traditions do offer us worldviews and principles that aid us in finding solutions to our contemporary problems”.

In order to stress this point, Sheikh Ali Gomaa used to cite in his speeches dealing with environmental issues one Qur’anic phrase and one hadith: “Do not sow corruption in the earth after it has been set in order: this is better for you, if you are believers” [7:85]; and the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, “Those who plant a tree and patiently tend to it until it bears fruit will have the reward of giving charity for everything that it produces”.

Sheikh Ali Gomaa has been outspoken on environmental sustainability. On November 2, 2009, on his speech at the Alliance of Religions and Conservation conference at Windsor Castle, Sheikh Ali Gomaa said that “it is a religious duty to safeguard our environment and advocate the importance of preserving it.

“Pollution and global warming pose an even greater threat than war and the fight to preserve the environment could be the most positive way of bringing humanity together.

“Environment-related issues ought to be a significant component of educational curricula. It is the duty of all religious scholars to acquaint themselves with the environmental crisis we are facing.”

According to Sheikh Ali Gomaa, in order to reach environmental sustainability, Muslims should understand that their role from an Islamic point of view is to be God’s vicegerents or deputies on earth.

As such, they are responsible to care for and maintain the world while benefiting from what the world has to offer. However, Muslims shouldn’t over-exploit, use, and abuse the world and its resources for their own purposes since, as Sheikh Ali Gomaa said, “it is a shared right that God has established for all living beings and we do not have the authority to deprive even animals of their rights”.

In another speech, Sheikh Ali Gomaa elaborated more on this point and said that “according to the Islamic paradigm, human beings are the vice regents of God on earth and will be judged in the hereafter for their actions and held accountable for the way they handled the environment.

Humankind is not free to consume or pollute carelessly. Preserving nature and preventing corruption in earth is one of the core responsibilities of all believers”. In fact, Sheikh Ali Gomaa said that if the Muslims take good care of the environment, they will be rewarded with goodness, but if they abuse it and leave it to ruin, they will meet a frightful end as stated in the Qur’an: “those who break their covenant with God after it has been confirmed, who sever the bonds that God has commanded to be joined, who spread corruption on the earth – those are the losers.[2:27].”

Thus, according to Sheikh Ali Gomaa, “one of the key characteristics of humankind’s role as deputies in the world is balance. We must find a balance between benefiting from the blessings that the world has to offer us, and preserving the order that God has established. We must find a balance between securing our own needs while not depriving others of theirs, whether those others reside in different parts of the world, such as less powerful nations, or in different times, such as our children and grandchildren.

“The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: All of creation are God’s dependents, and the most beloved of God’s servants to Him are those that are the most beneficial to His dependents. If we take seriously our role as God’s deputies on earth, not just by benefiting from the environment, but by preserving it and ensuring that other communities and generations will have the same possibilities to drink clean water, breath fresh air, and live in a world that is in harmony with itself and with ourselves, we may hope to be among those who are beloved to God due to their care for His creation.”

In fulfilling their role, Muslims have to collaborate with followers of other religions, because, basically, all humanity shares the responsibility to preserve the world. In his speech at the Alliance of Religions and Conservation conference at Windsor Castle on November 2, 2009, Sheikh Ali Gomaa stressed this point by saying that “we envision a world that is environmentally safe for our children and the next generations where all nations of all religions live in harmony with nature and enjoy justice and fair share of God’s bounties”.

From Ideology to Practice

Putting theory into practice, Dar al-Iftaa will be the first establishment in Egypt to be declared carbon-free by the end of 2011.[14] Sheikh Ali Gomaa mentioned this already in his speech at the Alliance of Religions and Conservation conference at Windsor Castle on November 2, 2009, where he said that “I am also very pleased to share with you that Egypt’s Dar Al Iftaa, over which I preside, has started taking practical steps to go carbon neutral in 2010.” Furthermore, Dar al-Iftaa organized and participated in international forums and conferences which deal with environmental issues, such as the Alexandria Conference on the Sacredness of Water to the Religions, which brought together Muslims and Christians.

Environmental fatwas

Besides, Dar al-Iftaa and Sheikh Ali Gomaa issue environmental fatwas. For example, in 2007, Sheikh Ali Gomaa issued a fatwa in which he prohibited the farmers from the burning of rice and cotton waste after the harvest. The farmers in the Governorates of Sharqiyyah, Gharbiyyah, Qaliubiyyah, Kafr al-Sheikh, Buhayrah, and Daqahliyyah –the six Governorates with the highest level of rice harvesting in Egypt – have been traditionally used to burn their rice and cotton waste in the fall of every year.

The smoke which comes out of this burning together with the vehicle exhaust fumes and industrial pollution add to Cairo’s already heavy pollution and as from 1999 result in a dark layer of smog over Cairo which has been known as the “black cloud”, especially in the months of October and November. This smog has affected children the most. They tend to suffer from difficulty in breathing, lung diseases, asthma or eye infections.

In order to fight air pollution over Cairo, Dar al-Iftaa issued a fatwa in which it prohibits the farmers to burn rice and cotton waste. The reason is that the burning of rice waste is considered by Sheikh Ali Gomaa as one of the acts that causes harm to the environment and, therefore, is prohibited in Islam.

As a justification for this ban, the fatwa cited Prophet Muhammad, who said that “there should be neither harming nor reciprocating harm.” The fatwa condemns people involved in the practice and regards them as “causing destruction… without any justification and this is a major sin which the Qur’an forbids.”

This fatwa concerns also those who wish to burn this waste to exterminate germs or insects in the land, because there are other methods that are less harmful. Dar al-Iftaa also requested government authorities to provide environmentally friendly alternatives to farmers to get rid of rice waste.

As a result of this fatwa, the Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs launched in November 2008 an awareness campaign targeting the farmers in the Governorates of Sharqiyyah, Gharbiyyah, Qaliubiyyah, Kafr al-Sheikh, Buhayrah, and Daqahliyyah using SMS and a hotline.

