World Environment Magazine, Issue 9

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WORLDENVIRONMENT.TV

MAGAZINE

WORLD ENVIRONMENT MAGAZINE No 09 / May 2012

Special Rio 2012

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CONTENTS 4... Contributors The people who made this issue 6... Foreword Cathy Chami Tyan 8... BookReviews The books we love to read 10... Short News

Climate Change

Biodiversity

Water

Eco-Living

14... RIO 2012, First Steps to a Safer Future: Introducing the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

40... Checking the Pulse of Our Forests

72... Indonesia Jakarta’s water agreement muddied by lack of transparency

130... Fondation Saradar E-ecoeducation & mobile computer school

20... Good Heavens, Someone ought to do something about the perilous state of our planet!

48... BankMed The truly diversified portfolio

76... Ethical Water Exchange Introducing a new model

134... STARS Foundation Leading lights in child protection, education & health

Cultural Heritage & Sustainable Development

146... The Unheard Effects of Noise Pollution

22... Time to Prioritize the Oceans at Rio

56... The ‘No Compromise’ Policy

82... Save Beirut Heritage

148... The Creative Arts as a Significant Path to Green Ethics

26... High Time to Better Govern the High Seas

59... Towards a Greener Middle East

30... The Age of Marine Enlightenment: What the experts are saying about ocean damage and value

60... The CoOwners of our Planetary Organization

Environment & Business: The Green CEO

52... The Win-Win Business Model

106... The Gathering

36... Transparency Crucial for Development

Around the World in Photos 113... Kenya Field Trip

154... The Power of Organic Dialogues!

158... Agenda List of environmental events 160... URL page

Energy 128... ArchiTechnology, Made in Italy Technological innovation, style and sustainability

Chairman, Andrea Tucci, a.tucci@worldenvironment.tv. Editorial Director, Cathy Chami Tyan, c.tyan@worldenvironment.tv Editorial Project Coordinator, Marc Wiliam Lowe, m.lowe@worldenvironment.tv Editing, Sherine Bouez & Hala Habib Concept & Design, RAIDY | www.raidy.com Photography, Diego Fernandez Gabaldon, Marinebank, Save Beirut Heritage, WE group Sales and Advertisements, Vanessa AbdelAhad, vanessa@worldenvironment.tv, adv@worldenvironment.tv Informations, info@worldenvironment.tv Subscriptions, Subscription@worldenvironment.tv, P.O.Box 1396 Beit Mery, Lebanon Printing, RAIDY | www.raidy.com Publisher, World Environment Group Copyright, The articles become part of the magazine’s archives. Further publishings on other issues must be authorized by the editor following the author’s consent ISSN 17379229

WORLD ENVIRONMENT MAGAZINE’s policy is to use papers that are wood free, renewable, recyclable and from sustainable sources. In addition, all waste is sent for recycling.

WORLD ENVIRONMENT MAGAZINE is available online at www.worldenvironment.tv

CONTRIBUTORS Dr. Agnès Callamard is the Executive Director of ARTICLE 19. Under her direction, ARTICLE 19 has strengthened its leadership of cutting edge public policy issues, and grown in size with the opening of 5 regional offices across the world. Agnès founded and led HAP (Humanitarian Accountability Partnership), the first international selfregulatory body for humanitarian actors.

At HAP she oversaw field trials on accountability to beneficiaries in Afghanistan, Cambodia and Sierra Leone. Dr Callamard is the former Chef de Cabinet for the Secretary General of Amnesty International (AI). She played a key role in establishing an effective senior management system and also led AI’s policy work on women’s human rights.

Agnès has investigated human rights abuses throughout the world and worked extensively in the field of refugee and IDPs movements. She has published broadly and holds a PhD in Political Science from the New School in New York.

Sherine Boueiz is a dynamic international professional with a keen interest in Wellbeing and a passion for Nature. A Psychologist by background, she has worked for multinationals in the United Kingdom and in the Middle East on various Corporate Communications projects, such as Corporate Social Responsibility and development. She is also devoted to activities involving health and relaxation therapies, like TaijiQuan or Natural treatments, all with the aim of improving the quality of life.

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Valerie Issumo is a lecturer at the University of Geneva, a consultant in Corporate Social Responsibility and Socially Responsible Investing, and an active member in associations for nature conservation, for sustainable finance and for professionalizing beekeeping in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She is the designer of an environmental and health tool for the improvement of sustainable consumption, the ‘Ethical Water Exchange’. Economist and Laureate of the Belgian Prize of Foreign Trade, she trains traders in Europe, Africa and South America.

Elsa Sattout is a PhD Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences- Notre Dame University, LouaizeLebanon.

Teacher in environmental protection and ethics, environmental sciences, environmental economy & sustainable development, she served the world communities through International and National Environmental Governances and NGOS on issues relevant to the conservation of biodiversity and sustainability. She believes in the role of Environmental Education (EE) in building better societies caring for the environment. She also worked on strengthening the role of women in EE for a greater participation in biodiversity conservation in the Arab World.

Fiona Curtin has been active in the fields of sustainable development and human rights for fifteen years, working at UNHCR and Green Cross International in Geneva, and now as an independent writer and policy advisor based in London.

Sheryle Tamagini Born and raised in Massachusetts Sheryle has lived in Italy since 1997. She runs a B&B and vacation rental business and works as a freelance writer.

Rocil Gonçalves As an environmental activist, Rocil has used her production skills for eco-friendly purposes.

She is an Executive producer in the Brazilian film industry, and has worked on a wide array of projects. These include Green Peace documentaries on climate change, the ‘Documenta Brazil’ program in co-ordination with the Brazilian Ministry of Culture, the restoration of old movies by Jean Manzon, film production, or events. She is also the director of the ‘Jornal RG de Florianópolis’ publication.

Mona Samari As a human rights and environment protection activist for nearly a decade, From England, Mona Samari has worked on a number of issues, including Guantanamo Bay prisoners, stateless refugees in Australia, child soldiers in Africa, human trafficking in eastern Europe and child domestic workers in West Africa, reduction of maternal mortality rates campaigns as part of the Millennium Development Goals and freedom of information and expression guarantees.

In addition to human rights work, Mona has also participated in major environmental and ocean protection campaigns. Originally Tunisian, Mona is currently working in Tunis on a project with ARTICLE 19 on guaranteeing the protection of freedom of expression in the drafting of the new constitution.

Mona also works as a freelance journalist, publishing regularly in the Human Right Defender Magazine. As a keen surfer, Mona loves the ocean and everything in it especially sharks!

Anthony Caronia Through his extensive travelling Anthony has developed a passion for photography and for documenting different ways of life, including cultural aspects such as heritage, religion, folklore, or modernization. Roaming across the globe for valuable insight into precious knowledge from Qatar, to Bulgaria or Guatemala, he has exhibited his work in different parts of the world and has published several valuable books, including photography volumes such as Children First (1998) or Playa del Alma (2005).

Mariejoe Raidy Growing up in a region known for political upheaval and uncertainty, MarieJoe advocates for doing business in Lebanon in a way that is environmentally responsible and ethically driven.

As creative director and as a shareholder in Raidy Printing Group s.a.l, she spearheaded an effort to adopt innovative, eco-friendly printing techniques. When she succeeded, she had created the only printing company in the Arab world recognized by the renowned publishing house, Rotovision, UK. MarieJoe is not only focused on environmentally responsible businesses, but also establishing a norm of individual and corporate ethics. Working with the American Lebanese Chamber of Commerce, she helped create the “Better Business Group” in Beirut, which encourages Lebanese individuals and corporations to adhere to a code of business ethics.

