Ecology and Sustainability

Building upon the success and rich history of previous editions, the Tunis office, in collaboration with the Rabat, Ramallah, and Beirut offices, organized the 10th MENA Regional Summer School of the Heinrich Böll Foundation from June 2nd to 8th, 2024, titled “Commons and Beyond: Discovering the Commonsverse”. This year’s edition aimed to delve into the multifaceted world of Commons practices in the context of our programme on Transformative Economics.

An article by our partner Enab Baladi on the effects of 1200 oil refineries in Tahrin - Syria poisoning the air and soil. A forest and green cover was turned into barren land and a hotspot for gases, chemicals, and carcinogens, with 1200 primitive burners operating, pumping their toxins and waste, resulting in environmental disasters in the region's air, land, and health of workers and residents, leaving devastating effects that will take years to recover from.

Artist Haya Halaw and her family immigrated years ago from Syria to Jordan, where she stayed until she had to immigrate again to Germany. These forced migrations were accompanied by climate and environmental changes. Today, Halaw sits at her workdesk in Hamburg and reflects on these changes and their gender-related impact.

Ahwaris in Iraq have been through a series of tragedies over the decades. “We have lived a long history of displacement, oppression and racism. We have always opposed authoritarian governments and any form of authoritarianism. My family was active in opposition to Saddam Hussain. My uncle was killed resisting him in Hor Al-Huwaiza,” explains Ahwari activist and environmental and human rights defender Mustafa Hashim who is part of the “Ahwari Voice-The Ahwari Human Rights network”, one of several self-organized groups in the Marsh lands, the Ahwar (singular Hor), that spread through Southern Iraq and Iran. “But the current Iraqi government refuses to recognize this and give us our rights as a family of a martyr. I have two aunts that were killed due to mine explosions in Hor al-Huwaiza from the remnants of the Iran-Iraq war. Many others here have sustained severe injuries in the aftermath of the war. It is great suffering and sorrow that does not end.”1 

In Morocco, collective land is an umbrella term to designate different types of lands throughout the Kingdom that are collectively owned by ethnic and tribal communities across the country. One type of such lands, and the most common, are soulali lands. These lands are managed by the historical communities who are entitled to use them, and they have never been privately owned until the last few decades, when the state started institutionalizing privatization processes, which had already started during the French colonization1 through the Dahir (decree) of April 27, 1919. It is this legal text that began the weakening of the prerogatives of these communities over their land.

Hbs welcomes applications to the 9th MENA Regional Summer School “It’s More than Just Food: Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture towards Equitable and Justice-based Food Systems in the MENA Region” that will take place between 29 July - 05 August in Amman, Jordan. 

At the 8th Regional Summer School of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, 23 young activists, researchers and civil society actors from different countries in the MENA region got together in Rabat, Morocco for one week to discuss and develop sustainable approaches to solid waste management.

The Heinrich Böll Foundation, represented through its offices in Rabat, Tunis, Ramallah and Beirut, welcomes applicants from the MENA region to apply for the 8th Regional Summer School that will take place from 27 June to 01 July 2022 in Rabat, Morocco. It aims to provide young professionals from civil society, community-supported initiatives, start-ups and researchers a space to exchange, debate and learn about the multiple dimensions of waste – starting from its generation (production and consumption patterns) to its management (policy frameworks for collection and recycling) and potential alternatives (innovative solutions). Through inputs, group work sessions and field trips, participants will learn about the different perspectives regarding achievements, progress, constraints and shortcomings of municipal solid waste management in the MENA region.

Although the epicenter of the world’s petro- economy, countries in the Middle East understand the need to diversify away from fossil fuels. To do so, some also bet on nuclear energy. The need to transition is most strongly driven by broader regional priorities to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and grow the economy while also providing jobs for the increasing population of young people. At first glance, nuclear seems an apt tool to help the region meet these dual objectives. However, Middle Eastern countries would be better served by investing resourced pegged to nuclear in the more promising solar and wind industries.