A new study by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) paints a stark picture of agricultural land degradation, particularly in the Arab region. More than 46 million hectares—nearly two-thirds of all land suffering human-induced damage in the region—are now at risk. The findings, published in Agriculture (MDPI), stress the urgent need to restore degraded land to safeguard food supplies, especially where climate pressures are mounting.

The Arab Spring started because of the price of bread and the lack of water resources to grow food. The civil war in Syria began for the same reasons. As the Arab world gets drier, conflicts in countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan will only get more intense.

Globally, an estimated 1.66 billion hectares of land have been degraded by human activities such as deforestation, overgrazing, mismanaged irrigation, and heavy chemical use. Over 60 percent of that damage falls on croplands and pastures—the soils that feed 95 percent of the world’s population. If allowed to worsen, degradation could undercut entire agrifood systems and the communities that depend on them.

Related: this greenhouse technology grows food on salty aquifers 

Across the Arab world, croplands face a perfect storm of stressors. Excessive fertilizers and pesticides erode soil ecology. Poor drainage and over-irrigation drive salinization, leaving fields crusted with salt. Rising temperatures, dwindling groundwater, and more frequent sand-and-dust storms—all amplified by climate change—compound the crisis. These are unmistakably human-driven pressures, and they are accelerating. Consider that Morocco lost half its wheat last year from drought. How many more migrants and climate refugees from the Middle East and North Africa can Europe accept? The solution is to help.

Less than 4 percent of degraded land in the Arab region is currently earmarked for restoration. FAO analysts calculate that rehabilitating 26 million hectares of worn-out cropland could trim yield gaps by as much as 50 percent for oil crops and lift cereals, roots, and tubers toward their full potential—a direct boost to local food security and rural incomes.

The study urges governments, farmers, investors, and researchers to adopt integrated soil, water, and land-management strategies designed to stop further degradation and rebuild fertility. Rather than relying on one-off projects, it recommends coordinated regional programs that share data, finance, and know-how—tailored to the diverse ecological zones from Morocco’s Atlantic coast to Iraq’s river valleys. Israel has water technologies from water companies such as Netafim to help rip irrigation deliver more drops per crop.

Momentum is growing. Recent ministerial meetings in Riyadh committed to ambitious restoration targets, and the UN’s FAO-backed NENA Regional Investment Framework for Ecosystem Restoration is lining up “champion countries” to pilot scalable projects. Innovative tools such as the Suitability Crop Platform—an open database of soil profiles, climate metrics, and crop requirements—are making it easier for farmers and planners to match the right crops to recovering lands.

See this museum of Middle East soil in the UAE

Healthy soils do more than grow food. They store carbon, regulate water, and support biodiversity—services that underpin every other climate-adaptation effort. By restoring degraded fields, countries in the Arab region can build jobs, reduce rural poverty, and bolster resilience against heat and drought. The lesson is clear: investing in the ground beneath our feet is the fastest way to secure food sovereignty in a hotter, drier future.

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Mersu (also transliterated mirsu) is a simple, sweet confection made from dates and nuts, with occasional additions like honey or spices. Its earliest written record appears on Old Babylonian cuneiform tablets, dating back over 3,700 years to the time of Hammurabi (circa 1800 BCE). The tab

In Mesopotamia, which is modern day Iraq, the date palm was revered as a symbol of fertility, abundance, and divine favor. Mersu was not an everyday snack—it was crafted by temple cooks and royal pastry chefs as ritual offerings, served during religious festivals and placed in temples as gifts to the gods.

These tablets describe Mersu not as a precise recipe, but as a food category—a kind of sweet lump or cake made from pounded dates and nuts, shaped by hand. Sometimes flavored with ghee, honey, or sesame, these sticky morsels offered both nourishment and symbolism, representing the bounty of the gods and the richness of the land between the Tigris and Euphrates.

Related: this Iraqi sweet is made from cattail pollen

Authentic Mersu Recipe (Modern Interpretation)

This modern take is adapted from cuneiform-era ingredients. It’s naturally gluten-free, vegan, and requires no cooking—a testament to the timeless ingenuity of ancient foodways.