Text messages saying that the burning of rice waste is bad for the environment were circulated among the farmers.

The Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs also held a number of workshops teaching farmers how to recycle rice waste and safe methods of disposal. It also promoted other usage of rice waste such as animal feed, organic fertilizer and greatly supporting and promoting the industries which rely on the rice waste as a primary source of energy, such as paper production.

Sheikh Ali Gomaa’s environmental agenda has not been limited to Egypt alone. He took an active part in Muslim gatherings as well as in multi-religious gatherings, such as the Parliament of World Religions which convened in Melbourne on December 10, 2009 or the Alliance of Religions and Conservation conference which was held at Windsor Castle on November 2, 2009 and gave speeches dealing with the need to preserve the environment.

In these gatherings and conferences he has not spoken only on behalf of himself and his green ideology but has also represented all the Sunni Muslims. For example, in his speech at the Alliance of Religions and Conservation conference at Windsor Castle on November 2, 2009, Sheikh Ali Gomaa said on behalf of all Muslims that “we envision a world that is environmentally safe for our children and the next generations where all nations of all religions live in harmony with nature and enjoy justice and fair share of God’s bounties. We are committed to contribute to the ongoing global efforts dealing with climate change based on the Muslim Seven Year action plan that reflects Islamic principles and values.

Muslim Association for Climate Change Action (MACCA) has been founded to be responsible for implementing the plan. The response to this action plan that we launched in Istanbul has been remarkable in a lot of ways and practical steps to execute the plan are underway. Major Islamic cities are to declare the Green status soon, such as Sala in Morocco and al-Madinah in Saudi Arabia.” Only at the very end of his speech, Sheikh Ali Gomaa spoke on behalf of himself and said: “I am also very pleased to share with you that Egypt’s Dar Al Iftaa, over which I preside, has started taking practical steps to go carbon neutral in 2010.”

Together with other Sunni and Shi’ite religious scholars, Sheikh Ali Gomaa supported the Muslim Seven Year Action Plan on Climate Change 2010 – 2017, which was declared in Istanbul following an unprecedented gathering of some 200 key Muslim leaders, scholars, civil society members and government ministries from throughout the Muslim world which was convened on July 6-7, 2009.

This action plan proposes establishing institutional enabling framework; developing overall capacity to deal with climate change and environmental conservation; developing and enhancing communication, outreach, and partnerships; activating and reviving implementation of previous initiatives, plans, and declarations; investigating every level of Muslim activity from daily life to annual pilgrimages, from holy cities to the future training of imams; developing the major Muslim cities as green city models for other Islamic urban areas; developing an Islamic label for environmentally friendly goods and services; and creating a best practice environmental guide for Islamic businesses”.

Sheikh Ali Gomaa also wrote a book titled “The Environment and Its Protection from an Islamic Point of View,”  in which he put into paper his green ideology.

Green Conclusions

Sheikh Ali Gomaa has positioned himself at the forefront of the Muslim effort to tackle climate change, which he regards as the most threatening and important challenge facing humanity in the 21st century.

He took practical steps so that Dar Al Iftaa, the premier Sunni institution, will be carbon neutral in 2011. He issued a fatwa prohibiting a common custom of Egyptian farmers for the sake of not causing harm to people and the environment. He gave environmental speeches in front of multi-religious gatherings, in which he has spoken in the name of all Muslims. All this makes Sheikh Ali Gomaa a central and leading figure in the Muslim effort to tackle climate change.

There is no doubt that Sheikh Ali Gomaa’s thorough Islamic education and knowledge helped him use Islamic texts in order to deal with current environmental problems. But, what has made him better suited to represent the Sunnites and, sometimes, all Muslims in multi-religious gatherings talking about the environment from an Islamic point of view has been his belief in dialogue, understanding and cooperation with followers of other religions.

From this point of view, Sheikh Ali Gomaa has not been only a Muslim environmental influential leader but also a worldwide influential religious environmental leader, who — through his example, speeches, and ideology — has inspired many other religious scholars, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, to use religious traditions in order to preserve the environment.

Dr. Moshe Terdiman is the director of Green Compass Research. He is is a Middle Eastern studies scholar, who is an expert on Islam in Africa and the Caribbean Basin, Islamic social issues, Islam and the environment and environmental policy in the Middle East.

After looking at “The Forum of the Ornithological Society of Kuwait, the Saudi Green Blog, The Oman Eco Group Blogs, the UAE Environment & Life Blog, and the Yemenite Blog for Sciences and the Environment, we are now continuing our journey through the Middle East. Today we are arriving at the Gaza Environmental Engineering Blog.

According to the Blog’s summary, it deals with environmental engineering as well as scientific news. Its aim is to “supply all the pioneers in the fields of environmental engineering and sciences in beneficial and satisfactory information concerning the fields of environmental sciences and culture.” All this is done with an environmental encyclopedia. Active since December 2009, it is written in Arabic and administered by the students of the Department of Environmental Engineering within the Islamic University of Gaza.

General Articles on Environmental Engineering and Sciences
This blog includes many general articles on environmental engineering and sciences such as: an article on Environmental Engineering, important environmental links, international environmental dates, climate change, reports on environmental chemistry, environmental pollution, and more.

Environmental Issues in the Gaza Strip

This blog includes also many articles concerning environmental issues in the Gaza Strip. One of these articles is titled “Corrupted Fetus in Gaza because of the Israeli Nuclear Waste”. According to the authors, a Palestinian institute for human rights said in December 2009 that the birth rate of corrupted fetus in the eastern areas of the Gaza Strip increased as a result of the radiation emanating from the Israeli nuclear plants and its waste, which is buried throughout the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian Institute said that only 48% of the toxic waste from the Israeli plants is buried in the formal waste burial places, while the burial place of 52% of the toxic waste is unknown. It is suspected that it was buried in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Another article titled “Al-Mizan Center Publishes A Report concerning Environmental Pollution and the Issue of Medical Drainage in Khan Yunes” gives information about another environmental issue which is prevalent in the Gaza Strip.

