Category Archives: Middle East

Sustainability in the MENA Cement Industry: Perspectives

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The population in the MENA countries has doubled during the last 30 years (from ca. 110m in 1980 to almost 484m in 2018). As per conservative estimates, the rate of urbanisation in the MENA countries will exceed 70% five years from today (average for all developing countries: 54%). The proceeding urbanisation and the population increase involve several problems and challenges for the national governments and also for the cement industry. The cement production of countries in the MENA region has almost tripled during the last 15 years up to approximately 500m tons. Since the start of national revolts and demonstrations … Continue reading →

Mobile Agriculture in Egypt: Food for Thought

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The phenomenal spread of smartphones and the fact that they are practically hand-sized computers, have opened way to the creation of countless ‘mobile applications’ or simply ‘apps’. The first apps that came to light were as expected, for social media and different entertainment channels. They were followed by ‘modern life’ apps in the areas of health, education, agriculture and many more. Almost every area imaginable in our life now has a mobile app that caters to it. Mobile Agriculture in Africa During the course of my work at Orange Egypt, I’ve seen a great amount of interest in mobile agriculture … Continue reading →

Water Woes in Palestine

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Water crisis in the West Bank and Gaza is largely overshadowed by the overall political tension between Palestine and Israel. However, the ever-growing water conflict between the two sides is a major impediment to reaching a just and peaceful resolution to the Palestine-Israel conflict, and an essential component for the creation of an independent Palestinian state. Ever since the Nakbah (Day of Catastrophe) in 1948, Israel has sought to control the main sources of water, and after the 1967 conflict Israel has managed to control all of the major water sources it shares with Palestine and other neighboring countries such … Continue reading →

Waste Awareness in Qatar: A Survey

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Waste awareness in Qatar has gained traction in recent years, but more efforts are required to make the masses aware about the consequences of reckless waste generation and disposal, and how sustainable living practices and recycling can help in making Qatar a truly sustainable nation. Below is the outcome of an interesting survey on waste awareness which was conducted among Qataris and non-Qataris (expatriates). Plastic is the most common waste generated in a typical household in Qatar. One-third of overall respondents say that of all products, the volume of the plastic waste generated is higher, followed by food waste (19%) … Continue reading →

Seawater Desalination – A Better Choice for MENA

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Water scarcity is a major problem in many parts of the world affecting quality of life, the environment, industry, and the economies of developing nations. The MENA region is considered as one of the most water-scarce regions of the world. Large scale water management problems are already apparent in the region. While the MENA region’s population is growing steadily, per capita water availability is expected to fall by more than 40-50% by the year 2050. Also, climate change is likely to affect weather and precipitation patterns, and the consequences of which may force the MENA region to more frequent and … Continue reading →

Prospects of Algae Biofuels in GCC

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Algae biofuels have the potential to become a renewable, cost-effective alternative for fossil fuels with reduced impact on the environment. Algae hold tremendous potential to provide a non-food, high-yield, non-arable land use source of renewable fuels like biodiesel, bioethanol, hydrogen etc. Microalgae are considered as a potential oleo-feedstock, as they produce lipids through photosynthesis, i.e. using only CO2, water, sunlight, phosphates, nitrates and other (oligo) elements that can be found in residual waters. Algae also produce proteins, isoprenoids and polysaccharides. Some strains of algae ferment sugars to produce alcohols, under the right growing conditions. Their biomass can be processed to … Continue reading →

Green Building Rating System in Jordan

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Building consume 21% of the primary energy and 43% of the electricity generated in Jordan, according to a recent report by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. Efforts started in 2009 to develop a rating system for buildings that will reduce the energy and water demand and provide an efficient and healthier environment. Jordan has several LEED registered buildings since 2009. One of them is LEED Silver and two are LEED Gold, and around 20 more building are registered online and are in the process of applying for LEED. The energy crisis started in Jordan in 2008 after the sharp … Continue reading →

التعليم البيئي والتربية البيئية

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على العكس من الأنماط التقليدية للتعليم، يعتبر التعليم البيئي (التربية البيئية) عملية تعليمية شمولية تمتد مدى الحياة, وهي عملية موجهة نحو خلق أفراد مسؤولين لإستكشاف وتحديد القضايا والمشاكل البيئية القائمة والمشاركة في حلها وإتخاذ إجراءات فعالة لتحسين أوضاع البيئة, والعمل على الحيلولة دون حدوث مشكلات بيئية جديدة. ونتيجة لذلك، فإنه يمكن للأفراد تطوير وعي أعمق وفهم أوسع للقضايا البيئية, بل ويمكن لهم إكتساب مهارات فعالة تساعدهم على إتخاذ قرارات واعية ومسؤولة وغير منحازة تؤول إلى حل التحديات البيئية. لا يعتبر التعليم البيئي عملية إستشارات بيئية, ولكنه حقل متنوع يرتكز على العملية التعليمية والتي يجب أن تبقى محايدة من خلال تعليم … Continue reading →

Energy Efficiency in MENA – A Tool to Reduce GHG Emissions

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The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is the largest oil-exporting region in the world. Around 85 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions come from energy production, electricity generation, industrial sector and domestic energy consumption. Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia figure among the world’s top-10 per capita carbon emitters. Without a change in energy policies and energy consumption behavior, MENA‘s energy-related GHG emissions will continue to grow. Presently, MENA countries are heavily dependent on fossil fuels to meet their energy requirement which is a major challenge in climate change mitigation efforts. However it also encourages local governments to … Continue reading →

Hydrogen Economy for Arab Countries: Perspectives

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Arab world is facing major sustainability challenges in achieving social, economic and environmental goals. Hydrogen economy can help Arab governments, companies, and citizens to save billions of dollars each year from reduced energy bills and sustainable waste management, while at the same time reducing carbon footprints – a win-win solution. Extremely arid climate, acute water scarcity, high energy consumption and polluting oil and gas industry present a unique challenge in Arab countries. Almost one-fifth of the Arab population is dependent on non-commercial fuels for different energy uses. All sectors of the economy — residential, commercial, transport, service and agriculture — demands … Continue reading →

Water-Energy Nexus in the Arab Countries

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Amongst the most important inter-dependencies in the Arab countries is the water-energy nexus, where all the socio-economic development sectors rely on the sustainable provision of these two resources. In addition to their central and strategic importance to the region, these two resources are strongly interrelated and becoming increasingly inextricably linked as the water scarcity in the region increases. In the water value chain, energy is required in all segments; energy is used in almost every stage of the water cycle: extracting groundwater, feeding desalination plants with its raw sea/brackish waters and producing freshwater, pumping, conveying, and distributing freshwater, collecting wastewater … Continue reading →

Go Big! The Challenge of Large Scale Restoration of the Badiya

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The badiya[i] is a region of desert, semi-desert and steppe covering 500,000 square kilometers (200,000 square miles) of the Middle East, including parts of Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq.[ii] It accounts for 85% of the land area of Jordan[iii] and 55% of Syria.[iv] To the south it borders and merges into the Arabian Desert.[v] Much of the Badiya has become severely degraded by historic misuse over hundreds of years.[vi] Trees were cut and used for buildings, but more intensively for firewood and making charcoal. This pressure and centuries of overgrazing by herds of thousands of camels, goats, and sheep … Continue reading →