In recognition of her demonstrated leadership and trailblazing ways, MarieJoe was also recently asked to serve as head of the Communication Committee in the Lebanese League of Women in Business, a Network Hub of the MENA Businesswomen’s Network.

Kelly Rigg is the Executive Director of the GCCA, a global alliance of 350 organizations cooperating under the banner of the tcktcktck campaign. She has been leading international campaigns for nearly 30 years on climate, energy, oceans, Antarctica and other issues. She was a senior campaign director for Greenpeace International during 20 years with the organization. After leaving Greenpeace she went on to found the Varda Group consultancy providing campaign and strategic advice to a wide range of NGOs, and led the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition’s campaign to protect the high seas from destructive bottom fishing.

You can follow Kelly on twitter @kellyrigg.

David Banisar is Senior Legal Counsel of ARTICLE 19, global campaign for freedom of expression and information in London.

ARTICLE 19’s briefing paper is available at www.article19.org/resources.php/resour ce/2225/en/rio-2012:-moving-fromprinciples-to-rights. ARTICLE 19 cosponsored the Choosing Our Future: Open and Participatory Sustainable Development Governance workshop at Fundacao Getulio Vargas.

Maya Nassar is a full time journalist at Time Out Beirut Magazine and also freelances for other Magazines . She is a member of Animals Lebanon and has a certificate in personal training.

Diego Fernandez Gabaldon is a humanitarian worker with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) currently based in Nairobi, Kenya. He has served in Darfur, Sudan (2004 - 2007), West Timor, Indonesia (2008), Afghanistan (2010 – 2011) and Kenya (2011). While living in communities devastated by tragedy, Diego gathered images of the day-to-day life of Darfurians, West Timorese and Afghans, capturing their beauty, resilience and humanity. Born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, Diego is an economist by profession, and worked with the Spanish Embassies in Iraq and Thailand, before joining WFP.

Krystel Comaty holds a Master in interior design from Utrecht school of the arts in Holland.

Architecture and design have always been an interest to her, especially when it comes to old abandoned buildings that, within their walls, enclose millions of secrets and a story that maybe one day will be told.

Writing helps her imagine and unleash what some of these stories could be. By combining both her interest and her writing Krystel tries to transmit her thoughts to readers in the hope that maybe they'll understand her.

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Spring - Summer 2012

FOREWORD Twenty years after the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, people from all over the world will gather in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on June 20-22, 2012 to discuss how best to manage our future in a sustainable way. The summit will focus on two themes: a green economy in the context of lasting development and poverty eradication, but, another theme which is finally beginning to get the attention it deserves at the Summit, is the ocean.

After fighting for decades against the tide of neglect, broken commitments and blatant law breaking, experts and stakeholders concerned about the health of what amounts to 70% of the surface of our planet are cautiously optimistic that 2012 will bring a sea of change; that this attention will translate into firm political commitments and concrete action starting with the Rio+20 Earth Summit.

In this special ocean section of the World Environment Magazine’s Rio edition, we hear about the work of several leading scientific and conservation organizations towards understanding the threats facing our global ocean and achieving the change needed to preserve its abundance for all.

From science to business, politics, or lifestyle, through articles and pictures, our reporters track the high-stakes pursuit of a greener globe in a dialogue with experts and readers. Climate change, scarcer resources, population growth and other challenges are reshaping society.

As a direct consequence of climate change, millions of people in Africa will be exposed to increased water challenges and severely compromised access to food.

Around the world in photos are pictures taken in Kenya during a water assessment project for the world food programme.

Protecting cultural heritage is another issue to which we have dedicated a few pages because we believe that cultural heritage is an inner part of sustainable development. It is a necessity, and it is our duty to preserve and protect it for future generations.

Finally, and because every business leaves a footprint, we have added in this issue of WE magazine a new section dedicated to green initiatives in business by interviewing Chief Executive Officers who believe in a green economy and in corporate social responsibility.

This green economy section explains what it takes to build, develop, and stay green on the long run.

Ultimately, we aim to encourage sustainable business practices and initiatives at all levels.

- Cathy Chami Tyan, Chief editor

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MAGAZINE

BOOKREVIEWS Climate Clever Intelligent Buildings International

By Hugh Compston & Ian Bailey

Managing Cultural Landscapes Mapping the World's Greatest Challenge

By Ken Taylor & Jane Lennon

With contributions from an international group of authors, Managing Cultural Landscapes provides an examination of the management of heritage values of cultural landscapes from Australia, Japan, China, USA, Canada, Thailand, Indonesia, Pacific Islands, India and the Philippines; it reviews critically the factors behind the removal of Dresden and its cultural landscape from World Heritage listing and gives an overview of Historic Urban Landscape thinking.

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This book identifies a broad range of political strategies that are available to governments that wish to take more effective action against climate change while avoiding serious political damage.

This is the first book-length study of political strategy and climate change and will be of interest not only to policymakers but also to experts and activists looking to formulate politically realistic policy proposals, and scholars and students of politics and environmental studies.

Designing for Zero Waste Consumption, Technologies and the Built Environment

By Steffen Lehmann & Robert Crocker

Designing for Zero Waste is a timely, topical and necessary publication.

Materials and resources are being depleted at an accelerating speed and rising consumption trends across the globe have placed material efficiency, waste reduction and recycling at the centre of many government policy agendas, giving them an unprecedented urgency.

While there has been a considerable literature addressing consumption and waste reduction from different disciplinary perspectives, the complex nature of the problem requires an increasing degree of interdisciplinarity. Resource recovery and the optimization of material flow can only be achieved alongside and through behavior change to reduce the creation of material waste and wasteful consumption. This book aims to develop a more robust understanding of the links between lifestyle, consumption, technologies and urban development.

Sustainable Tourism Futures

By Stefan GĂśssling, C. Michael Hall, & David Weaver

This book therefore aims to answer the questions of if and how tourism can be a sustainable industry. The book concludes that sustainable tourism is possible but that it requires fundamental shifts in operations, systems and philosophies.

Design Innovation for the Built Environment

By Michael Hensel

This book delivers an overview of this pluralistic domain. Bringing together a range of leading architects, architectural theorists, and designers, it outlines the developments in current practice from leading individuals based in the USA, UK, Australia, Japan and Europe. Edited by a recognized expert, this book exposes the undercurrent of research, which is taking place and how this will contribute to the renovation of architectural practice.

Architecture for Rapid Change and Scarce Resources

By Sumita Sinha

This book explores what it means for development activists to practise architecture on a global scale, and provides a blueprint for developing architectural practices based on reciprocal working methods. The content is based on real situations – through extended field research and contacts with architecture schools and architects, as well as participating NGOs. It demonstrates that the ability to produce appropriate and sustainable design is increasingly relevant, whether in the field of disaster relief, longer-term development or wider urban contexts, both in rich countries and poor countries.

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SHORT NEWS

MAGAZINE

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GREENPEACE CLIMBERS SCALE MT FUJI TO CALL FOR NUCLEAR-FREE JAPAN In solemn remembrance of the lives affected by last year’s Japanese earthquake and the following Fukushima nuclear tragedy, Greenpeace climbers delivered messages of support and hope to the summit of Mt Fuji.