On December 15, 2009, the Mizan Center for Human Rights issued a report on environmental pollution and the issue of medical drainage in Khan Yunes.  According to this report, Khan Yunes is suffering from the issue of medical drainage, also because of the negligence of Israel, which needs to establish a mechanism to drain the waste water.

Some of the recommendations mentioned are to allocate emergency funding to complete the mechanism to drain medical waste water in the city; to allocate money out of the general budget to develop the sources of water in the Gaza Strip; to prepare the rain water drainage network, and to work on benefiting from the rain water. At the end of the report, the Mizan Center stressed that Israel is to blame for the creation of the issues of the medical waste drainage as well as the pollution of ground water in the Gaza Strip and especially in Khan Yunes.

It also demanded that the international community push Israel to lift the siege from the Gaza Strip in order to allow needed materials to complete a medical waste water drainage system.

According to an article dealing with medical waste purification stations in the Gaza Strip, there are three such stations. Beit Lahiya station in the north was established in 1976 and serves about 190,000 people; the Gaza waste water station, which was also established in 1976 and serves all the population of the city of Gaza. And there is a station for the treatment of waste water in Rafah.

Moreover, an article titled “Wadi Gaza… and the Going On Blow on Human and Environmental Rights” tells the sad story of Wadi Gaza, which according to the writer of the article, instead of being a natural reserve has become a polluted river. Wadi Gaza begins near Hebron and spills into the Mediterranean Sea in the Gaza Strip. Its length is about 160 kilometers.

Wadi Gaza within the Gaza Strip is full of animal corpses, debris, solid waste, and waste water. This results in the pollution of the ground water within the Gaza Strip. The writer of the article blames Israel for all of this damage. This is because Israel built a few dams and water reservoirs in the streams of Wadi Gaza, which caused the Wadi water to stop taking its natural course and to flow less in Wadi Gaza. According to this article, Israel has been preventing water from flowing to the Gaza Strip for a long time by way of Wadi Gaza in order to build dams on the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip. Thus, in case of floods or heavy rain, the agricultural lands on both sides of the Gaza Wadi are flooded.

Sum On the Gaza Environmental Blog

The Gaza Islamic University Environmental Engineering Blog is a very unique environmental blog, since it brings to the fore the concept of the environment as seen by a militant radical Islamic group, in this case Hamas. This blog provides valuable information concerning the environmental concept of the Islamic University in Gaza, ruled by Hamas.

While giving valuable information concerning some of the environmental issues and challenges faced by the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip, the blog writers claim that the State of Israel is the source and to blame for all all these problems.

This blog is a window through which one can see how radical groups, in this case Hamas, take advantage of the environment in order to attack their enemies, in this case Israel, and blame them for all their problems, including environmental ones.

More On Environment in Gaza
Hamas Thwarts A Greener Gaza
Electric Cars in Gaza: Necessity is the Mother of Invention!
Solar Cooking Ovens: Another Eco-Solution from the Gaza Strip

After looking at “The Forum of the Ornithological Society of Kuwait,  the Saudi Green Blog, The Oman Eco Group Blogs, and the UAE Environment & Life Blog, we are continuing our journey through the Gulf countries, arriving now at the Yemenite Blog for Sciences and the Environment.

Written in Arabic and initiated in June, 2008, this is a personal blog administered and written by Omar al-Hyani. According to his profile, Omar is a journalist and a correspondent of the Arab Agency for Scientific News. He is also a member of the Arab League for the Scientific Journalists.  The blog deals with scientific issues, mostly connected to the internet, computers, media, and the crisis of the Arab sciences. However, it includes many environmental posts as well, which can be divided into three subjects: articles on general environmental issues, articles on environmental events and issues in the Arab world, and articles on environmental issues in Yemen.

Environmental Events and Issues in the Arab World
Through his blog, Omar al-Hyani has been updating his readers on environmental campaigns taking place in the Arab world. One such campaign is the one day without a paper event, which took place in the UAE on June 3, 2010. Organized by the Environmental Society – Abu Dhabi, more than 100,000 people and institutions took part in this campaign, the aim of which was to decrease paper consumption and make businesses more environmentally friendly.

Omar al-Hyani also updates his audience on environmental events and developments in the Arab world. For example, on July 11, 2010, the Arab Water Academy in Abu Dhabi organized the Arab Leaders Forum to discuss solutions for Water Problems. The aim of this forum was to organize a meeting between decision makers from the Arab world and international water experts in order to discuss how the Middle East and North Africa will deal with 21st century water challenges.

He updates his audience on future environmental events as well. On September 25-30, 2010, Abu Dhabi will host an international conference on green buildings and renewable energy. The conference is organized by the Environmental Society – Abu Dhabi and is expected to include more than 600 experts on renewable energy from 100 countries.

Articles On General Environmental Issues
The blog includes also many posts and articles that Omar al-Hyani has written himself or taken from others on general environmental issues such as: the importance of the forests for humans and the environment and the ways to protect them, natural biodiversity, plastic bottles and their health impact, and so on.

The aim of these articles is to raise environmental awareness among his readers in the greater Arab world, though he focuses on Gulf countries.

Environmental Issues in Yemen
In my opinion, the most important environmental information one can find in this blog concerns the environment in Yemen.

One such article is about Gat in Yemen, which finishes its ground water -  a very important and serious issue in Yemen, since most of its inhabitants chew ghat. Omar al-Hyani wrote another post on this issue titled “The gat and the Water in Yemen: Which will outlive the other?”

