2012 Annual Conference of the Arab Forum for Environment & Development: Recommendations - A Call for Arab Governments to Reduce Ecological Footprint

The Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) held its fifth annual conference in Beirut on 29-30 November 2012, dedicated to discussing the Ecological Footprint of Arab countries and the options for sustainability, based on available resources. The conference, held under the patronage of His Excellency the President of the Republic of Lebanon General Michel Sleiman, has brought together 500 delegates from 48 countries, representing corporations, nongovernmental organizations, academia, research institutions, and media organizations. Ministers and representatives of governments and international institutions have participated as observers. At the conference, delegates deliberated the findings and recommendations of the AFED 2012 report, Survival Options: Ecological Footprint in Arab Countries, which advocates regional cooperation and sound management of resources as the main options for survival in a region characterized by high ecological deficits. A new Atlas of Footprint and Biocapacity in the Arab countries was presented at the conference, which analyzes the demand for resources (footprint) and available supply (biocapacity) to shed light on the resource constraints in Arab countries from the perspective of the regenerative capacity of nature. The data in the Atlas reveals that, over the past 50 years, the Ecological Footprint per capita in the Arab region increased by 78 percent, while biocapacity per capita decreased by 60 percent. The report asserts that in this era of globalization and socio-economic insecurity, tracking the demand for natural capital is essential to meeting the basic needs of food and water security, and ultimately to ensuring economic competitiveness while strengthening ecological health.

The conference endorsed the following conclusions and recommendations:

1)      The conference agrees with the AFED report that the foundation for economic survival in the Arab world rests on rational and sustainable development of the region's natural resources and on strong regional economic cooperation. The findings of the report indicate that most Arab countries suffer deficits in renewable resources, where the gap between the demand for ecological services and domestic supply is widening, subjecting the region to economic, social, and biophysical limits. The conference also agrees with the report's call for incorporating ecological accounting in economic planning and for revisiting the level of GDP growth needed to attain a sufficient level of real progress and wellbeing. In order to achieve economic and social security and bridge the resource deficit, Arab countries need to establish mutually beneficial and sustainable trade ties. No Arab country can develop its economy in isolation, and neither can any be self-sufficient in life-supporting ecological resources.

2)      The conference calls upon Arab governments to:

a)      Promote the concept of ecological accounting in economic planning and encourage government decision-makers to account for national renewable resource consumption, availability, and population demographics when committing financial flows for development, trade, and investment.

b)      Reduce the Ecological Footprint and boost biocapacity by implementing long-term projects for the rehabilitation and restoration of degraded land, depleted aquifers, and diminished fisheries. The consumption of renewable resources must not exceed the rate at which they regenerate. Pollution and waste generation must not exceed the rate at which they can be absorbed or recycled by the biosphere.

c)       Develop national strategies to improve significantly the efficiency with which resources are turned into final products, while minimizing waste generation, with priority given to maximizing the resource productivity of energy, cropland and water.

d)      Invest significantly the present income from the region's finite oil resources in building human capacity through education, a region-wide science and technology base, and a strong research and development infrastructure, focused on local needs and areas of green development.

e)      Replace current patterns of urbanization with models that are based more on environment-friendly principles and more attuned to the region's climate and hydrological cycles. Planners in Arab countries must commit to achieving the highest levels of sustainable rural and urban development.

f)       Revisit current economic development structures to transit to green knowledge-intensive economy and accord a higher priority to social and environmental goals. This will entail demonstrating a strong commitment to match economic consumptive activities with resource availability and to economic diversification as an alternative to resource intensive, consumer-based economy.

g)      Commit to reduce poverty in low-income Arab countries without exacting a high Ecological Footprint.

h)      Launch sustained public awareness campaigns to cultivate understanding of the Ecological Footprint concept, and motivate behavioral changes in consuming, especially among youth, purchasing, and investment patterns.

3)      The conference calls upon Arab governments to commit to transforming the energy sector to become more sustainable and equitable. The options for a sustainable energy sector require Arab governments to:

a)      Adopt strategies to improve energy efficiency in the building, transport, and industrial sectors, increase the share of renewable energy in the fuel mix, disseminate renewable energy technologies in rural and remote areas, and improve air quality management through more sustainable urban planning and land use.

b)      Implement innovative financing mechanisms such as microcredit and targeted subsidies in order to provide the rural poor access to affordable, reliable, renewable, and safe energy services.

c)       Scale up renewable power sources by supporting development of technologies and related human skills in sourcing, marketing, installing, operating, maintaining, and servicing renewable energy equipment.

d)      Apply a mix of initiatives to overcome existing price and non-price market barriers to energy efficiency by introducing, for example, incentives, labeling programs, and standards.

e)      Ensure that water and energy production are considered as interrelated, in association with plans for climate change mitigation and adaptation in order to generate coherence among water, energy, agriculture, and climate policies.