Ingredients:
1 cup soft, pitted dates preferably Medjool because they are soft and malleable. Other dates might be too dry.

½ cup chopped nuts (e.g., walnuts, pistachios, or almonds)

1–2 tablespoons honey (optional but traditional)

Optional Additions:
A pinch of cinnamon or cardamom

A drizzle of sesame oil or a few crushed sesame seeds

A touch of salt to balance sweetness

Cacao nibs/raw cacao powder

Chia seeds

Make an ancient versions of mamoul, a Middle Eastern date cookie by using an emmer wheat or Einkorn flour covering.

An emmer wheat coating, like a fig newton can be made from these ingredients

• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 1/2 cup of artisan bread flour and 1 cup of Einkorn flour
• 2/3 cup ghee
• 70 g honey
• 1/2 Teaspoon of rose water

Instructions:
Mash the dates using a mortar and pestle or food processor until smooth and sticky. Our favorite way is to buy a rectangle of date paste. Find it in Middle East or Asian food markets. It makes making mersu so easy!

Mix in the chopped nuts, honey, and any optional spices or seeds.

Form into small balls or patties with your hands—about the size of a walnut.

Serve as is, or roll in extra crushed nuts or sesame for texture.

Serving Notes:
Mersu is energy-dense and sweet—think of it as a Bronze Age power snack.

Serve on a small plate with tea, or offer it as part of a ritual meal to honor the culinary traditions of ancient civilizations.

Some of the earliest references to Mersu appear in the context of offerings to Ishtar (goddess of love and war) and Marduk (chief god of Babylon), suggesting that these sweets were thought to please the divine palate as well as the human one.

“For me, let them bring in the man of my heart. Let them bring in to me my Ama-ushumgal-anna, the Power of the Date-Palm. Let them put his hand in my hand, let them put his heart by my heart. As hand is put to head, the sleep is so pleasant. As heart is pressed to heart, the pleasure is so sweet.” ~ A kunĝar (Sumerian religious song) to Inanna

These are great snacks to make for kids. Keep them in an airtight plastic container in the fridge for weeks. If you have a nut allergy in the school or family, sub out the nuts with seeds. The whole thing is really versatile. Dates are packed with natural sugars, fiber, and essential vitamins like B6, B3, and B5, which support energy, brain health, and metabolism. They also contain vitamin A for vision and immunity, and vitamin K for bone strength and blood clotting. Rich in antioxidants and minerals like potassium and magnesium, dates are a naturally sweet, nutrient-dense food that has sustained people for thousands of years.

New research suggests that vitamins and amino acids like taurine found in health snacks and energy drinks may not be a biohacking secret. They might actually lead to cancer. Follow the secrets of the ancients, and biohack from the past!

If you love this idea, jump ahead where our writer Kelly Milone makes energy balls from dates, and coconut. No doubt her history is informed by mersu!

The post Make mersu, the oldest known dessert in history appeared first on Green Prophet.

Zaha Hadid may have passed away in 2016 at 65, but her architectural spirit continues to shape the Middle East with grace, innovation, and a reverence for heritage. Her UK-based firm carries her legacy of bold Middle Eastern sensuality. She wasn’t shy to dominate an all-male world of starchitects becoming one herself. She even designed refugee shelter with her own brand of culture and grace.

The latest project carrying her name—the Asaan, Misk Heritage Museum in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia—is more than just a cultural institution. It is a homecoming for Muslim and Arabian influence on design and architecture.

Hadad was the first female and first Muslim to win the coveted Pritzker prize.

She was known as “The Lady Gaga of Architecture” but her work was not sustainable by design.

Designed by Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) which continues her legacy, and supported by the Misk Foundation, the new museum blends low-carbon adobe construction, according to press materials with bold contemporary design, becoming ZHA’s first earthen building globally. Yet despite its forward-thinking form, the Asaan Museum is built literally and metaphorically from the soil of Saudi heritage.