The post climate change scenarios in Yemen until 2050 addresses the first national report on climate change in Yemen from 2001. In the next 50 years, according to the report, temperatures will increase  between 1.4 to 2.8 Celsius degrees, and Yemen should expect much less rain.

The report also notes that Yemen is experiencing a lot of floods as a result of surprisingly strong rains as well as a lot of dryness and heat. The mix of floods, dryness, and heat is damaging the livelihoods of the inhabitants – most of them agriculturists – who face several problems that result in damages to their agricultural products: plant diseases, sand storms, and desertification. All of these phenomenon are threatening the country’s food security and food production.

According to Fahmi Shubraq, the vice-chairman of the climate unit within the General Association for the Protection of the Environment, the problems caused by climate changes in Yemen are loss of land and its erosion because of the strong rains in very short periods, which cause floods to happen. Water is also rare, especially in the mountain areas, where ground water is the main source of water.

Moreover, climate change in Yemen causes the spread of diseases, such as malaria, to places where they have not been known before. Farmers are also unable to grow traditional Yemenite crops, damaging the main sources of the Yemenites’ livelihoods. And because of the rise in  sea level, Yemen has been losing its historical heritage located on the coasts.

Also in Yemen, the use of natural gas is saving trees. According to this article, gas was discovered in Yemen in 1984 and has since been widely used in houses and cars. People have used gas more and more in houses for heating food, sparing trees and vegetation. However, the rise in gas prices has caused many to return to using trees for heating at home. The use of gas does not only save  trees, but also the Yemenite woman, whose traditional role is to carry logs from far away places to their homes.

Omar al-Hyani also describes natural places in Yemen, such as the Jabal Mahjar Forest, which is located 2,500 meters above sea level. The forest covers 2 square kilometers.

Omar al-Hyani’s Blog in Sum‏
The aim of this blog, like many others, is to raise awareness among Yemenites of environmental and scientific issues. It provides much information concerning environmental challenges facing Yemen in the 21st century, and also serves as an important source of information about other Gulf countries.

More On Environment in Yemen
Waterless by 2017? Yemen Capital Fails To Harvest Its Summer Rain
How Does Noise Pollution Impact the Red Sea?
Yemen’s Economic and Environmental Problems Blamed on Chewing Gat

After looking at “The Forum of the Ornithological Society of Kuwait and at the Saudi Green Blog, and at The Oman Eco Group Blogs, we are continuing our trip through the Gulf Countries and arrive this week at the UAE Environment & Life Blog. This is a new blog, which has been active since June 2010. It is written mostly in Arabic and its aim is to update its readers in all the “new scientific researches and activities which are connected to agriculture and environment.” This is a personal blog administered by Dr. Magd Juratly, who according to his biography is an agricultural engineer. His expertise lies in organic technology and consulting in agricultural issues. He has a PhD in Agricultural Sciences.

As a personal blog, it contains many posts connected to the research interests of Dr. Magd Juratly or to his work as an agricultural consultant. The blog also deals with environmental developments and projects in the UAE. In addition, it brings many scientific research articles on environmental and agricultural issues.

Product Promotion
Dr. Magd Juratly has been using the blog to promote and notify the public of some of the environmental friendly products of various companies he consults for. One such product is the EKOFLORA “Organic Fertilizer.” According to this post, these are “excellent organic fertilizers for the production of a large and healthy crop.” They are produced by “EKOFARM,” located in Turkey.

“Organic pesticides” are also profiled. These were developed to find a solution against insects and diseases that damage crops and entail an Arab-Turkish cooperation.

Environmental Developments, Projects and Coming Events in the UAE
Dr. Juratly notifies his readers on environmental developments taking place in the UAE. One of these developments is the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on July 25, 2010 between the UAE Ministry of Education and the UAE Society for Natural Life in order to raise the environmental awareness among school children.

This MoU is a result of the new strategic aims of the Ministry of Education in the field of environmental education. Both sides agreed to work together on creating environmental learning and awareness programs in all the schools. Furthermore, the MoU stressed the need to spread the environmental competitions within the schools.

In February 2010, the UAE Ministry of Environment and Water started to issue a monthly environmental magazine called “My Environment.” The Ministry issued this magazine in order to raise environmental awareness among UAE citizens and includes a variety of important articles concerning the environment in the UAE, as well as in the world. Subjects covered include agriculture, terrestrial and marine life, and various others.

In addition, the blog updates its readers on upcoming environmental events. One example is the Fourth International Date Palm Exhibition, which will take place in Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates University on October 20-24, 2010. This exhibition will be conducted under the auspices of al-Sheikh Nahyan Mubarak Al Nahyan, the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research. The exhibition will deal with all aspects concerning dates and palms: different species, production, and tightening connections between the different date and palm growers from the UAE and from other countries.

Another event is the exhibitions of “Gardens and External Beauty in the Middle East” and “Lighting in the Middle Eas.” These exhibitions will take place in Dubai between October 31, 2010 and November 2, 2010. The “Lighting in the Middle East” exhibition will focus on lighting solutions in the cities, buildings, theaters, etc., as well as lighting in the greater Middle East and North Africa. The “Gardens and External Beauty in the Middle East” exhibition is the international commercial exhibition for gardens, external beauty and landscape engineering.

Environmental and Agricultural Scientific Researches
The blog includes also many posts concerning general environmental scientific research, which are not limited to the UAE. For example, it includes posts on the importance, advantages and types of biosphere reserves,  Syrian cotton, Bio & Organic Shops, the benefits and importance of coated seeds, the benefits and importance of natural reserves for humans and the environment, the importance of  forests for  humans and the environment and how to protect them, environmental pollution, and reflections on the spread of environmental diseases and more.

UAE’s Blog in Sum
Dr. Magd Juratly has been using his blog for three different aims. The first is to notify the public in the UAE concerning environmental friendly agricultural products. The second is to notify the public in the UAE on environmental developments in the country and future environmental events that will take place. Lastly, he has included many scientific articles concerning environmental and agricultural issues.