As the eleven climbers from Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA scaled the mountain, a banner reading “No Nuclear” and “Nuclear Free Tomorrow” was deployed at Lake Yamanakako, one of five lakes at the base of Mt Fuji, by a second team of Greenpeace activists.

“Greenpeace is taking messages for Fukushima collected from thousands of people in Japan and all over the world to the top of Mt Fuji to help convince the Japanese Government to listen the voices of the people, not the nuclear industry,” said Wakao Hanoaka, Greenpeace Japan Campaign Manager.

“On March 11th, Greenpeace activists paused to reflect on the lives lost in the tragic earthquake and tsunami one year ago; but we must also remember those whose lives have been irrevocably damaged by radioactive contamination,” said Hanoaka. “We cannot forget the terrible price they are paying for Japan’s blind obsession with nuclear.”

In Tokyo, Greenpeace released its “Lessons from Fukushima” report , which shows that people are suffering from the impacts of the Fukushima disaster due to the failures of Japanese authorities, who chose to ignore the risks of nuclear reactors and make nuclear industry profits a higher priority than public safety.

“Fukushima was an avoidable, manmade disaster, as industry interests and profits were given a higher priority than health and safety,” said Aslihan Tumer, Greenpeace International Nuclear Campaigner.

“Governments around the world must phase out this fundamentally dangerous technology, and invest in safe, proven, and affordable renewable technologies.”

BUY A WESTWOOD TREE-SHIRT TO GREENUP! EUROPE Vivienne Westwood, Achim Steiner and Isabelle Durant launched a citizens' green economy initiative ahead of the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development "Rio+20" Fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood put art in the service of sustainable development.

At the launch of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP)'s new 'GreenUp'initiative, conceived to bring the Green Economy closer to Europeans, Dame Vivienne unveiled a Tree-shirt to raise funds for re-connecting Europe's forests.

Forests across the globe will be central to combating climate change and a key part of realizing a low carbon, resource efficient Green Economy studies show.

The essential Vivienne Westwood design was printed on shirts donated by the Anvil Eco T-Shirt Collection - and each shirt includes a Shirt Scan - Code with additional information on the GreenUp programme.

Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, underlined at today's launch: "GreenUp, with the help of Dame Vivienne, can assist to demystify the Green Economy and make it practical so that people can make a difference."

European forests may be expanding by around 7,000 hectares a year but many are still under threat from 'fragmentation' as a result of felling, fires and conversion to agricultural land according to experts with the United Nations.

Not only are these isolated and fragmented forest systems more vulnerable to climate change, but they are also less able to support

wildlife, stabilize soils and supply sufficient water to the cities, companies and communities that rely on such ecosystem services.

'Buy a Tree-shirt, plant a tree' is the first of 10 actions of the newGreenUp programme - a UNEP initiative launched jointly with the European Climate Foundation.

The Tree-shirt is now available online at yoox.com's eco-friendly initiative YOOXYGEN, giving all net sale proceeds to replanting programmes. yoox.com's involvement in the GreenUp Tree Shirt initiative fits perfectly with their history of collaboration with Vivienne Westwood and ongoing involvement in the promotion of ecosustainable fashion and design.

The Tree-Shirts, are meant to be thought-provoking and to inspire a new way of thinking. "The antidote to consumption and climate change is culture. It's art," the designer and environmental advocate Dame Vivienne said. "It's a way of thinking. We are dangerously short of culture and of people's appreciation of what is actually a good life."

GreenUp is about triggering new habits for a greener Europe and for greener economies. Eight months ahead of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development 'Rio+20', GreenUp is taking the idea of shifting to a sustainable economic model to the streets. It's not just for private and public sectors, it's everyone business.

"Programs such as GreenUp which plant trees in European forests are an essential reminder that we cannot continue to deplete our natural resources faster than we

replenish them", noted Anvil's CEO Anthony Corsano.

Dame Vivienne emphasized that "the most important part is that it is absolutely crucial to involve the public. Public opinion is the only thing to save us. Without it, it I do believe we are an endangered species."

Isabelle Durant, Vice President of the European Parliament, spoke about the power of citizens as governments prepare for Rio+20. "The Green Economy will never exist with only directives and international agreements," she said. "We have to mobilise the citizens through programmes like GreenUp. It's absolutely necessary for citizens to have the capacity to exchange their ideas and experimentation. And to share their progress and successes."

Each month leading to Rio+20 in June 2012, GreenUp's actions for European citizens will convey how smarter development is achievable, and how a green economy can protect our economies and our future.

The citizen actions are designed with social media in mind, and GreenUp'scentrepiece is its innovative website: a social media hub that Achim Steiner, Executive Director of UNEP, presented at the launch. "The goal of GreenUp," said Steiner, "is to bring an understanding to the people and to inform them about the Green Economy; that every single citizen, young or old, rich or poor, can make a difference.

Without information, a citizen is powerless." Ă?

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BRAZIL HOSTS WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY The host for World Environment Day, 5 June 2012, will be the Federative republic of Brazil. The country also hosted World Environment Day celebrations back in 1992 around the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. At the time, the summit assembled the largest ever number of global leaders to make important decisions over the wellbeing of the earth and on development issues.

World Environment Day 2012 commemorations are therefore not only symbolic of how big the campaign has grown but also we expect this event to be the largest and most widely celebrated ever.

With a population of more than 200 million, Brazil is the fifth most populous nation in the world after China, India, United States, and Indonesia, in that descending order. It has the fifth largest land mass on the planet, 8.5 million square kilometers, providing home to a largely Roman Catholic population.

Some of the current environmental issues being faced in the country include the illegal deforestation in the Amazon Basin, which is destroying habitat and as well as plant and animal species; wildlife illegal trading; air and water pollution in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo; and wetlands degradation.

Also of concern to the country however is the growing food insecurity.

Speaking at the COP10 Convention on Biological Diversity in October 2010, Brazil’s Minister of 12

Environment, Izabella Teixeira, said “…over the past few years, not only has there been an absence of relevant signs of reduction of biodiversity loss but also the available indicators portray a growing deterioration of global biodiversity. Reverting this process, which in essence is a result of human activity, requires an unprecedented effort, with strong and determined responses from all global societies. Essentially, political will is required to change the patterns of the way different segments of society appropriate biodiversity resources for themselves.”

Her statement resonates with the World Environment Day theme for 2012 – Green Economy: Does it include you? The question invites everyone to both assess where the Green Economy fits in their daily lives and evaluate whether development through a Green Economy caters for individual needs.

World Environment Day this year will help to raise awareness on the serious impacts of carrying on with business as usual. Through engaging governments in action and your spreading the word on the importance of a Green Economy, this collective effort will preserve nature, while achieving growth, and encourage sustainable development.

“The ultimate objective... is to achieve... stabilization of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.�

- UNFCC

CLIMATE CHANGE RIO+20 WORLDENVIRONMENT.TV

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Magazine

RIO 2012, first steps to a safer future: Introducing the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change .............................................. 14 Good Heavens, Someone ought to do something about the perilous state of our planet! ...................................................................... 20 Time to prioritize the oceans at Rio .. 22 High time to better govern the high seas ...................................................... 26 The age of marine enlightenment: What the experts are saying about ocean damage and value ...................... 30 Transparency crucial for development ............................................. 36

RIO 2012, first steps to a safer future Introducing the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

The UNFCCC entered into force on 21 March 1994. Today, it has nearuniversal membership. The 195 countries that have ratified the Convention are called Parties to the Convention.