Related: Zaha Hadid dead at 65

“Asaan” means “inheritance passed down through generations,” and that inheritance is being reimagined in the heart of the Najdi world. The museum will rise in Diriyah’s historic At-Turaif district—a UNESCO World Heritage site where 600 years of mud-brick architecture tell the story of the first Saudi state.

This is not another glass monolith. The Asaan is made of locally produced clay mud-bricks, shaped into thick, cooling adobe walls that honor the vernacular of Najdi architecture and reduce energy consumption in the blistering desert heat. The structure is organized around three shaded courtyards, anchoring programs in education, the arts, and administration, just as the heart of old Najdi homes once revolved around their shaded interior courtyards.

Related: what is Najdi architecture?

Zaha Hadid, born in Baghdad, Iraq was always drawn to the cultural topography of the Middle East. Her projects across the region have been provocative, poetic, and deeply aware of place. From the Bee’ah Headquarters in Sharjah—a Green Prophet favorite for its net-zero ambitions—to the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC) in Riyadh, her buildings dance between the sensuousness in math and the mystical.

Related: Saudi opera house modeled after Saudi mud palaces

But, as our resident ports architect wrote, Zaha was in no way an environmentalist, even though we wanted her to be one: “in her penchant for novel building materials, and the result was difficult-to-construct projects that often dramatically blew budgets. She showed a chronic aversion to local context, and no moral conscience when it came to environmental issues, or the health and safety protection for people who brought her designs to reality. Apparently her clients did not find this problematic.”

The Asaan Museum takes that ethos even deeper—into the very earth of Diriyah. The Asaan Museum is part of the ambitious Diriyah Gate masterplan, which aims to transform the ancient city into a 100% walkable, climate-resilient cultural capital. Public plazas, rooftop promenades, conservation labs, and interactive exhibits will bring Saudis and international visitors alike into intimate contact with the country’s layered history.

Related: Catch a glimpse of the House of Saudi’s past, in these incredible mud palaces

The museum is not merely a place to view the past—it is designed to engage, educate, and empower. In a region where cultural erasure often moves faster than preservation, the museum offers a new model: a living heritage center designed by a woman who understood the language of permanence and transformation.

In 2012, Green Prophet wrote about how Zaha Hadid’s work in the Middle East was “a contradiction—extravagant yet humble, futuristic but rooted.” Today, Asaan fulfills that paradox perfectly. It is at once timeless and timely, emerging from the earth to remind us that the future is not built only from new materials—but from memory, identity, and ancestral wisdom. Let’s hope they lose local builders, pay them a fair wage, and that materials are made from local, sustainable sources.

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Slow Food and regenerative farming may be an answer.

FMD doesn’t infect humans, but the damage it causes to livestock—and to farmers’ livelihoods—is severe. The virus spreads quickly among animals like cattle, sheep, pigs, and goats. It causes fever and painful blisters on the mouth and feet, leading to lameness, less milk and meat production, and in some cases, sudden death in younger animals.

Europe, which is usually free of FMD, is now facing its worst outbreak since 2001. Germany detected a case in January 2025 and managed to contain it, but since then the disease has spread to Hungary and Slovakia, and is proving harder to stop. As a result, the UK has banned meat and dairy imports from affected countries, including Austria due to its proximity to Hungary.

The economic fallout from FMD is enormous. Even in countries where the disease is common, it causes an estimated $21 billion in losses every year—mostly from reduced productivity and the cost of vaccines. But when trade bans, culling, and market disruptions are included, the true financial impact is far greater. For small-scale farmers and rural communities, a single outbreak can be devastating.

In response, FAO is calling on all countries to strengthen their prevention and response efforts. This includes increasing public awareness, especially among farmers and market workers; improving on-farm biosecurity by keeping sick animals isolated and stopping the spread of contaminated equipment or people; and making sure that vaccines, where used, are carefully matched to the circulating virus strain.

