| | Development as public relations
| | By Najib Saab
July-august 1998
After the theme of children and women as marketing tools for international aid was exploited and exhausted over the last decade, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have recently become an inherent part of any project proposal for development assistance. The magic word among aid agencies now is NGO. While the term NGO might mean any group outside government institutions, be it a professional association, public society, club, research centre, university or private company, it commonly refers to voluntary groups. | | more... | |
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| | Sharing abundance, not poverty | | By Najib Saab
May-June 1998
Resolutions of some international conferences and meetings on environment and development, are almost an invitation for poor countries to perish of thirst, starvation and disease. They call for reducing water consumption and imposing high taxation on water, in countries where millions of people lack clean water supplies and where the annual water consumption per person is less than the weekly consumption of a citizen in an industrialized country. They call for restrictions on agriculture and food production operation, to save bio-diversity and soil quality, in countries where the population suffers malnutrition. | | more... | |
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| | Conversation versus conservation | | By Najib Saab
March-April 1998
One of the special characteristics of the Third World, to which we belong, is that politics and macro-economic policies constitute the major portion of the daily public talk. Politics are an inherent part of the conversation of people at all levels, who would analyse problems and suggest ultimate solutions. Everyone is certain to have the best answer to any problem.
Heated economic and political discussions are heard in restaurants, television talk shows, taxis and streets. A participant in those polemics would talk as if he is an expert almost in all domains, from foreign policy to industry and commerce.
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| Climate change: who pays the price?
By Najib Saab
January/February 1998
| | By Najib Saab
January/February 1998
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has finally adopted a firm stance regarding its participation in international measures to tackle the issue of climate change. For the first time, the organization declared, during the Climate Summit in Kyoto last month, a courageous stand to protect the rights of oil exporting countries, the majority of which are developing non-industrialized nations, and safeguards the interests of poor countries. OPEC statements were very well structured not to show the the organization is abandoning its commitment to international environmental action. | | more... | |
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 | | | Arab Environment in 10 Years | | | ARAB ENVIRONMENT IN 10 YEARS crowns a decade of the series of annual reports produced by the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) on the state of Arab environment. It tracks and analyzes changes focusing on policies and governance, including level of response and engagement in international environmental treaties. It also highlights developments in six selected priority areas, namely water, energy, air, food, green economy and environmental scientific research. |
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