Environmental Justice

Dossier

The 24th Conference of the Parties (COP24) of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is taking place from 2 to 14 December 2018 in Katowice, Poland. Delegates from the Heinrich Böll Foundation Offices worldwide and their partners are represented in the COP 24. The Heinrich Böll Foundation, Beirut office – Middle East is supporting journalists from the region to travel and report on the conference from Katowice. The following web-dossier includes publications, written and audio-visual media coverage of the Katowice Climate Change Conference from the Heinrich Böll Foundation delegates and journalists in English, French and Arabic.

BERLIN – If there are any geologists in millions of years, they will easily be able to pinpoint the start of the so-called Anthropocene – the geological age during which humans became the dominant influence on our planet’s environment. Wherever they look, they will find clear evidence of its onset, in the form of plastic waste.

First published on project-syndicate.org on 16-May-2017

Read Heinrich Boell Foundation recent study Stopping Global Plastic Pollution

Arabic French

Les plastiques ont permis de développer notre économie parce qu’il s’agit d’un matériau polyvalent, durable et peu coûteux. On les utilise pour produire des emballages alimentaires, des sacs de course, des produits de consommation du quotidien : des jouets, des vêtements, des appareils électroniques, mais aussi des pièces automobiles, du matériel médical, et mille choses encore. Les plastiques sont devenus un matériau essentiel à toutes les économies.

Paper

by Nicolas al-Ferzly - Lebanon is blessed with an abundance of water, wind and sun. Yet so far this potential is so far nearly not explored while citizens even in the center of Beirut face daily power cuts of at least three hours. So how could tapping the country’s renewables be an asset for the Government of Lebanon to provide stable electric services throughout the country?

WHAT WE DO

The Middle East is characterized by high income economies relying on energy exports, and middle to low income economies with limited resources for export. Both developmental models tend to neglect sustainability - but pollution, climate change and loss of natural resources already are rampant and will effect future generations even more drastically. Pushing for sustainable development is also a question of justice: between current and future generations, but also between those who have the means to isolate themselves from the negative repercussions of unsustainable practices, and those who have to bear the brunt of it. The program Environmental Justice puts special emphasis on the issues of climate change and renewable energies, on the access to public resources, and the right to sustainable agriculture and a just international trade regime.

THE GREAT TRANSITION - ALTERNATIVE PATHS FOR A BETTER AND CLIMATE JUST FUTURE

The final episode of the Heinrich Boell Foundation's Podcast Series „Tipping Point“ on Climate Justice in the Anthropocene is now online: The great transition - Alternative paths for a better and climate just future

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See also boell.de/tippingpoint for the other episodes such as the License to pollute - Carbon markets and the new economy of nature

City Debates 2018

City Debates is a yearly conference organized by the Masters in Urban Planning & Policy and Masters in Urban Design Programs at the American University of Beirut. This year, Professor Ralf Pasel joined AUB's City Debates 2018 in Beirut and summarized his presentation in the following 2 podcasts:

Professor Ralf Pasel on Situational Urbanism

Here Professor Pasel explains in a few minutes about "Situational Urbanism" - about the connections between urbanism, architecture, landscape architecture, and socio-economic circumstances.

Professor Ralf Pasel on Housing Projects for Refugees in Germany

Alternative housing projects: Professor Ralf Pasel shares some ideas of his work in Germany for refugees from Syria and African countries.

News

hbs offices in the MENA region held the 7th Regional Summer School in Amman, Jordan under the title “Our Cities Our Future: Civic Engagement in Urban Sustainable Development”. 23 activists, researchers, architects and civil society professionals from 8 Middle Eastern countries participated in the week-long School. They addressed various topics related to architecture and urban sustainable development. Through lectures, discussions, group work, and a field visit, the participants exchanged ideas, shared experiences and got the chance to meet and learn about inspiring initiatives working towards sustainable development in the region.

First PUblished on ps.boell.org on 10/09/2019

Regional Summer School - Our Cities Our Future: Civic Engagement in Sustainable Urban Development

Call for Applications

The Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, represented through its offices in Palestine, Lebanon, Tunisia and Morocco, welcomes applicants from Arab countries in the Middle East and North Africa to apply for the 7th Regional Summer School, that will take place between July 29th – August 4th, 2019, in Amman, Jordan.

Great expectations, low execution: The Katowice climate change conference COP 24

Assessement

The Katowice climate package brings minor progress, but COP 24 failed to deliver on the most fundamental issues such as raising ambition of national contributions, implementing human rights, and ensuring support for developing countries.

First published on boell.de on 08-01-2018

Heinrich Böll Stiftung (hbs) Wraps Up its Regional Summer School 2018 in Tunis

Updates

On the topic of “Citizen Participation in Urban Sustainable Development”, Heinrich Böll Stiftung (hbs) represented by its offices in Palestine & Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia and Morocco concluded a five-day regional summer school in Tunis, hosted and organized by hbs Tunisia Office. The event took place between July 15th – 21st, 2018. It brought together 23 environmental activists, architects, artists and young community leaders from the MENA Region and provided them with a platform for capacity building, debate, and the exchange of ideas, opinions and experiences from the region on civil participation and sustainable urban development.