Thus, the posts in this blog comprise a mix of Dr. Juratly’s research interests as well as spesific posts focused on the environment. In this way, he has been working hard to raise environmental awareness among the public in the UAE.

More On Environment in The UAE
Growing Green Ethic amongst Emirati Businesses
Public Transportation Takes Flight in Dubai
Solar Power To The People Of Abu Dhabi
Organic Farms Growing in Dubai

After looking at “The Forum of the Ornithological Society of Kuwait and at the Saudi Green Blog, we are continuing our trip through the Gulf Countries and arrive this week at the Oman Eco Group Blog. This blog has been active since July 2008 and is administered by the Environmental Co-Op Group (ECO-Group). This group, as written in the blog, “has been the first environmental group founded in Oman consisting of teachers and students.” Its aims are to “make people aware of the environment” and to “share ideas and experience with people around the world in the field of environment & discuss environmental issues.”

Campaign for the environment

The contributors to the blog are Salim Al-Busaidi, Hamed al-Rawahi, and someone nicknamed Asmaa Oman and all are committed to sharing its involvement in environmental campaigns, conferences and projects with its readers. We have listed some of those here:

ECO-Group participated in the Second Wahiba Cleaning Campaign in Bidya. They also joined the No To Plastic Bags For Oman Campaign organized by the Environment Society of Oman, in which students educated the people about the importance of using eco-friendly bags. Finally, ECO-Group members visited the Sultan Qaboos University in order to participate in the Agricultural Festival organized by the College of Agriculture.

Oman ECO-Group has not only been involved in environmental campaigns, but has also organized some of its own. For instance on January 24, 2004, the teachers Salim Al-Busaidi and Hamed al-Mahrooqi as well as ten pupils from Adam School for Basic Education went out to clean the Valley of Halfeen. In 2008, the group initiated the longest environmental petition in the world, which “aim[ed] to collect signatures and comments about conserving the environment and spread awareness among people,” especially among students, teachers, and society individuals.

In November 2008, Oman ECO-Group launched a campaign for the reduction use of plastic bags and for the use of bags which are made of environment-friendly materials instead. The campaign was launched in Osama Bin Zaid School, and then included other schools and some big shops in Adam. Rawabi Al-Jamae super market promised to provide these bags to its customers with some monthly prizes.

In December 2008, Oman ECO-Group launched an active campaign in order to raise environmental awareness among the people in Adam. As part of this campaign, the group members went to markets, government institutions, and schools to distribute some important environmental materials detailing ways to save the environment, protect wildlife and conserve water.

Environmental awareness through art

Oman ECO-Group has also used performances, movies, and songs in order to raise environmental awareness among children. For example, a post published on October 7, 2008, describes how members of the Oman ECO-Group celebrated Idd Al-Fitr by participating in Al-Bashaer club annual celebration. During the celebration, the group members performed the first environmental play in Adam & Manah towns, called “Environment Friends.”

This play was written by T. Salim Al-Busaidi, directed by T. Mahmoud Al-Kusaibi, and performed by Hamed Al-Mahrooqi, Majdi Al-Mahrooqi, Muktar Al-Mahrooq, Majid Al-Asmi and Mohammed Al-Busaidi. Two songs about the environment and a movie about ECO Group were presented in the celebration.

It also organized, together with al-Bashaer Club, an environmental fine arts competition between pupils from 8 schools from Adam & Manah. The pupils used materials such as plastic, CDs, batteries, and bottles in order to create their pieces of art. This competition resulted in the environmental fine arts exhibition, which was opened on September 26, 2008 by Mr. Hilal Al-Shaqsi, Director General of Al-Dakillia Directorate of Sport Affairs, and Sheikh Sultan Al-Mahrooqi, president of Al-Bashaer Club. The exhibition was designed by Teacher Ayman Khalil Ibrahim from Osama Bin Zaid School.

Sporting environment

Moreover, Oman Eco-Group has organized sport events in order to raise environmental awareness among students, including the soccer league to save the environment, and a walk day and running race.

Although this blog has not been active since March 2009, Salim Al-Busaidi created a new website for the Oman ECO-Group, which is called the Oman ECO-Group. This website includes a blog, which was opened in December 2008 and has been active ever since. This blog is written mainly in Arabic and has the same goals as its predecessor.

More On Environment in Oman

And The Green Globe Goes To… Park Inn Muscat, Oman
Omani Handicrafts Face Extinction Versus Machine Made Imitations

After looking at a personal Iraqi environmental blog, and at “The Forum of the Ornithological Society of Kuwait, we are arriving at the Gulf countries. This time, we are flying to Saudi Arabia and to a blog called “Green Papers”. Written in Arabic by a young Saudi woman named Faten, who has a Masters Degree in Environmental Management Technology, this blog has been active since April 26, 2010.

According to the post called “Who Am I”, this blog deals specifically with environmental issues in Saudi Arabia and generally with environmental issues throughout the world. Faten hopes to create a unique environmental awareness in the Arab society. This, in order to take even a limited part in the protection of the earth.

Environmental Institutions in Saudi Arabia

The blog includes some information on environmental institutions in Saudi Arabia.

One of the most important environmental institutions in Saudi Arabia is the Saudi Society for Environmental Sciences, established on February 28, 2006. The Society was established as a result of the resolution of King AbdulAziz University’s Council in order to level up the environmental sciences and develop scientific thought in the environmental fields. This Society aims also at spreading environmental awareness and facilitating the means of communication and exchange among the concerned experts. The society also gives consultancy services to other Saudi institutions.

Another important institution is the Saudi Green Building Council (SGBC), chaired by Sultan Faden and comprised of environmentalists and environmental engineers. This council has encouraged the concept of green building by disseminating information about building materials which are less damaging for the environment, waste recycling, heat insulation, and making the energy consumption more efficient.