The UNFCCC is a “Rio Convention”, one of three adopted at the “Rio Earth Summit” in 1992. Its sister Rio Conventions are the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention to Combat Desertification. The three are intrinsically linked. It is in this context that the Joint Liaison Group was set up to boost cooperation among the three Conventions, with the ultimate aim of developing synergies in their activities on issues of mutual concern. It now also incorporates the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.

Preventing “dangerous” human interference with the climate system is the ultimate aim of the UNFCCC.

The Convention in Summary The Convention: - Recognized that there was a problem This was remarkable for its time.

Remember, in 1994, when the UNFCCC took effect, there was less scientific evidence than there is now. The UNFCCC borrowed a very important line from one of the most successful multilateral environmental treaties in history (the Montreal Protocol, in 1987): it bound member states to act in the interests of human safety even in the face of scientific uncertainty.

- Sets a lofty but specific goal The ultimate objective of the Convention is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations "at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic (human induced) interference with the climate system." It states that "such a level should be achieved within a time-frame sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that food 16

production is not threatened, and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner."

- Puts the onus on developed countries to lead the way The idea is that, as they are the source of most past and current greenhouse gas emissions, industrialized countries are expected to do the most to cut emissions on home ground. They are called Annex I countries and belong to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). They include 12 countries with “economies in transition” from Central and Eastern Europe. Annex I countries were expected by the year 2000 to reduce emissions to 1990 levels. Many of them have taken strong action to do so, and some have already succeeded.

- Directs new funds to climate change activities in developing countries Industrialized nations agree under the Convention to support climate change activities in developing countries by providing financial support for action on climate change above and beyond any financial assistance they already provide to these countries. A system of grants and loans has been set up through the Convention and is managed by the Global Environment Facility.

Industrialized countries also agree to share technology with less-advanced nations.

- Keeps tabs on the problem and what's being done about it Industrialized countries (Annex I) have to report regularly on their climate change policies and measures, including issues governed by the Kyoto Protocol (for countries which have ratified it). They must also submit an annual inventory of their greenhouse gas emissions, including data for their base year (1990) and all the years since.

Developing countries (Non-Annex I Parties) report in more general terms on their actions both to address climate change and to adapt to its impacts- but less regularly than Í

2012 marks the 20th anniversary of the Rio Earth Summit. In the birthplace of the three Rio Conventions, the Rio 2012 summit will take place on 4 to 6 June 2012.

It will focus on two themes: a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication, and the institutional framework for sustainable development.

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Annex I Parties do, and their reporting is contingent on their getting funding for the preparation of the reports, particularly in the case of the Least Developed Countries. Detailed discussed on reporting requirements and frequency of reporting for both Annex I and NonAnnex I Parties are taking place in negotiations under the AWG-LCA at present. This discussion currently also comprises transparency and auditing requirements.

- Charts the beginnings of a path to strike a delicate balance Economic development is particularly vital to the world's poorer countries. Such progress is difficult to achieve even without the complications added by climate change. The Convention takes this 18

into consideration by accepting that the share of greenhouse gas emissions produced by developing nations will grow in the coming years. Nonetheless, in the interests of fulfilling its ultimate goal, it seeks to help such countries limit emissions in ways that will not hinder their economic progress.

One such win-win solution was to emerge later, when the Kyoto Protocol to the Convention was conceived.

- Kicks off formal consideration of adaptation to climate change The Convention acknowledges the vulnerability of all countries to the effects of climate change and calls for special efforts to ease the consequences especially in developing countries which lack the

resources to do so on their own. In the early years of the Convention, adaptation received less attention than mitigation, as Parties wanted more certainty on impacts of and vulnerability to climate change.

When IPCC’s Third Assessment Report was released, adaptation gained traction, and Parties agreed on a process to address adverse effects and to establish funding arrangements for adaptation.

Currently, work on adaptation takes place under different Convention bodies. The Adaptation Committee, which Parties agreed to set up under the Cancun Adaptation Framework as part of the Cancun Agreements, is a major step towards a cohesive, Conventionbased approach to adaptation.

Climate Change Rio+20

Signatories to the UNFCCC Convention

Preventing “dangerous� human interference with the climate system is the ultimate aim of the UNFCCC.

The convention was agreed upon and adopted by the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for a Framework Convention on Climate Change, during its Fifth session, second part, held at New York from 30 April to 9 May 1992. In accordance with its article 20, the Convention was open for signature by States Members of the United Nations or of any of its specialized agencies or that are Parties to the Statute of the International Court of Justice and by regional economic integration organizations, at Rio de Janeiro during the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, from 4 to 14 June 1992, and remained thereafter open at the United Nations Headquarters in New York until 19 June 1993.

Currently, there are 195 Parties (194 States and 1 regional economic integration organization) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua And Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia And Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cote D'ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic People's Republic Of Korea, Democratic Republic Of Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, European Union,

Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic Of), Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhastan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia (Federated States Of), Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic Of Korea, Republic Of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Kitts And Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent And The Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome And Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Thailand, The Former Yugoslav Republic Of Macedonia, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad And Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom Of Great Britain And Northern Ireland, United Republic Of Tanzania, United States Of America, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic Of), Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

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Good Heavens, Someone Ought to do Something about the Perilous State of our Planet!

By Kelly Rigg

Once every 10 or 20 years, something remarkable happens. World leaders take note of the perilous state of our planet and its poorest inhabitants and think, "Good heavens, someone ought to do something about this."

And looking around they realize, "Oh... that would be us." So they have a Summit. And here we go again with the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, generally referred to as Rio +20.

Rio+20 is actually somewhat of a misnomer. It could better have been named Stockholm +40 given that the first Earth Summit - the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment - took place in Stockholm in June 1972.

Astronauts had recently landed on the moon, and the image of the Earth as seen from space had become the icon of the burgeoning environmental movement. Even back then, however, governments recognized that "the environment" isn't a single issue - it's all tangled up with economic and social issues. To quote the Stockholm Declaration, "the protection and improvement of the human environment is a major issue which affects the well-being of peoples and economic development throughout the world."

In other words, our iconic Earth was not just a big ball with blue oceans, green forests and swirling clouds; if Google Earth had existed then, we could have zoomed in to see the 3.8 billion people inextricably linked to her ecosystems.

Following the negotiations over the past months, I’m reminded of the French saying "plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose." This translates roughly as - the more things change, the more they stay the same. Compare the language in 40 years of declarations: Stockholm 1972: We see around us growing evidence of man-made harm in many regions of the earth: dangerous levels of pollution in water, air, earth and living beings; major and undesirable disturbances to the ecological balance of the biosphere; destruction and depletion of irreplaceable resources; and gross deficiencies, harmful to the physical, mental and social health of man, in the man-made environment, particularly in the living and working environment.

Rio 1992: Humanity stands at a defining moment in history. We are confronted with a perpetuation of disparities between and within nations, a worsening of poverty, hunger, ill health and illiteracy, and the continuing deterioration of the ecosystems on which we depend for our well-being. However, integration of environment and development concerns and greater attention to them will lead to the fulfilment of basic needs, improved living standards for all, better protected and managed ecosystems and a safer, more prosperous future.

No nation can achieve this on its own; but together we can in a global partnership for sustainable development.

Johannesburg 2002: The global environment continues to suffer. Loss of biodiversity continues, fish stocks continue to be depleted,

desertification claims more and more fertile land, the adverse effects of climate change are already evident, natural disasters are more frequent and more devastating, and developing countries more vulnerable, and air, water and marine pollution continue to rob millions of a decent life.