Vaccination can be very effective, but it needs to be part of a larger strategy that includes active surveillance, testing, and fast action when new outbreaks are detected. Countries should also review their contingency plans to ensure they can respond quickly to new outbreaks. This includes having clear procedures for isolating infected areas, investigating the source, and carrying out targeted vaccinations.

FMD may not pose a health threat to people, but its impact on food systems is real. It affects what we eat, how much it costs, and the stability of trade between countries. The recent outbreaks are a reminder that animal diseases don’t respect borders—and that early detection, clear communication, and coordinated action are the best tools we have to protect both animals and livelihoods.

As the FAO warns, staying alert now could prevent much greater harm later.

The post Foot-and-Mouth Disease Is Spreading Again — What That Means for Farmers, Food, and All of Us appeared first on Green Prophet.

The researchers have identified a series of correlations between the designs engraved on these cylinders, dating back around 6,000 years, and some of the signs in the proto-cuneiform script that emerged in the city of Uruk, located in what is now southern Iraq, around 3000 BCE.

The study, published in Antiquity, opens new perspectives on understanding the birth of writing and may help researchers not only to gain new insights into the meanings of the designs on cylinder seals but also to decipher many still-unknown signs in proto-cuneiform on pottery vessels.

Related: restoring the original garden of Eden

“The conceptual leap from pre-writing symbolism to writing is a significant development in human cognitive technologies,” explains Silvia Ferrara, professor in the Department of Classical Philology and Italian Studies at the University of Bologna.

Related: Read more sustainable news from Iraq here

“The invention of writing marks the transition between prehistory and history, and the findings of this study bridge this divide by illustrating how some late prehistoric images were incorporated into one of the earliest invented writing systems.”

Among the first cities to emerge in Mesopotamia, Uruk was an immensely important center throughout the fourth millennium BCE, exerting influence over a large region extending from southwestern Iran to southeastern Turkey.

In this region, cylinder seals were created. Typically made of stone and engraved with a series of designs, these cylinders were rolled onto clay tablets, leaving a stamped impression of the design.

Starting in the mid-fourth millennium BCE, cylinder seals were used as part of an accounting system to track the production, storage, and transport of various consumer goods, particularly agricultural and textile products.

It is in this context that proto-cuneiform appeared: an archaic form of writing made up of hundreds of pictographic signs, more than half of which remain undeciphered to this day. Like cylinder seals, proto-cuneiform was used for accounting, though its use is primarily documented in southern Iraq.

“The close relationship between ancient sealing and the invention of writing in southwest Asia has long been recognized, but the relationship between specific seal images and sign shapes has hardly been explored,” says Ferrara. “This was our starting question: did seal imagery contribute significantly to the invention of signs in the first writing in the region?”

To find an answer, the researchers systematically compared the designs on the cylinders with proto-cuneiform signs, looking for correlations that might reveal direct relationships in both graphic form and meaning.

“We focused on seal imagery that originated before the invention of writing, while continuing to develop into the proto-literate period,” add Kathryn Kelley and Mattia Cartolano, both researchers at the University of Bologna and co-authors of the study.

“This approach allowed us to identify a series of designs related to the transport of textiles and pottery, which later evolved into corresponding proto-cuneiform signs.”

This discovery reveals, for the first time, a direct link between the cylinder seal system and the invention of writing, offering new perspectives for studying the evolution of symbolic and writing systems.

“Our findings demonstrate that the designs engraved on cylinder seals are directly connected to the development of proto-cuneiform in southern Iraq,” confirms Silvia Ferrara. “They also show how the meaning originally associated with these designs was integrated into a writing system.”

What is cuneiform?

Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic writing system that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Near East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era.

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The Iraqi city of Nasiriyah has clocked the world’s highest temperature in the last day reaching a scorching 48.7°C (119.7°F), according to data from the American Placerville station. The Nasiriyah News Network reported that the Placerville station’s data showed that there are 15 cities worldwide registering extremely high temperatures due to climate change.

Nasiriyah was top of the list, followed by another Iraqi city, Basra, which recorded 48°C (118.4°F).

