Spotlight

Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) announced that the new report in its annual series on the State of Arab Environment will be on the impact of wars and pandemics on the environment. It will cover energy, food security, climate change and green finance, besides the consequences on the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is due to be launched in November 2022, and presented at regional and international fora during the first half of 2023.

This is the 14^th in AFED report series, which was launched in 2008, highlighting environmental challenges and recommending solutions, to become the major reference on matters of environment and development and main driver for policy change in the Arab region. The reports covered topics from Water and Energy to Climate change, and introduced new themes to development debate in the region, such as Green Economy and Ecological Footprint (www.afedonline.org). The 2020 report on Health & the Environment came at the height of the corona pandemic, contributing to meaningful debate.

AFED Secretary General said that “we are now facing a unique situation, as when the world thought it was wearily walking out of the pandemic, with ambitious recovery plans announced, including bigger climate commitments at Glasgow, the war in Ukraine started, triggering a global conflict. This has disrupted production and supply chains, provoking a series of consequences at the global level, mainly shortages in energy and food supplies, with unprecedented increases in prices.”

The whole situation will certainly impact the environment in general, and impede the implementation of climate pledges and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with profound repercussions in the Arab region, Saab explained. AFED 2022 report will explore the impacts of wars and the pandemic on environment-related challenges in the Arab region, in view of helping develop adequate responses, mainly at the policy level.

AFED will be cooperating with a host of associates in all phases of the report, including major players in the environment domain, renowned experts, and academics from universities which are AFED members. Main authors include Dr. Abdulkarim Sadik, Dr. Ahmed Gaber, Dr. Adnan Shihabeldin, Dr. Ibrajim Abdelgelil, Hussein Abaza, Dr. Mohamed Abdelrahman and Dr. Mahmoud El-Solh. Development leaders will be contributing special insight pieces.