On April 27, 2010, Prince Turki bin Naser, the general manager of the Coucil for Meteorology and the Protection of the Environment, announced that environmental societies will be established all over Saudi Arabia. He also announced that the first court which deals only with environmental issues has been in existence since 2001.

In addition, the General Council for Meteorology and the Protection of the Environment established stationary and mobile environmental laboratories in order to have more information on the pollutants in general. This is part of the plan that the General Council for Meteorology has been preparing in order to increase environmental awareness.

Environmental Projects in Saudi Arabia

On July 22, 2010, a post titled “School Sens” describes the School Sens project, which was launched by the Saudi Environmental Society in cooperation with the Ministry of Education. The project includes a number of kindergardens and schools. The aim of this project is twofold: to make children aware of the environment and its protection and to train teachers on the environmental principles that will make this project a success. It is being implemented in Jeddah and ‘Anizzah.

In a post published on June 25, 2010, Faten reported that the Higher Committee for the Protection of the Environment in Riyadh, under the chairman Sutam bin Abd al-Aziz, conducted its sixth meeting in the headquarters of the Higher Association for the Development of al-Riyadh City.

This meeting focused on an implementation plan for the protection of Riyadh’s environment, which includes 48 environmental projects divided into 5 categories: pollution, waste, water resources, natural resources, the open areas and natural life, and environmental management.

In another post titled “The Global Gardens of King Abdullah… The Peak of Magnificence…, Faten describes the Global Gardens of King Abdullah’s giant project in Riyadh, considered to be one of the most important environmental projects globally, as well as an historical achievement.

The Gardens will be located in the west part of Riyadh, near the Riyadh-Jeddah Highway, on  approximately 2 million square meters of desert land; they will use recycled water and renewable energy systems and include trails for people to walk and enjoy. According to the post, the second phase of the project will begin after Ramadan and the whole project will take 30 months to complete.

During the last two months, demands to establish an environmental police have been raised in Saudi Arabia. The General Manager for the Protection of the Natural Life in Saudi Arabia, Prince Bandar bin Muhammad Al Sa’ud. Also, and businesswoman Khadija Bukhari are among those calling for an institution that will police environmental protection.

Environmental Developments and Events Throughout the World

On July 24, 2010, Faten announced the  annual environmental conference organized by the Arab Forum for Environment and Development to be held on 4-5.11.2010 in Beirut.

The Arab Forum for Environment and Development was established in 2006 in Beirut as a regional NGO. It includes environmentalists, civilian society organizations, and businessmen. Its aim is to encourage environmental policies and projects throughout the Arab world. According to the 2010 annual conference brochure, this year’s event will focus on water.

Saudi’s Blog in Sum

Although this blog is relatively new, it includes a lot of important material on the current environmental situation in Saudi Arabia and on the efforts of the Saudi government to raise the environmental awareness among the public.

It has the potential to reach a lot of people throughout Saudi Arabia. According to Saudi Arabia Internet Usage and Marketing Report, the number of the Saudi internet users as of June 2010 is 9,800,000, who comprise 38.1% of the overall Saudi population totaling 25,731,776.

Since the number of Saudi internet users has been rising dramatically in the last few years and this tendency might continue, this blog and others might reach more and more people and hopefully make a difference in the country’s environmental situation.

Top image via joi

More On Environment in Saudi Arabia

Protective Fence Causes Mass Starvation of Saudi Wildlife

Summer Heat Jams Power Production in Oil-rich Saudi Arabia

Saudis Listen to Call for Green Hajj

After looking at a personal environmental blog from Lebanon , at a Syrian environmental blog that raises environmental awareness among the Syrian public, and at a personal Iraqi environmental blog, we are flying this time to Iraq’s neighbor, Kuwait. Here, we will take a little break from environmental blogs and review a unique environmental forum, which is all about birds.

Called “The Ornithological Society of Kuwait’s Forum,” this site is dedicated to birds only, and is administered by the Ornithological Society of Kuwait. It is written in Arabic and has been active since January 2008.

According to its website, the aims of the Ornithological Society of Kuwait include “bird studying, protecting, watching, and identifying for all the free flying birds in Kuwait; establish and run bird reserves in important bird areas and liaise with government officials; publish a bilingual full annual bird report to include all sightings of birds and the status of their habitat; educate the public by lectures and meetings; publish flyers, posters to educate the public for the protection of birds; and establish a library to include most important birding books and magazines.” If you’re a birder, this site is for you.

The Ornithological Society is divided into 4  forums, which are divided in their turn to several smaller forums. The big ones are: Bird Forum, Bird Monitoring, Wildlife, and Environment Protection.

The Bird Forum includes several smaller forums, which are: the general forum, bird photos & comments, ID forum, books and literature, bird equipment, and bird photography and editing.

The Bird Monitoring Forum includes two smaller forums: Rare Birds and Bird Sightings.

The Wildlife Forum includes three smaller forums, which are: the Plants Forum, the Wildlife Forum, and the Insects Forum.

The Environment Protection Forum includes one small forum with the same name.

As can be seen from the subjects of the different forums, the forum includes posts on every subject which one might have on his mind and has to do with birds. It includes photos of many birds that can be sighted in Kuwait; travels to different parts in Kuwait in order to photograph birds and go bird sightings; the various kinds of cameras which are best to photograph birds; questions on kinds of birds and birds’ identification; books about birds in Arabic and English

Recruiting the Public to Support Environmental Campaigns

In addition, the site serves to inform and ask for the support of the Kuwaiti public in the environmental campaigns run by the Ornothological Society of Kuwait. For example, on August 9, 2009 a post titled “Together We Will Stop A Project which Ruins Our Environment,” calling thw Kuwaitis to support the Ornothological Society of Kuwait in its demands to stop the building project of 5,000 housing units in Jaber al-Ahmad City, as well as the building project of 1,750 housing units in the northern part of al-Dawha City and, to build there a national garden instead, which will be a tourism site.

