59
Society
Arabs in a Green World Omar Al Jaddou discusses how Islam has much in common with environmentalism. He also questions the motives of the Kyoto protocol...
T
he Native American Indians have a saying: “When the last tree has been cut down, the last fish caught, the last river poisoned, only then will you realise that one cannot eat money,” and I truly believe that - lost in the swirling fog of history - the Native Indian’s experience at the hands of Western civilisation remains significant in this part of the world and parallels can certainly be drawn between their tribal nomadic values and Arabian heritage. This atavistic warning from the annals of history remains as valid globally
A myriad of ‘green’ financial products have appeared on the markets” www.buildgreen.ae
for modern-day industrialists as it was to the frontier men of yesteryear. The rising awareness of the damage being done to the environment has found itself articulated at an international level in carbon-reducing projects funded by various means outlined in international agreements such as the Kyoto protocol. A myriad of ‘green’ financial products have appeared on the markets, such as the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes; investments in environmentally-sustainable mutual funds or direct investment in solar plant manufacturers and wind farm operators - the list is vast and growing. In terms of Carbon Credits there are three types: VERs, CERs and EUAs, which are all governed by differing regulations and designed for different purposes, but they all share one underlying ethos - to create a mechanism that provides an economic incentive to reduce greenhouse gasses. Chief among the underlying influences on popular opinion in the Arab world, particularly in the Gulf region, is the Bedouin heritage from which the Arabs emerged, with its tendrils of influence reaching across time, forming the foundation of tradition, culture, etiquette and attitudes. The Bedouin carved their lives from the harsh environment in which they existed, moving from one oasis to another, culturally prizing warlike raids on other tribes as a means
of both survival and self-enrichment. The cruelty of the environment in which the Bedouins’ lived bestowed on them an innate charm and nobility - it also rendered trust and water as perhaps equally valuable luxuries. A patriarchal familybased social structure helped ensure the loyalty of all within the tribe, and while guests enjoyed legendary hospitality in the most inhospitable of environments, strangers were greeted with an equally legendary suspicion. As the region evolved, mineral resources proved a relentless catalyst for contact with foreign cultures and nations whose initially amiable nature was rapidly eroded by a continual stream of well documented inequity and indifference spanning from the 1917 Balfour declaration to more recent conflicts. Descended from such barren lands, the concept of environmental protection may have been seen as a non-issue. Witnessing the various campaigns and initiatives launched on a global level, such as the Kyoto protocol, Arabs may point to their established wildlife reserves and existing environmental laws which are drawn from a natural synergy with Islamic traditions. Arabs might also highlight the history of inequitable indifference shown to them by these same world bodies who now seek to enlist their help in achieving a goal which they may see as intangible. Would it be surprising to witness the Arabs reciprocate the same savage indifference to which they have grown used to receiving, wary of a grossly one-sided history that prejudices any overture from the West. The politics of the green movement may be in danger of coalescing with the long-held Arab view of the global realpolitik as a rigged game, a giant Las Vegas, where the smiling faces, glitz, glamour and shining lights all work to mask a machine designed solely to extract helpless patrons’ money - and, like any casinogoer, the Arab knows only too well, in the end, the House wins every time. Omar Al Jaddou is Director of Special Projects at Carbon Credit brokerage, Advanced Global Trading’s Middle East headquarters in Dubai. He can be contacted at o.jaddou@ advancedglobaltrading.com
January 2012