Fast forward to Rio 2012 which started with a “zero draft” of only 19 pages: Food insecurity, climate change and biodiversity loss have adversely affected development gains. New scientific evidence points to the gravity of the threats we face. New and emerging challenges include the further intensification of earlier problems calling for more urgent responses. We are deeply concerned that around 1.4 billion people still live in extreme poverty and one sixth of the world's population is undernourished, pandemics and epidemics are omnipresent threats. Unsustainable development has increased the stress on the earth's limited natural resources and on the carrying capacity of ecosystems. Our planet supports seven billion people expected to reach nine billion by 2050.

That feeling of déjà vu is not restricted to government documents. A Rio '92 veteran recently sent around our NGO "10 Point Plan to Save the Earth Summit." With a few minor updates, its demands could have been written today: - Legally binding targets and timetables to combat climate change - A plan for reducing unsustainable consumption - A process of economic reform to ensure "ecologically sound and socially equitable development” Better controls on transnational corporations.

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose...

Getting rid of socially and environmentally harmful subsidies, especially for fossil fuels, would top my list. This has already been picked up by the G20, and according to Jake Schmidt of NRDC: "In total, 53 countries have taken international commitments to reform and phase-out their fossil fuel subsidies including many of the world's largest economies...

These commitments have yet to be met." So how about moving forward in Rio by making clear commitments, starting with a date by when this phase-out will be accomplished?

See details in this submission by a broad group of organizations working on the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies: www.iisd.org/pdf/2011/joint_ngo_submission_rio_plus_20.pdf

In 10 years, time, when we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Stockholm, let's make sure we can say, "Plus ça change"...and for the better.

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Time to Prioritize the Oceans at Rio Dr Susan Lieberman, Director of International Policy at PEW Environment Group, talks to the World Environment Magazine ahead of the Summit.

World Environment: Why should we prioritize the oceans at Rio? Susan Lieberman: Well if you think about what sustainable development means it has to do with the relations between humans and the environment. That human use of the environment is sustainable meaning it can last for the future. The ocean is 71% of the planet and up until now previous conferences and summits have focused on the land where we live. However 80% of all fisheries and a major part of the protein for more than 1 billion people comes from the ocean. We cannot have a sustainable planet or sustainable development if we don’t have a healthy ocean.

So it’s time to put much more emphasis and priority on the oceans from the environmental perspective and the needs of a growing human population.

W.E: Is it true that oceans weren’t mentioned in first last Rio Earth Summit 20 years ago and how has awareness and the perceptions of ocean issues changed since then?

S.L: Oceans were largely marginalised 20 years ago.

There has been increased awareness since then because we know the overall situation is now far worse than it was then. For example industrial fishing fleets are far more efficient unfortunately, and far larger, far more wasteful of ocean resources then they were 20 years ago.

Governments are more aware and there has been progress in those 20 years - but it is not enough progress.

Progress has been made in sustainable fisheries but we still have 85% of global fisheries overfished or depleted so we shouldn’t sit back and say things are moving in the right direction, some things are but many aren’t.

W.E: What are the key decisions on the table at the Rio Conference?

S.L: About a year and half ago when preparations for this started, there were no key decisions on the table for oceans.

PEW Environment group has been working with a lot of NGOs and governments and has advocated for oceans to be a priority and they are now one of the top priorities at Rio. There are a couple of key decisions that can be made at Rio. One of them is action to protect high seas biodiversity. That area of the ocean, that 50% of our planet that is beyond national jurisdiction, i.e. not under any one country’s Í 22

responsibility and it’s a free for all. We are pushing for a new implementing agreement on the Law of the Sea. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) has no framework for how to protect areas of high bio-diversity, who decides when no one government is in charge.

There’s a real chance of progress here.

There’s also an opportunity for action on sustainable fisheries and we’re really hoping for strong statements to move things forward and ensure that unsustainable fisheries stop until they can be sustainable and overfished species can recover. There is also a good opportunity for tackling illegal fishing also known as IUU. What we are talking about here is unmanaged, illegal fishing particularly on the high seas which not only undermines fish populations but also undermines sustainable development and economies of developing countries.

Finally we’re still hopeful there will be action on subsidies.

That’s where governments pay their fishing industry to build more boats or to give them a discount on the cost of fuel and that is one of the prime factors that is stimulating overfishing.

It is the developing countries and the EU that are really leading on strong outcomes, especially for the high seas and biodiversity, so credit to them. It is the developing countries and particularly the coastal and small island states that need a voice to speak out on ocean issues and how it matters to them. Hopefully those countries that are suffering the most will be able to speak out at Rio. 24

W.E: The multilateralist approach has been criticized increasingly in the faltering UN climate negotiations process. Do you think it is still the best way forward in approaching ocean conservation?

S.L: I don’t think we have a choice with the high seas as it is multinational.

Of course countries can achieve a lot at the national level.

Coastal countries can pass laws and regulations as to fishing that goes on in their waters. Fishing countries that are often called distant water fishing nations, the wealthy developed fishing nations that are out there fishing across the globe i.e. EU, US, Japan etc. can also pass strong rules so they themselves do not have over-capacity, too many vessels, and they respect the need to manage ocean resources sustainably.

Market countries that import can pass strong laws and regulations saying we won’t take your fish if they are sourced unsustainable or illegally.

However one critical thing that countries can’t do individually and we hope there is progress at Rio is setting aside parts of the ocean as protected areas, as “off limits”.

We need the equivalent of ‘national parks’ on the high seas, like the marine reserves we see in coastal areas. The world really has to work together to achieve these, as difficult as that is.

W.E: Why should people care about the ocean when most know hardly anything about it?

S.L: Most of us look at the sea from the shore and think it’s endless and we as a species cannot begin to think that we could deplete what’s out there because the ocean is so vast. But I think that is changing. If you look in the last 3040 years how people relate particularly in the West to whales, marine mammals and turtles - people understand these species have an intrinsic value as well, not only as an economic, livelihood or food benefit.

People need to understand that the ocean makes up more than two-thirds of our planet and is home to more than half of the species on earth, the food security depends on the health of our oceans. We can’t assume we can keep dumping into the ocean and taking everything we want, and think that everything will just bounce back. It’s not going to bounce back.

Another problem with ocean conservation is that, when you talk about species conservation on land you talk about elephants, tigers and most people don’t see them as a food source. People see fish as food and they don’t want to see fish as a species, as part of biodiversity to be conserved as they find that confusing. But we need to start seeing ocean resources as both.

W.E: What will happen to the oceans if the outcomes from this Rio are too weak or they are not in-acted?

S.L: What we will see in the next 20 years, and some scientists say even sooner, is that all the large fish, the top predators such as the tuna and sharks will be gone. There

will still be an ocean and there might be things for people to eat - jellyfish look likely to thrive in some places - but it will be vastly different to what we know today and it won’t be able to feed everyone. We will have a mass starvation, and mass migration in a number of countries that are dependent on ocean resources. People won’t be able to make their living from the ocean and the forests inland them may have already been depleted. This is not hyperbole.

W.E: You will be in Rio at the Conference, are you feeling optimistic or pessimistic?

S.L: This is a UN conference of the highest level, meaning it goes directly to the UN general assembly where all governments will be present. I’m guardedly optimistic that there will be some progress. I don’t think all the heads of state will want to attend and agree on a document that does nothing about two-thirds of our planet, i.e. the ocean.