4)      The conference calls upon Arab governments to implement a strategic framework of agricultural practices conducive to the efficient and sustainable utilization of land and water assets within their capacity to provide ecological goods and services economically, socially, and environmentally. The options for reaching food and water security require Arab governments to:

a)      Establish and maintain a balance between agricultural biocapacity and footprint. New eco-agricultural methods, protective of soils, land, and water, such as organic and conservation farming should be promoted and supported to mitigate agricultural environmental externalities and the impact of climate change.

b)      Improve the irrigation efficiency through rehabilitation of water transport systems, and on farm application by using modern irrigation techniques and water saving methods as well as by augmenting conventional water resources through development of non-conventional ones.

c)       Increase productivity of rain-fed crops through intensification of investment in agricultural research and development to arrive at the optimal mix of inputs and to develop high-yielding seed varieties, salt-resistant, and drought-tolerant crops.

d)      Mobilize resources to finance agricultural investments based on well-prepared feasibility studies, accounting not only for production aspects, but also for other value-added chain facilities such as transport, storage, and distribution.

e)      Build sustainable trade relationships with regional and with non-regional countries, supported by coordinated investments and harmonized policies, in order to facilitate trade in food commodities and virtual water based on equitable and mutual benefits.

5)      The conference calls upon development funds and banking institutions to incorporate ecological accounting principles when evaluating grants and loan programs.

6)      The conference recommends that AFED provide technical assistance to various sectors in Arab countries to increase understanding and awareness of Ecological Footprint accounting in their operations.

7)      The conference calls upon nongovernmental organizations, academia, and the private sector to cooperate fully in the implementation of these recommendations.

The conference wishes to thank the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) for its constructive initiative to shed light on resource constraints in Arab countries and prescribe alternative options for meeting food, water, and energy security needs. The conference requests AFED to present the recommendations to all Arab governments and other stakeholders.

The conference invites the AFED Board of Trustees to consider means of following up the implementation of the annual conference's recommendations, and to present the outcome at AFED's sixth annual conference.

The conference expresses its gratitude to the Lebanese government for hosting the event. It offers its appreciation to all sponsors for lending their support for the convening of this conference.

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The Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) concluded its fifth annual conference on the ecological footprint of Arab countries and the options for sustainability. The meeting brought together 500 delegates from 48 countries, representing governments, corporations, international and regional organizations, academia, research institutions, NGOs and media. AFED secretary general Najib Saab asked the attendees for a standing ovation as Palestine was given the status of observer member in the United Nations, congratulating the Palestinian environment minister Dr. Yousef Abu Safiyyeh who was among the panelists in AFED conference.

A draft of the conference recommendations endorsed AFED report Surviving Options: Ecological Footprint in Arab Countries, which advocates regional cooperation and sound management of resources as the main options for survival in a region characterized by high ecological deficits. The report asserts that in this era of globalization and socio-economic insecurity, tracking the demand for natural capital is essential to meeting the basic needs of food and water security, and ultimately to ensuring economic competitiveness while strengthening ecological health.

The conference called upon Arab governments to promote the concept of ecological accounting in economic planning and reduce the ecological footprint, by restoration of degraded land, depleted aquifers and diminished fisheries and reducing pollution and waste generation. It urged governments to invest a significant part of the income from the region's oil resources in building human capacity and supporting research on green development. It emphasized the need to commit to achieving the highest levels of sustainable rural and urban development and transiting to a green knowledge-intensive economy.

Arab governments were urged to adopt strategies to improve energy efficiency in the building, transport and industrial sectors, increase the share of renewable energy in the energy mix, and introduce incentives and standards to overcome market barriers to energy efficiency. Coherence should be generated among water, energy, agriculture and climate, especially by improving irrigation efficiency, promoting organic and conservation farming, and developing high-yielding, salt-resistant and drought-tolerant crops. Sustainable trade relationships should be built with other countries to facilitate trade in food commodities and virtual water, based on equitable and mutual benefits.

The conference called upon development funds and banking institutions to incorporate ecological accounting principles when evaluating grants and loan programs. It urged AFED to provide technical assistance to various sectors in Arab countries to increase understanding of ecological footprint accounting in their operations, and to motivate behavioral changes in consuming, purchasing and investment patterns, especially among youth.

Second day sessions

A debate was held with the theme "beyond Rio+20, towards COP18," discussing the need for a strong and wise Arab position in the Doha climate summit.

A special session debated the role of business in reducing ecological footprint, highlighting success stories of green corporate initiatives. A panel discussion dealt with green economy and incorporation ecological Footprint in national budgets. IUCN organized its regional partners platform for a better resource management in Arab countries.

AFED launched its energy efficiency and environmental education handbooks, and AFED's secretary general Najib Saab presented the organization's 2013 work program.

The conference closed with an open discussion of recommendations.

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