According to the Ornothological Society of Kuwait, these sites are unique in the framework of all the Arab Gulf. They are encircled by shallow sea beaches comprising of mud sediments, which serve as the main food of the fish and birds who are in the area.

It is also a place of rest and stopover for the migrating birds and a place where rare plants can be found, which are fed by the sediments found in the area. In addition, the establishment of human presence near these beaches might pollute the ground water, which is naturally flowing into the sea and will pollute it due to its shallow waters, and, thus, will cause the death of the animals and plants, which, in their turn, serve as food for the human being.

This post includes also pictures of the area, pictures of the birds and plants that can be found in the area and more information on the ecological importance of the area.

This post is not the only one which campaigns to save the area of the Western Jadiliyat, where the cities of al-Dawha and Jaber al-Ahmad City are located.

During the years 2008 and 2009, the Society posted more posts calling the public to support its campaign to save the area and informing the Kuwaitis about the area and what happens there.

Informing the Public On Kuwait’s International Green Conventions

The Society  also uses its blog in order to inform the Kuwaitis on international environmental conventions that Kuwait has joined.

In a post published on July 18, 2009 ––  “The CITES  Convention” –– The Ornothological Society of Kuwait told the Kuwaitis that Kuwait signed the Convention On International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora only in 2002.

The post includes links to the CITES website, the clauses of the convention in English, and the Kuwaiti people who are responsible for the implementation of the convention in the country.

The Ornothological Society has used its forum not only for the purpose of informing the public concerning international environmental conventions that Kuwait is part of, but also concerning the conventions that it is not part of, but should be.

One such post –- “Convention On the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals” –– which was posted on July 18, 2009, the Ornothological Society of Kuwait mentioned that Kuwait, Iraq, and Qatar are the only Arab countries that have not signed this convention or a MoU on this issue.

Oman and the UAE signed an MoU on this issue. This, according to the author, shows the low environmental level of Kuwait in contrast to other Arab countries. In order to stress its point, the post includes also a link to the clauses of the convention in Arabic and two maps showing the signatory parties and the non-signatory parties on the convention.

Kuwait’s Forum In Sum

The Ornithological Society of Kuwait’s Forum is rich in details concerning the birds in Kuwait and together with the Ornithological Society of Kuwait’s website, it serves as a complementary source to know more about the birds in Kuwait and on other issues that the Society is involved in. It also serves as a forum where the participants may ask questions and be given answers concerning every issue which has to do with birds in Kuwait.

Indeed, as we saw in previous blog reviews, also in this case the Ornithological Society of Kuwait uses the forum as a means to educate Kuwaitis through the internet on birds and on why it is important to protect the birds and the environment.

In Kuwait, unlike in its neighbor Iraq, the number of internet users in Kuwait (according to Kuwait Internet Usage and Marketing Report) is just less than half of its population –– 1,100,000 out of an over all population of 2,789,132 ––  which is almost 40%.

This means that many Kuwaitis are potentially exposed to this forum. As the number of the internet users in Kuwait is expected to rise even more, then the forum will have a lot of exposure.

Hopefully this exposure will help the Ornithological Society of Kuwait in realizing its aims and in making this unique forum, which is the only one in the country which is dedicated only to birds, a platform for raising the awareness of the Kuwaitis to the importance of protecting the birds as well as protecting the environment.

More On Environment in Kuwait
Method To Seal Spill in Kuwait Could Work for Gulf Oil Spill
Kuwait Still Cleaning Up Environment After Saddam’s Mess
Kuwait Marine Life Degrading to Alarming Levels

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After looking at Mazen Abboud’s environmental blog from Lebanon and at SAWA for A Better Syrian Society, we are flying this week to Syria’s next-door neighbor, Iraq, and to a blog written in Arabic called The Iraqi Environmental Blog, active from September 2008. This comes in due time, as we learn about Iraqi bird conservationists risking life and “wing” to save birds in the face of Al Qaeda infidels.

This blog is a personal blog written in Arabic by Alaa Kamel Alwan (left), an Iraqi engineer. In his profile, Alaa writes about himself that he lives in Basra, Iraq, and that he is “an environmental activist and an informant as well as a member of the Arab Professional Informants League.”

In his first post  titled “the Iraqi Environmental Blog“ Alaa Kamel Alwan writes that this is a “personal initiative,” which aims at supporting the realization of the 10th principle of the Rio Declaration from 1992 concerning the transparent distribution of environmental information among the civilians.

As such, this blog informs the readers about: the Iraqi government ministries, newspapers, societies, and universities which deal with environmental issues; the Iraqi environmental legislation; the activities of the Iraqi environmental societies; the Iraqi environmental publications; and reports on the environment in Basra and the Marshes.

The Iraqi Environmental Organizations
According to this blog, there are many Iraqi organizations which deal with the environment.

Those include:

The College of Environmental Science and Technology in the University of Mosul, which was established in 2006

Women & Environment Organization, which was established in 2005

The Organization for the Protection and Improvement of the Iraqi Environment, which was established on August 21, 2003

The Natural History Museum in Baghdad, which was established in 1946

The Society for the Protection of the Iraqi Environment, which was established on September 30, 2003

The Iraqi Environmental Ministry, which was established in November 2003

Together Society for the Protection of the People and the Environment, which was established in 2005

The Center for Environmental Studies in the University of Technology, which was established in 2004

The Center for the Research of the Marshes in Dhi Qar University, which was established in 2004

The Iraqi Meteorological organization and Seismologyin the Ministry of Transportation, which was established in 1923

The Center for Solar Energy Research in the Ministry of Sciences and Technology

The Center for Energy and Fuel Research in the University of Technology, which was established on November 20, 2004

The Center for Maritime Sciences in the University of Basra, which was established in 1976

and the Nature Iraq Organization

In spite of the fact that there was almost no environmental activity during Saddam Hussein’s rule, it is impressive that, according to above mentioned list, the current Iraqi organizations and institutions dealing with the environment include a whole array of governmental institutions, research centers, environmental societies, and civil society organizations.