It is the developing countries and the EU that are really leading on strong outcomes, especially for the high seas and biodiversity, so credit to them. It is the developing countries and particularly the coastal and small island states that need a voice to speak out on ocean issues and how it matters to them. Hopefully those countries that are suffering the most will be able to speak out at Rio, and there will be enough political will to make meaningful progress.

To find out more about Pew's work on ocean issues at Rio and beyond , go to www.pewenvironment.org 25

By Mona SAMARI

HIGH TIME TO BETTER GOVERN THE HIGH SEAS Management of the ocean will be one of the seven priority areas addressed

by Rio+20. The summit is a crucial opportunity to safeguard commitments to better govern the open ocean - the area beyond national jurisdiction known as the high seas. An unprecedented alliance of conservation groups was formed last year to work to this end. Mona Samari reports.

Climate change is warming the ocean and causing alarming levels of coral bleaching

The High Seas Alliance, comprising 22 member organisations including Greenpeace, WWF, Oceana and Pew Environment Group, was formed in 2011 to work towards the protection, conservation and restoration of marine ecosystem health and biodiversity, particularly in areas beyond national jurisdiction, also known as the high seas.

These areas comprise 64% of the world’s ocean and nearly half the planet’s surface. They support important fisheries and harbor an enormous reservoir of biological

diversity that are increasingly under threat from overfishing, pollution, climate change, invasive species and habitat destruction.

Current governance of the high seas beyond national jurisdiction is characterised by a patchwork of regional and sectoral management mechanisms. This structure has failed to ensure effective implementation of States’ obligations to conserve and manage marine resources and protect the environment in areas beyond national jurisdiction.

An example of the need to improve high seas protection relates to Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and no-take

reserves. These are proven and effective tools to conserve and protect marine biodiversity, fish populations and vulnerable marine ecosystems. Yet there is no legal mechanism to establish multi- sector protected areas in the ocean beyond national jurisdiction, and currently less than 1% is protected.

Prior environmental impact assessments (EIAs) and increasingly strategic environmental assessments (SEAs) are commonly required within national jurisdictions for activities with the potential to have significant adverse effects on the marine environment. In areas beyond national jurisdiction, however, prior EIAs are required for some activities but not for others, and standards governing how an EIA should be done vary widely among sectors.

SEAs are not yet employed.

The High Seas Alliance is calling for the creation of a mechanism for the establishment, within five years, of a fully comprehensive, effectively managed, and globally representative system of high seas MPAs and no-take reserves.

HSA calls in particular for the establishment of a new implementing agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that would address the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. The alliance warmly welcomes the indications that such a proposal will be included at Rio+20, and believes that this demonstrates unprecedented and crucial political will on the part of many States to address the failings of the current regime.

Kristina M. Gjerde, a specialist in international law as it relates to the marine domain, is Senior High Seas Advisor at the IUCN Global Marine and Polar Programme, states: “Without the institutional framework in place to ensure that high seas areas are effectively protected, the ocean - Earth’s life support system will face continued degradation and unsustainable exploitation, jeopardizing the ocean’s potential to provide essential ecosystem services for current and future generations.

States at Rio+20 must agree to take urgent action to conserve and protect these areas, making up the majority of the ocean.”

Matthew Gianni, co-founder of the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, points out that that the failure to protect the high seas also has serious implications for what is happening in the furthest depths of the ocean. “With the depletion of coastal and open-ocean fish stocks over the last several decades, industrial fishing fleets are increasingly moving into the deep ocean in search of new opportunities.

Deep-sea fishing is therefore the greatest threat to deep-sea ecosystems and about 95 per cent of the deep-sea catch comes from bottom-trawl fishing.”

Gianni believes that Rio+20 is a crucial opportunity to tighten prohibitions on this practice once and for all.

HSA urges that States commit to concrete measures to secure a seachange for high seas conservation at the Rio+20 Earth Summit.

The Alliance, and ocean experts in general, see this as a critical opportunity for the international community to forge a new path for the future of the ocean. Í

What is the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention (UNCLOS)?

High Seas story Kristina M. Gjerde, a specialist in international law as it relates to the marine domain, is Senior High Seas Advisor at the IUCN Global Marine and Polar Programme, states: “Without the institutional framework in place to ensure that high seas areas are effectively protected, the ocean Earth’s life support system - will face continued provide essential ecosystem services for current and future generations. States at Rio+20 must agree to take urgent action to conserve and protect these areas, making up the majority of the ocean.”

The High Seas Alliance urges States to commit to concrete measures to secure a sea-change for high seas conservation at the Rio+20 Earth Summit. The Alliance, and ocean experts in general, consider the Summit as a critical opportunity for the international community to forge a new path for the future of the ocean.

The implementation of the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention (UNCLOS) has faced many obstacles, and it remains a work in progress thirty years after its historic signing. Many now believe that the Convention needs to be further strengthened by an implementing agreement to UNCLOS that takes 21st Century threats and challenges into account and addresses the shortcomings of the current system of high seas governance. There is strong hope that the Rio Summit can make real progress towards this goal.

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Through this unprecedented Convention, the international community sought to regulate all aspects related to the resources and uses of the ocean. Like all hugely challenging endeavours, the implementation of UNCLOS has faced many obstacles, and it remains a work in progress thirty years after its historic signing.

The United Nations Secretary General declared that the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention (UNCLOS) was "possibly the most significant legal instrument of this century" when it was signed in 1982, after nine years of negotiations by more than 160 States.

Among the key issues covered were: the limits of territorial waters, navigation rights, archipelagic status and transit regimes, exclusive economic zones (EEZs), continental shelf jurisdiction, deep seabed mining, the exploitation regime, protection of the marine environment, scientific research, and the settlement of disputes.

Ongoing issues related to the law of the sea and the implementation of UNCLOS are the subject of the UN Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea, which meets annually. More specifically, matters concerning the high seas are dealt with by the more recently established Ad Hoc Open-ended Informal Working Group to study issues relating to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity beyond areas of national jurisdiction.

The impetus for negotiating UNCLOS was the recognition that the centuries-old freedom-of-the-seas doctrine needed updating in light of the technological and political changes that had fundamentally altered humankind's relationship with the ocean. In 1967, Malta's Ambassador to the United Nations, Arvid Pardo, inspired the launch of the UNCLOS negotiations when he asked States to open their eyes to the looming conflicts and potential for devastation that could arise if an effective international regime was not agreed.

Many now believe that the Convention needs to be further strengthened by an implementing agreement to UNCLOS that takes 21st Century threats and challenges into account and addresses the shortcomings of the current system of high seas governance. This would allow for more effective protection, and more equitable sharing, of the vast resources of the ocean. There is strong hope that the Rio Summit can make real progress towards this goal.

Climate Change Rio+20 Sea corals, providing food and shelter for fish, also provide food, livelihoods and storm protection for millions of people in coastal communities.

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By Fiona Curtin

The Age of Marine Enlightenment: What the Experts are Saying about Ocean Damage and Value This year marks the 30th anniversary of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). It is also, of course, 20 years since the original Rio Earth Summit presented Agenda 21, in which states pledged to protect the marine environment, and committed to taking an integrated and precautionary approach. Though the ocean was little more than an afterthought in 1992, the wisdom enshrined in this pledge is more valid today than ever.

The last 20 years are characterized by intense international negotiations about everything from fishing quotas to coral reef protection on one hand, and a staggering lack of enforcement and widespread unsustainable – often criminal - exploitation of marine resources on the other. The paradoxical result is a host of highly commendable resolutions and agreements on paper, and an increasingly imperiled ocean in practice.