Already prone to high temperatures, climate change is expected to have a disastrous effect on the Middle East. Syria’s drought 15 years ago led to a violent civil war that has left millions of people refugees –– people who now continue to seek refugee status in countries such as Canada and in Europe.

Iraq, home to the Euphrates River, and the ancestral birthplace of Abraham, has been experiencing more frequent heatwaves in recent years. Neighbors Iran and Kuwait also record record temperatures. A heatwave in Saudi Arabia this year in Mecca turned tragic when more than1,300 died from heat exhaustion –– tour companies took advantage of lax visa requirements, which led to overcrowding making the heat wave intolerable.

Local authorities have not yet commented on any measures being taken in Iraq to address this extreme weather event or how they will protect people. Iraq is asking people to turn down their air conditioners as not to strain the electricity grid.

TotalEnergies are looking to build a solar power plant in the Basra area.

Iraq’s state-run power company Tavanir reported on August 8, electricity consumption peaked at 79,872 MW – about 10% higher than the same period last year — and that brown and blackouts would face the nation.

One weather station in the south of the country reached a heat index of 82.2°C (180°F) and a dew point of 36.1°C (97°F), which might be the highest such readings ever recorded on Planet Earth. Welcome to our new reality.

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Wisdom of the Ages or Ageless Wisdom 

As a kid growing up in Manhattan I remember when the “environment” became the important issue. Every Friday in 1968 I would stand with my mother next to the 59th street bridge at the City’s first recycling facility washing plastic bottles, the term “smog” had been coined and new phrases like pollution of the air and water became household terms.

Jump cut to over 55 years later and “environment” has become the big issue. New terms and new concerns have been introduced, but at the core the same urgency remains to get things done.

What if we could jump cut back through time 2,500 years ago to the city of Pumbedita, near the modern day Fallujah, Iraq. There we would find a large Jewish population famed for its Academy, whose scholarship, together with the city of Sura, gave rise to the Babylonian Talmud.

The Talmud, the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law and Jewish theology, would grow so large that a person who read a folio a day would complete one cycle of the Talmud in seven and half years.

To the surprise of many, buried among these pages are jewels of information about the “environment”. 

The late Dutch-Israeli scholar, Dr. Manfred Gerstenfeld, was the first to map out environmental issues found in the Talmud:

To paraphrase Dr. Gerstenfeld, he writes that the prohibition of wanton destruction, called in Hebrew bal tashhit (‘do not destroy’), is the principle in Jewish law that elaborates Judaism’s attitude toward the environment. 

War has signaled a period of destruction from time immemorial, from the poisoning of wells in ancient times through policies of ‘scorched earth’, the nuclear destruction of humans and the ecosystem in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, to Iraq’s intentional pollution of water with oil in the Gulf War.

Jewish laws of trees and war

Yet the Torah teaches that even in times of war, Divine commandments impose certain constraints concerning the environment: “In your war against a city, you must not destroy its trees. You may eat of them, but you must not cut them down. Only trees that you know do not yield food may be destroyed.” 

Maimonides mentions further extensions of this principle, pointing out that bal tashhit refers not only to periods of war, but to all times. However, he also states that it is not considered destruction to cut down a fruit tree which is causing damage to other trees or a field. 

One of the oldest collections of rabbinical traditions, the Sifrei, written around 300 CE., extends the legislation of wanton destruction to prohibit interference with water sources. The Talmud extends it to include an uneconomical use of fuel.

A far-reaching interpretation of bal tashhit is found in the Talmud: Rabbi Hisda says: “Whoever can eat bread made from barley and eats bread from wheat, transgresses the prohibition of bal tashhit.” Rabbi Papa says: “Whoever can drink beer and drinks wine, transgresses the prohibition of bal tashhit.”

The Talmud indicates, however, that these opinions are not accepted, as one should not eat inferior food, but rather care more for one’s body than for money.

This is because Jewish law forbids a person to damage his own health. The injunction goes beyond the conventional boundaries of environmental interest, which tends to limit itself to damage to third parties and not to what one does to oneself.