First published on http://ps.boell.org on 06/08/2018

HORSH BEIRUT FESTIVAL 2018

Event

The Horsh Beirut Festival is a public event held each summer in Beirut’s largest green park bringing together people of all backgrounds and age groups to enjoy the green scenery and landscape and partake in a variety of free cultural, artistic and recreational activities.

Regional Summer School 2018

Call for Applications

Heinrich Böll Foundation (hbs), represented through its offices in Palestine, Lebanon, Tunisia and Morocco, welcomes applicants from Arab countries in the Middle East and North Africa to apply for its Regional Summer School 2018 that will take place between 15 - 21 July 2018 in Tunis, Tunisia.

Archive: Environmental Justice

This archive provides a list of all the older articles published under the topic "Environmental Justice"

Water is a human right and a public good, water is not gold

For more on "Water Not For Sale" campain:

Read the article "When dams meet privatization: Lebanon under water transactions" by Roland Riachi published in alakhbar english on May 13th, 2014

Visit the Campain's Facebook page

Publications

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Since the Lebanese "waste crisis" broke out in 2015, NGOs, private enterprises and citizens have worked in order to fill the vacuum in the provision of Solid Waste Management-related services. The intervention of the aforementioned actors often times working independently from the central government has brought about a more decentralised Solid Waste Management system. The benefits, the difficulties and the position of such a system vis à vis the Lebanese state are explored in this paper through the testimonies of individuals currently operating in the Solid Waste Management sector.

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After examinig the current state of agriculture in Lebanon, this article will investigate the implications of the Lebanese food production system and will try to identify the reasons underlying this situation. Finally, the article will shed light on the emergence of a form of ‘alternative agriculture’ and will try to understand whether or not it can be a sustainable solution to assure food security in the country in the face of rapidly advancing climate change.

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Countless combinations of tastes and textures shape the rich culinary landscape of the region. Bridging cultural differences and political rifts, food is a common thread for many in the Arabic speaking world. It is an essential part of a nation’s identity and sophisticated recipes are almost an issue of national pride: although most mouth-watering dishes are often the result of a long history of international migration of ingredients.

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Without the ocean there would be no life on our planet. But the future of this unique ecosystem faces a grave threat today. The Ocean Atlas 2017 delivers with its 18 contributions and 50 graphics the relevant facts and figures about the ocean.

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Public space is essential for urban life - it enables people from all social strata and backgrounds to meet, enjoy the space together, and form a harmonious identity. Yet, Beirut is notorious for its lack of such spaces.

Before the civil war, Horsh Beirut, was the only sizeable park of the city, and a place for gatherings, festivals, and traditions. However, in 1982 an Israeli raid destroyed most of it, decimating the number of trees. So following the end of the war, the Municipality of Beirut signed a partnership agreement with the Regional Council of Ile-de-France to rehabilitate the park with the initial plan of reopening it to the public in 1995. This date was then pushed back to 2002 in order to allow the newly planted pine trees to grow bigger1. However, the year 2002 came and yet the gates to the park remained shut to the public, and became only accessible to those who request a special permit from the Municipality. In practice, the vast majority of Beirut residents had become deprived of their right to enjoy the place, under the pretext that the municipality is inadequately equipped to manage it. This led NAHNOO, a youth non-governmental organization, to spearhead the “Horsh Beirut for All” advocacy campaign to challenge the situation in late 2010 which led to its reopening to the public 5 years later, in 2015.

This brochure tells the story of our journey.

The 22nd session of the Conference of the Parties of United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change is taking place from 7 to 18 November 2016 in Marrakech, Morocco. Delegates from the Heinrich Boell Stiftung Offices worldwide and their partners are represented in the COP 22. The Heinrich Boell Stiftung, MENA Beirut office has supported journalists from the region to travel and report on the conference from Marrakech.

The following web-dossier includes written and audio-visual media coverage of the Marrakech Climate Change Conference from delegates and journalists in English, French and Arabic.

View the dossien on boell.de

Dossier: Paris Climate Change Conference - 30 Nov-11 Dec 2015

The 21st session of the Conference of the Parties of United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change is taking place from 30 November to 11 December 2015 in Paris, France. Delegates from the Heinrich Boell Stiftung Offices worldwide and their partners are represented in the CoP 21. The Heinrich Boell Stiftung, MENA Beirut office has supported journalists from the region to travel and report on the conference from Paris.

The following web-dossier includes written and audio-visual media coverage of the Paris Climate Change Conference from delegates and journalists in English, French and Arabic.

Dossier: Lima Climate Change Conference - 1-12 December 2014

The 20th session of the Conference of the Parties of United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change is taking place from 1 to 12 December 2014 in Lima, Peru. Delegates from the Heinrich Boell Stiftung Offices worldwide and their partners are represented in the CoP 20. The Heinrich Boell Stiftung, MENA Beirut office has supported journalists from the region to travel and report on the conference from Lima.

The following web-dossier includes articles on the Lima Climate Change Conference from delegates and journalists in English, French and Arabic

Environmental Justice