Meanwhile, the ocean has become one of the silent victims of rising CO2 emissions, leading to an alarming 30% decrease in mean ocean pH (acidification), and rising sea-surface temperatures causing some fish stocks to migrate to cooler waters and affecting hurricane and monsoon patterns.

Marine Enlightenment The past 20 years has seen increased recognition of the dangers facing the ocean and, by extension, the future security of humankind. This is largely thanks to the work of the hundreds of marine scientists and alliances of organizations dedicated to increasing understanding, and raising global awareness, of both the multiple threats to the ocean and the value of the vital services – from food to tourism to storm protection – it provides. As a result, there has been an explosion of knowledge and a shift towards greater public and political will to make the ocean a priority.

Today, the ocean is increasingly viewed at what scientists call “an Earth System level”, performing functions vital to all life on Earth. The ocean is the source of half the oxygen we breathe and over 10% of our animal protein. It is the driver of weather patterns, and – crucially – the repository of about 30% of the CO2 and 80% of the additional heat we have produced since the Industrial Revolution. Í 30

The Green Economy being sought in Rio will be a very sickly shade if it leaves out the blue.

Climate Change Rio+20

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Two important contributions to this process of marine enlightenment have been presented in the past year: the first report of the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO); and the study ‘Valuing the Ocean’ coordinated by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI). Both of these groundbreaking initiatives reveal that the combined impacts of threats – or stressors – to the ocean are already accumulating at a faster rate than predicted, and call for immediate, unequivocal action from the global to local scale.

The State of the Ocean At their 2011 expert workshop, a group of some of the world’s leading marine scientists warned of an unprecedented mass extinction of marine species unless swift measures are taken to address multiple marine stressors, in particular the triple threat of ocean acidification, hypoxia (which creates deoxygenated ‘dead zones’) and ocean warming. The combined effects of climate change,

overexploitation, pollution and habitat loss were shown to have already pushed some important species to the brink of commercial extinction, and scientists warned that we could lose entire vulnerable marine ecosystems, such as coral reefs, within a single generation.

The most recent analyses by IPSO experts at their 2012 Workshop point to some of last year’s conclusions as being conservative. The findings will be published later this year. The workshop also examined the kinds of approaches and solutions available and necessary to begin ameliorating the damage.

IPSO’s Scientific Director, is Alex Rogers, Professor of Conservation Biology at the Department of Zoology and a Fellow of Somerville College, University of Oxford, says multilateral, concerted action at Rio is vital: “The original Earth Summit in 1982, and its successor and associated meetings, set targets for sustainability of human activities and levels of protection for the oceans but these have never been attained. Reflecting on these empty

People in coastal communities in developing countries are increasingly affected by illegal or IUU fishing in their waters.

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Overfishing is one of the biggest threats to ocean health

Climate Change Rio+20 Ocean covers 71% of the Earth, yet only 1% of it is officially protected, compared to 12% of land.

promises, it can only be concluded that to date the oceans have had a low priority with the Rio Earth Summits. We hope that this time key international decision makers actually address the ocean in its own right and with the urgency our scientists say is warranted. That is something which IPSO and many other conservation bodies are determined to achieve this year.”

Valuing the Ocean SEI’s ‘Valuing the Ocean’ also examines the risk of multiple stressors, highlighting the danger of synergistic impacts; for example, rising temperatures making corals more vulnerable to acidification. The study warns that stressors acting simultaneously carry a real risk of thresholds beyond which ecosystems abruptly collapse being crossed, putting the livelihoods and food security of whole communities in jeopardy. Taking a precautionary approach in the face of such uncertainty and potential calamity is vital, and not often reflected in current marine policies.

But where this study is unique is in its examination of ‘ocean economics’. It calculates the cost of lost ocean value (in terms of impacts to services such as fisheries, storm protection and tourism) under different CO2 emissions scenarios. By 2100, the estimated annual cost of ‘business as usual’ policies, projected to lead to an average temperature rise of 4°C, is estimated at US$1.98 trillion. By contrast, rapid emission reductions could ‘save’ almost US$1.4 trillion a year.

Kevin Noone, Director of the Swedish Secretariat for Environmental Earth System Sciences at the Royal Í

Kevin Noone, Director of the Swedish Secretariat for Environmental Earth System Sciences at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and co-Editor of ‘Valuing the Ocean’, states: “The global ocean is a major contributor to national economies, and a key player in the earth’s unfolding climate story, yet is chronically neglected in existing economic and climate change strategies at national and global levels.

Rio + 20 can help make progress towards bridging these gaps.”

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Swedish Academy of Sciences, and co-Editor of ‘Valuing the Ocean’, states: “The global ocean is a major contributor to national economies, and a key player in the earth’s unfolding climate story, yet is chronically neglected in existing economic and climate change strategies at national and global levels. Rio + 20 can help make progress towards bridging these gaps.”

Making waves at Rio +20 Unlike 20 years ago, the ocean and coasts are one of the priorities of this year’s Earth Summit, and the draft outcome document is promising. But ocean experts – including members of IPSO, the High Seas Alliance and others – are calling for stronger commitments to ensure that the final declaration charts a course towards the ‘Future We Want’ for the ocean. Key points which they want to see added/retained in the Rio+20 outcome include: 1. The commitment to negotiate a new implementing agreement to UNCLOS to address the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. This should specifically stress the need for more Marine Protection Areas, which today cover less than 1% of the ocean.

2. Confirmation of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation targets to restore fish stocks to sustainable levels by 2015, and eliminate harmful subsidies that contribute to overfishing by 2020.

3. Strong commitment to tackle all illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing – including the designation of all high seas bottom fishing in contravention of international resolutions as illegal. IUU fishing should be explicitly recognized as criminal activity.

4. Specific recognition of the growing threat of ocean acidification, ocean warming and sea level rise - and their direct cause, increased CO2 in the atmosphere – and the urgent need for concerted action to address and monitor them.

5. Commitment to strengthening institutions and strategies aimed at sustainable ocean management at all scales from local to global. There is a specific call for a UN UnderSecretary General for the Ocean to coordinate action, enforcement and oversight.

Marine scientists and conservation groups are bringing a loud message to the Summit: that protecting the health of the ocean is vital and too much time has already been lost.

They are adamant the world must seize this once in a generation opportunity to take meaningful, coordinated action to secure the future of the billions of people dependent on the ocean for their food and livelihoods, and avoid an irreversible marine catastrophe. The Green Economy being sought in Rio will be a very sickly shade if it leaves out the blue.

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Marine scientists and conservation groups are bringing a loud message to the Summit: that protecting the health of the ocean is vital and too much time has already been lost. They are adamant the world must seize this once in a generation opportunity to take meaningful, coordinated action to secure the future of the billions of people dependent on the ocean for their food and livelihoods, and avoid an irreversible marine catastrophe.

Climate Change Rio+20

Unlike 20 years ago, the ocean and coasts are one of the priorities of this year’s Earth Summit, and the draft outcome document is promising. But ocean experts – including members of IPSO, the High Seas Alliance and others – are calling for stronger commitments to ensure that the final declaration charts a course towards the ‘Future We Want’ for the ocean.