Hunting also deals with destruction. Hunting as a sport was addressed in Jewish society long before modern environmentalism emerged. The 18th century Rabbi Yechezkel Landau, when asked whether it is permitted to hunt game, was surprised that anyone should even ask this question and simply answered: “How can a person go out to kill a living creature only for pleasure?”

In recent years noise has increasingly come to be considered a problem of health protection as well as nuisance. The Mishnah states that neighbors can prevent the opening of a store in a common courtyard by claiming that they cannot sleep due to the noise of customers entering and exiting; however, they cannot object to the noise of a hammer or a grinding mill in a craftsman’s home; nor can they object to the noise children make if one of the courtyard’s residents is a school teacher.

Related: Slow Food chef revives food from Talmudic times

(The Mishnah or the Mishna is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. It is also the first major work of rabbinic literature, with the oldest surviving material dating to the 6th to 7th centuries BCE.)

What we covered here is the tip of the iceberg on just one subject relating to environmental concerns. If you wish to read Dr. Gerstenfeld’s doctoral theses, please go here. If the wisdom of the Jewish ancients is of further interest, there is now a free, open-to-the-world platform of Talmudic wisdom launched in Dubai, UAE, in the winter of 2022 called The Peoples’ Talmud which makes the Talmud accessible to layman and scholar in user-friendly English. 

About Gedaliah Gurfein

Gedaliah has been involved in the high-tech world since 1994 both in Jerusalem, New York and Beijing. He has also been a teacher of the Talmud since 1974 and is currently the spiritual leader of two Igbo communities in Nigeria. 

You can hear Gedalia on The Peoples’ Talmud here.

In one sampling on Animals, it is written: “Wild animals are usually called wild because they cannot be domesticated and used in labor. However, as Ben Gurion once said, “If an expert tells you it can’t be done, get another expert.”

The Talmud says that there were people who so understood animal nature that, despite the nature of wild donkeys, they were able to utilize wild donkeys to turn their millstones.

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Saudi Arabia: Oil Dependency Under Threat

Biggest Risks and Problems: Saudi Arabia, heavily reliant on oil revenues, faces the dual challenge of declining oil prices due to shifts towards renewable energy and the inflationary pressures driving up costs domestically. The country’s economy is vulnerable to the volatility of global oil markets and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events, such as heatwaves and dust storms.

Possible Solutions: Diversification of the economy away from oil, investment in renewable energy sources like solar power, and implementing sustainable water management strategies to mitigate the impacts of climate change. It is trying through its investment in alternative areas of energy (hydrogen – see ACWA) and tourism (Neom) to bring Saudi into the 21st century.

United Arab Emirates: Vulnerability of Coastal Infrastructure

Biggest Risks and Problems: As a nation with a significant portion of its population and infrastructure located along the coast, the UAE is particularly susceptible to rising sea levels and extreme weather events. Inflationary pressures further strain the government’s ability to invest in climate adaptation measures and infrastructure resilience.

Possible Solutions: Investment in coastal protection measures, sustainable urban planning to mitigate flooding risks, and incentivizing businesses to adopt eco-friendly practices. Invest in ecological waste removal for building projects – see Burj. See: Burj built without thinking where the poop will go. The UAE has also been investing in sustainable aviation fuels (SAF).

Qatar: Water Scarcity and Agricultural Challenges

Biggest Risks and Problems: Qatar’s arid climate and limited freshwater resources make it highly vulnerable to water scarcity, exacerbated by climate change. Inflation compounds the challenges faced by the agricultural sector, which relies heavily on imported food due to limited domestic production capacity.

Possible Solutions: Implementation of water conservation measures, investment in desalination technology, and promotion of drought-resistant crops to enhance food security. See Doha’s agriculture convention.

Kuwait: Energy Intensive Economy at Risk

Biggest Risks and Problems: Kuwait’s energy-intensive industries, including oil refining and petrochemicals, contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions and environmental degradation. Inflationary pressures drive up production costs, posing challenges to the country’s economic competitiveness in the global market.