It is noteworthy that none of the these Iraqi environmental institions and organizations were established during the rule of Saddam Hussein over Iraq from 1979, until theafter the American invasion of Iraq, and the fall of Baghdad and the Saddam Hussein’s regime in April 2003. A few of these organizations were established before Saddam Hussein rose to power in 1979.

Iraqi Environmental Legislation
The Blog also gives information concerning the environmental laws that have been promulgated in Iraq recently. These environmental laws include: The Law of the Joining of the Iraqi Republic to the Agreement On Biodiversity from August 19, 2008; The Law of the Ministry of Environment from September 13, 2008; The Forests Law from 2009; The Law of the Agreement of the Iraqi Republic to Join the Basel Agreement from January 14, 2009; The Law of the Joining of the Iraqi Republic to the UN Framework Agreement for Combatting Desertification from April 14, 2009; The Law of the Environment’s Protection and Improvement from September 29, 2009; and The Law for the Protection of the Terresetrial Animals from January 25, 2010.

The environment was part of the Iraqi constitution too. In a post titled “the Environment in the Iraqi Constitutions“ Alaa shows that even under Saddam Hussein’s rule, the environment was very important. In the 64th clause of the 1991 Draft Constitution of Iraq, it is said that “secondly, all the state’s mechanisms and all the people have to protect the environment from pollution and from damages to its beauty and function.”

This draft constitution was never promulgated, but, still, it shows that even Saddam Hussein understood that the First Gulf War caused a lot of damage to the environment in Iraq.

Then, at the same post, Alaa cites the 33rd clause of the 2005 Iraqi constitution, which says that “first of all, everyone has the right to live in healthy environmental conditions and, secondly, the state guarantees the protection of the environment and biodiversity.”

The Iraqi Environmental Publications
Alaa enumerates some environmental written publications which have been in existence during the last five years.

The first of these publications was “The Environment and Life.” This is the first Iraqi environmental magazine, which is issued by the Center for Environmental Information and Awareness, which belongs to the Iraqi Environmental Ministry. The first magazine was issued in December 2005. This is a monthly magazine which includes articles, researches, environmental reports, local and global environmental news and details about the projects conducted by the Ministry of Environment throughout Iraq.

Another publication mentioned in the blog is the “Iraqi Magazine for Aquaculture.” This bi-yearly magazine is issued by the Center for Maritime Sciences in the University of Basra. It is issued both in Arabic and in English.

Reports On Environmental Events and Projects
This blog serves also to inform the public about environmental events and projects which are taking place or will take place in Iraq.

A good example is the report concerning the first environmental international conference on radioactive pollution and its implications on the environment and health in Iraq. This conference will be held in Baghdad on November 23 – 24, 2010 under the slogan “towards a real treatment to decrease the suffering of the victims of the radioactive pollution.” This conference is organized by the Iraqi Center for International Studies together with the Department of Geography – Ibn Rushd Cultural Faculty – University of Baghdad.

This report follows many other articles posted in the blog on the campaign to clean Iraq from the radioactive pollution, which started in 2009 and is still continuing. Since Basra and its environs suffered from radioactive pollution more than any other area in Iraq and the author of the blog is from there, it is no wonder that he dedicates many posts to this issue.

Another example is the report about a new environmental-friendly regulation that the supervisor over the Iraqi elections to the parliament issued in December 2009. In the third chapter, which talks specifically about the conditions of the election campaigns, one can find also conditions for protecting the environment, such as prohibition to use glue, gum, and other materials; prohibition to write on the fences. Whoever breaks these conditions will have to pay a fine.

Reports On the Environment in Basra and the Marshes
Since Alaa is from Basra, it is not surprising that many of his posts describe the environment in Basra, the marshes, and the natural reserves there, such as al-Safiya Natural Reserve.

Suggestions for the Upgrading the Situation of the Iraqi Environment
The blog’s author also makes suggestions how to upgrade the situation of the Iraqi environment. These suggestions include: activation of the new Iraqi constitution to convict whever damages the environment; establishing an environmental police as did Jordan; prohibition of import of materials and products that damages the ozone layer and imposition of a high tax on it; promulgation of a law that will force the car owners to maintain their cars according to the exhaust gas international standards as a basic condition for the renewal of their driving license as is done in Egypt; establishing factories for the recycling of waste as happens in the UAE; establishing environmental-friendly incinerators to treat the medical waste in all the hospitals; establishing an expert committee for ways to clean Iraq from the radioactive pollution.

A Sum of the Iraqi Environmental Blog
The Iraqi Environmental Blog is rich in details concerning the environment in Iraq and serves as a very good source to learn about it as from April 2003, when the Saddam Hussein’s regime was toppled.

One can learn from this blog that since April 2003 a lot of environmental organizations, societies, research institutions, publications, internet websites have been established and the environmental awareness among the Iraqi public has been increasing.

In this way, the author, who is an environmentalist and an informant, really realizes the aims for which he opened his blog. He gives the Iraqi public a very detailed information about the issue of the environment in Iraq.

The problem is that according to the Iraq Usage and Marketing Report, as of June 2010, there were only 325,000 Iraqi internet users out of a total population of 29,671,605 people, who comprise only 1.1% of the total Iraqi population.

This means that for the time being the detailed environmental blog does not reach most of the Iraqi population. However, the number of internet users is growing and as a result the environmental awareness among them might increase too.

::Iraqi Environmental Blog

More on Environment in Iraq:

Nature’s Conservationists in Iraq Work in a Firing Zone
Killing in the Name of Water… in Iraq
Will Zaha Hadid Start Thinking Green?

Top image via joi.