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Citizen-led sustainable development in the Middle East
The Middle East is tackling the climate crisis through numerous initiatives to help not only vulnerable communities but also the wider community access electricity, food and water.
The problems faced by the region since the Arab spring often overshadow sustainability, but through renewable energy and food sovereignty initiatives, it is the people who are finding ways to tackle the issues that impact their lives.
The beginning of the 21st century has been a tumultuous time for the Middle East. Marked by economic and political turmoil and with varying levels of wealth and stability, progress towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has differed significantly between states.
While some of the middle- and high-income countries have performed relatively well, rampant discrimination has exacerbated challenges to the promotion and protection of human rights.
Rapid development in the Gulf region presents significant environmental costs, and the sustainability of some proposed solutions is questionable. Countries affected by conflict and economic collapse are lagging behind, yet even here, the absence of government measures has presented opportunities for civic society to develop sustainable initiatives.
Instability stymies promotion of SDGs
The wave of social unrest and revolution which swept the Middle East in 2011, also known as the Arab spring, resulted in ongoing conflict and instability and has, in general, slowed down socio-economic development in the region. The conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Palestine have contributed to the fragility of neighbouring countries, particularly Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, and Sudan.
The prolonged political strife in the region has been a constant barrier to progress on SDGs that promote inclusivity, education, economic growth, the provision of water, food security and good health.
These conflicts have also caused a cross-border displacement of an estimated 12.4 million people in the region, as shown in the latest report by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC). Before 2011, Lebanon had a population of 4 million people but has since seen an influx of more than 1.5 million refugees.
The situation in these countries has driven them to rely heavily on humanitarian aid, but this is a short-term solution and does little to implement fundamental political and economic reform.
Climate change as catalyst for war
The global climate emergency presents another challenge to the socio-political conditions of the Middle East. In a recent interview with the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, former director at the World Bank, Jamal Saghir, explained how climate change paved the way to the war in Syria.
Decreased precipitation combined with record-high temperatures resulted in desertification of agricultural land, causing 1.5 million rural workers to head to the cities looking for work. The pressures of increased population helped spark protests across the country, which led to the civil war of 2011.
Moreover, once countries are struggling with conflicts they are even less able to cope with the effects of climate change. The general trend shows that populations facing insecurity and shortages of basic commodities tend to leave environmental issues as a secondary priority, which can in turn exacerbate the problems they face.
Lebanon plans to switch 30% of its energy production to renewable by 2030
While several Middle Eastern countries are taking adequate measures to mitigate the effects of global warming, some of the wealthier states have come up with extravagant solutions that may not be sustainable in the long term.
With scorching temperatures regularly surpassing 45C, scientists from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are using laser drones to induce artificial rain, in the hope of alleviating some of the aridity found in some nations as a result of heat waves. Experts have described the initiative as expensive and unsustainable, arguing that we cannot combat the force of nature and solutions should be developed to eliminate the source of the problem.
Ongoing gender discrimination
The subjugation of women presents an important impediment to development in the Middle East. Whilst SDG Goal 5 calls to end all forms of discrimination against women, the region as a whole has recorded abysmal levels of gender equality. This is a critical area where middle- and high-income countries — and states generally considered as developed by traditional measures — falter on the SDGs.
For example, oil-rich Gulf countries such as Kuwait, Bahrain or the UAE, have made the greatest efforts in achieving the SDGs, especially in the areas of education, economic growth, industry and infrastructure. But in law there are still complications regarding a woman’s obligation to obey her husband in these countries, and the cohabitation of unmarried couples and consumption of alcohol remain problematic .
Women’s rights in Saudi Arabia remain severely restricted. They experience severe discrimination in terms of employment, health care, education, freedom of movement and various forms of abuse.
People are taking control
As it stands, the prospect of widespread achievement of the SDGs in the Middle East seems unpromising. However, the depth of the political and economic crises in low- and middle-income countries has presented opportunities to develop sustainable solutions at the people’s level.
Since 2019, Lebanon has faced one of the worst financial upheavals in modern times. As residents struggle with severe shortages of basic commodities, members of civic society have taken matters into their own hands by developing sustainable initiatives across various sectors.
With state power grid Électricité du Liban providing only two hours of electricity per day, social energy enterprise Recycle Beirut has started running its entire plant using solar panels. It began providing solar solutions to Lebanese residents as a response to electricity shortages, and has seen a significant interest in solar panelling in recent months.
There are also numerous initiatives to help vulnerable communities access electricity, including WakaWaka, a solar lighting company which distributed equipment to over 400,000 Syrian refugees in the Bekaa Valley. Lebanon has specified its contribution to global climate action with plans to switch 30% of its energy production to renewable by 2030. That figure is currently around 7%.
Growth of food sovereignty
In the state of Palestine, Israeli settlements are slowly stripping the indigenous people of farmland and water resources. In an effort to avoid food scarcity, environmentalist Vivien Sansour founded the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library after discovering that many local fruits and vegetables were disappearing or had already disappeared from Palestinian lands. In 2014, she started building a collection of seeds from plants that were dying out for farmers across the country to borrow and share to achieve food sovereignty.
Palestinian residents are also taking part in agro-resistance in order to reclaim independence from the Israeli occupation. They regularly participate in peaceful demonstrations and work together to redefine agricultural practices, catch rainwater from rooftops and catalogue seeds through Sansour’s library.
Women lead environmental advocacy
US sanctions are seen as a major barrier to Iran’s ability to pursue sustainable development policies. The country faces a number of issues, including air and water pollution, land degradation, desertification and biodiversity loss related to global warming. Sanctions have not directly caused these issues, but they inadvertently act as catalysts.
Iranian women are at the forefront of environmental advocacy. The Society of Iranian Women Advocating Sustainable Development has conducted numerous studies to raise public awareness of the country’s environmental condition. It has participated in the drafting of an environmental strategy in Iran in collaboration with the World Bank. The society also holds workshops to educate citizens on the fight against desertification, hygienic recycling of waste, the fight against air pollution in big towns and cities and education for the optimum use of replaceable natural resources.
Victoria Jamali, an assistant professor at the University of Tehran, has founded another of Iran’s leading environmental organisations: the Women’s Society Against Environmental Pollution. With the disappearance of about 85% of groundwater sources — due to the combined effect of government mismanagement and global warming — she works to bring comprehensive legal reform to combat the water crisis and implement effective environmental solutions in the country.
In a rapidly evolving geopolitical landscape, much of the hope in the region lies in governments and communities coming together to implement sustainable development policies that respond to local needs. Whilst there appears to be a long way to go before Middle Eastern nations find political and economic stability, civic society around the region is leading the way towards sustainability.
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