Possible Solutions: Transitioning towards renewable energy sources, improving energy efficiency in industrial processes, and diversifying the economy to reduce dependence on oil revenues.

Iran: Environmental Degradation and Socioeconomic Impacts

Biggest Risks and Problems: Iran faces a multitude of environmental challenges, including air and water pollution, deforestation, and soil degradation. Climate change exacerbates these issues, leading to adverse effects on public health and exacerbating social inequalities. Inflation further strains government resources, hindering efforts to address environmental degradation. Women’s rights and an Islamic regime makes it impossible for environmental voices to speak. Those that try are killed or put in jail.

Possible Solutions: Strengthening environmental regulations and enforcement, investing in clean energy technologies, and promoting sustainable agriculture practices to mitigate the impacts of climate change and inflation. Strenthening women’s rights and freedom of expression.

Climateflation presents a complex and multifaceted challenge for Middle Eastern economies, requiring concerted efforts from governments, businesses, and civil society to address effectively. By prioritizing sustainable development, investing in climate adaptation measures, and diversifying their economies, countries in the region can navigate the dual threats of climate change and inflation while ensuring long-term prosperity and resilience.

The post What is climateflation and how it impacts Middle East nations appeared first on Green Prophet.

The Arab Energy Fund, previously known as the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP), has announced a significant commitment of $1 billion to drive energy transition and decarbonization efforts. APICORP is wholly owned by the ten member states of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC).

The Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries is a multi-governmental organization headquartered in Kuwait which coordinates energy policies among oil-producing Arab nations. Member countries include Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates. (Egypt’s membership was suspended in 1979, but it was readmitted in 1989. Tunisia ceased to be a member in 1987.) The headquarters are in Kuwait.

This investment, revealed at COP28 in Dubai, is what the oil and gas companies say is part of a strategic shift towards environmentally and socially responsible initiatives, including technological advancements for enhanced energy efficiencies and developing new value chains in the region.

APICORP focused on the MENA energy sector  planned investment of up to US $1 billion over the next five years towards advancing energy transition with a focus on decarbonization and related technologies. These could include hydrogen energy and storage breakthroughs and carbon sequestration technologies.

The Arab Energy Fund will rebalance its overall portfolio with continued loan growth and an enhanced focus on equity investments while continuing to innovate to expand its range of financing and direct equity solutions and expert advisory services.

Khalid Ali Al-Ruwaigh, CEO of The Arab Energy Fund announced at COP28: “The Arab Energy Fund transformative strategy marks the institution’s next chapter, deeply rooted in our 50-year legacy and our distinctive role in the MENA energy sector.

“It highlights our commitment to impact-driven solutions, leveraging our deep industry expertise and regional access to enable the evolving energy landscape towards a net-zero world. Our strategy involves diversifying investments by championing technological advancements for enhanced energy efficiencies and driving sustained decarbonization efforts. Additionally, we are extending our investment scope beyond the core value chain, actively cultivating and shaping value chains within the region.”

He added: “Our new strategy and name signify not only our dedication to empowering the region’s energy ecosystem but also resonate with our mission to create a meaningful impact by promoting economic growth, boosting local value chains and local content, through skill development, and fostering knowledge creation.”

Following the establishment of its green bond framework in 2021, the institution set a precedent in sustainable finance by issuing the first-ever green bond issuance by an energy-focused financial institution in the MENA region. The US-denominated five-year benchmark issuance raised an impressive US $750 million, over US $610 million of which has already been allocated to 11 projects in the region.

Currently, 18% of the institution’s US $4.5 billion existing loan portfolio, is dedicated to supporting environmentally and socially responsible initiatives, fostering collaboration between the public and private sectors, and pioneering a path toward more sustainable financing.

The Arab Energy Fund is also in the process of enhancing its ESG Policy Framework, also introduced in 2021, demonstrating the institution’s strong commitment to incorporating responsible business practices into its operations. This effort reflects the institution’s leadership in shaping a more sustainable and responsible future for all.

As the MENA region’s only multilateral impact financial institution, The Arab Energy Fund is also committed to backing the 2050 net zero commitments made by its member countries. The institution has publicly affirmed the imperative need for collective climate action to align with the significant goals laid out in the UN Paris Agreement.

In line with this commitment, the institution introduced several innovative financial solutions that are considered regional firsts, including its pioneering US $75 million Murabaha facility for voluntary carbon offsets and financing of distributed power portfolios.

The Arab Energy Fund stands among the highest-rated financial institutions in the MENA region, boasting ‘AA’ rating from Fitch, alongside ‘Aa2’ from Moody’s and ‘AA-‘ from S&P. This strong endorsement from the rating agencies and the robust regional support from member countries, along with substantial backing from the region’s energy ministries, underpinned by strong liquidity and credit profiles, positions the institution as a key player in championing a pragmatic and sustainable energy future.

The Arab Energy Fund – formerly the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP) – is a multilateral impact financial institution focused on the MENA energy sector established in 1974 by the ten Arab oil-exporting countries.

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Building with invasive plants; Healing through shared war stories

U.S. Veterans, Iraqi refugees and the public will join environmental artist Sarah Kavage and Iraqi designer Yaroub Al-Obaidi in constructing an Iraqi guest house, called a mudhif. Constructed of phragmites, an invasive reed grass, this traditional Iraqi marshland structure will be built on the grounds of the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education in Northwest Philadelphia. 

Mudhifs have traditionally been used for town meetings and ceremonies. At the Roxborough site, it will serve as a gathering place to share experiences of war through storytelling, healing and recovery among U.S. Veterans, Iraqi immigrant communities and the public.

The construction of the cutting-edge art installation Al-Mudhif will kick off on Memorial Day, Monday, May 31, with a dedication ceremony. The building process involves tying bundles of reeds into 20-foot-long columns, and then shaping them into huge parabolic arches. Hand-woven mats are then tied over and between the columns, forming a roof. Finally, crafted lattice panels are attached to the sides, allowing for both sunlight and airflow into the interior and enclosing the entire hut.

Connecting with Iraqi communities in nature through the building process of this sanctuary offers a significant memorable and cultural space for U.S. Veterans who were deployed in Iraq to connect with local Iraqi communities and culture.

“It is not often that Veterans are able to heal and connect with residents from areas that were engaged in conflict,” said RADM Karen Flaherty-Oxler, Director of the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz (Philadelphia) VA Medical Center. “Opportunities such as this help bring their experience full circle, often providing closure, healing and building bridges across cultures.”

South Philadelphian Marine Corps Veteran Leroy Anthony Enck says, ”For some veterans and military members, our time in Iraq was marked with loss and destruction: losing fellow service-members in body or spirit, witnessing a similar loss among indigenous communities in Iraq, and observing—despite our best efforts—the environmental destruction our presence and operations facilitated. 

“Some of us have struggled with the larger moral implications of this impact, and after participating in the difficult work of moral engagement, have decided to dedicate ourselves to this work as atonement. Now, we have an opportunity to engage in the hefty work of building: constructing the first mudhif outside of Iraq, building new community with our brethren among the former Iraqis who now call Philadelphia home, and giving—rather than taking—an opportunity for generations young and old to experience greater understanding of people and flora displaced through no choice of their own.”

The involvement of Iraq War Veterans in the project was facilitated by Reverend Chris Antal, a Staff Chaplain at CMCVAMC. Antal had this to say, “Some Veterans who served in Iraq are often burdened by difficult memories and painful emotions. Collaborations such as this help build trust, foster reconciliation and create a sanctuary amidst the calming presence of nature.”

The project is part of a larger art initiative Lenapehoking~Watershed with the Alliance for Watershed Education (AWE) for which Sarah will create multiple site-specific, temporary installations along the Delaware River circuit trail, exclusively using natural materials such as meadow grasses and invasive phragmites. We will activate the installation of the Al-Mudhif with an accompanying exhibition and extended programming around the exchange of war experiences, healing, and intercultural encounters from June to October 2021.

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