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Climate Change Rio+20

By David Banisar

Transparency Crucial for Development During the Rio summit, thousands of delegates from governments, civil society organizations, corporations, academic institutions, think tanks, community organizations, youth groups, and interested citizens are meeting here in Rio to discuss and adopt solutions on promoting sustainable development and the environment. For two years, many have been meeting in New York, Geneva, Nairobi, Beijing, Bonn, Santiago and countless other cities, towns and small communities around the globe to reach agreement and produce a strategy which both sets an agenda for the future and reflects political realities and structures.

As the people have met to discuss everything from agriculture to green economies to institutional reform to oceans to clean water, the issue of accountability has been present, sometimes at the forefront, but more often in the background. It comes up in questions like: How do you ensure that all stakeholders are informed and included and their views considered? How do you make sure that the decisions made are actually implemented? How do you ensure that it’s done in a way that's meaningful to the people it is intended to support?

Twenty years ago at the Earth Summit, world leaders met and agreed that a key means to ensure accountability was promoting access to information, public participation and access to justice -

Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration.

This also appeared in the Agenda 21 and JPOI agreements.

Transparency and access to information allows for local citizens to understand how money is being allocated and spent for their interests. What drugs local hospitals have ordered and received and distributed, how much local teachers are paid, how much water land owners are consuming for their crops, and how much pollution is being released into the environment by local factories. Access creates new capacities for partnerships between communities, governments, international institutions and other stakeholders which recognize that all play an equal part and to be able to do so, they must stand on equal footing and Ă?

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have equal knowledge. Public participation ensures that the decisions are made in a fair and representative way which encourages dialog and discussion.

And access to justice ensures that the rights are actually real, and not just writing on a piece of paper with no real impact.

At this summit, this crucial principle needs to be moved forward from a principle into a tangible right.

In the final Outcome Document, it is essential that the rights are formally recognized and given effect. This means evolving from Principle 10 to a new international convention such as the successful Aarhus Convention that already operates in over 40 countries across Europe and Central Asia; This also means that states need to formally incorporate all three prongs of Principle 10 into national law and implement it, something that has not happened in a majority of states in over 20 years; and finally, this means moving from weak access and participation policies in UN bodies such as UNDP on access to a real freedom of information act and formal roles for civil society in the new CSD and the future upgraded or transformed UNEP governing council.

Similarly, the Sustainable Development Goals that will be approved should adopt transparency and access to information as a core value. It has been well recognized by the UN Secretary General, UNDP and others that a lack of information has seriously hampered evaluation and the ability to address problems with the targets. The SDGs should learn from this lesson and build in access to information and transparency to prevent this from happening again.

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Failing to learn from these lessons is not inevitable but a choice made by governments.

In the negotiating meetings, there has been substantial deliberation back and forth over the language setting this out in the draft Outcome Document. It is not clear why.

What government at this point in history would like to make an argument against access to information and public participation?

Is it really better that policies are developed without public input, that money is misallocated or poorly accounted for?

This is not a novel argument for most governments to consider either. The Rio Declaration is now 20 years old.

In the meantime, nearly 100 governments have adopted comprehensive laws or national regulations on access to information including India, China, Nigeria, Brazil, Indonesia, and most recently Yemen.

The UN has recognized it as a fundamental right under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as part of the rights to water, food, health, and education under the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and in the UNFCC and Convention Against Corruption. Other international institutions such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have adopted progressive policies on access. Many countries have also adopted laws on public participation in the form of environmental impact assessment laws.

The G77 countries should be championing this as a means to ensure that limited resources are put to the best effect to ensure that poverty is attacked. It goes without saying that the rest of the world does too. Here in Rio we collectively need to make it happen.

By Rocil Gonçalves Translation: Anthony Caronia

Checking the pulse of our forests “The ocean is not just an ocean”, it also has a destructive and cleansing power. The Indie’s life is completely integrated with Mother Nature, the source of perfect universal equilibrium and personal healing a unique way of life that addresses our current environmental challenges. Í

To the Guarani, or Native Indigenous tribe of South Brazil, health and wellbeing have long been intricately correlated with a celebration of Nature in every aspect of their lifestyle. The tribe mainly lives on agriculture and fishing. The concept of sustainable development is far from being alien to the indigenous communities, and has been practiced for many centuries. They sing to the spirits of the fish, animals and plants while hunting and gathering, as they only take what is needed out of respect for Mother Nature. They are the true guardians of the forests, carefully fine-tuning their every action with the changing ‘pulse’ of nature’s bounty, but also defending her legal rights.

Sustainability in the Forest This semi-nomadic population conquered many tribes during its expansion and lived in areas previously occupied by other communities that were either assimilated or expelled, only to settle in the South of Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. They endured a past of war and slavery, suffering numerous casualties and the many consequences of oppression.

Intense invasions have devastated their territory and most of their land has been ceased. Their leaders have been assassinated, accounting for 42

extensive loss, tragedy, and even suicide amongst men, women, or children. Today the Guarani still believe that land is at the origin of creation and peace.

In an effort to understand the workings of communal life in the Indigenous Guarani in Biguaçu district of Florianopolis-Santa Catarina, our team of explorers met Paje Vera Tupã (or Alcindo Moreira), the local tribe head and healer, in November of 2011. It quickly became clear that the local Guarani/Carijo tribe still took great care of its natural resources and spoke the original Guarani language.

Some Indies have left the village to study at conventional Brazilian institutions, where native teachers also impart knowledge on how to preserve their customs and language unto the community. Despite the suffering they have endured, their culture is one of tolerance and acceptance of all, in line with local laws and customs.

A Sustainable Eco-Village Vera Tupã (meaning thunder) has lived in the same village for over twenty-five years now and is a hundred and two years of age. He has been married for seventy years to Rose, one hundred years old herself, who passes on her midwife activity to younger women. The tribe is made up Í

Biodiversity

of a hundred and four members, and makes a living from various manual activities such as art and crafts.

The Guarani live for and through their family, from childhood to old age, always contributing however they possibly can to strengthening the community and its members, in order to create a solid social and economic equilibrium. The healer tells of the struggles for survival and for keeping his people and their traditional culture alive. Using healing as a way of life, they have their own herbarium of local plants and fruit trees, treating health issues exclusively with natural ‘medicine’.

Medicinal Plants and Fruits Vera Tupã led us into the bush to show us plants and roots he has used to heal his people, as well as other visitors from simple illnesses to fatal diseases. In an all night ceremony, we have witnessed various healing and cleansing rituals.

Many believe in these practices and in the effectiveness of the medicinal herbs, some of which are employed regularly as a preventive measure.

We came to understand that here the physical aspect of the healing process is always directly linked to spirituality. The human being is first Í 45

and foremost a physical body, through which he belongs to the universe, and everything in existence is constituted by the same elements.

He explains that, “what is outside is inside�. In other words, all our desires, emotions, ideas and visions are within us as well as being present throughout the universe as a reflection of our selves and of what we stand for.

A Science for the Welfare of Humanity The Guarani fervently take a stance as far as their rights for the defence against deforestation are concerned, 46

and contribute to maintaining healthy ecosystems and their biodiversity.

Legal demands cover issues related to land, education, health, culture, the economy or the environment.

They are protected by governmental entities such as IBAMA, FUNAI, and FUNASA. Indigenous communities seek basic survival, but also the possibility to live well. This involves recognizing the right to a decent life, liberty and freewill for every individual, as a way to balance collective and individual security. The Guarani have been the exiled, persecuted and marginalized, discriminated as outcastes and soulless beings, in order to make way for new civilizations. Deforestation has converted their fertile land into sugar cane plantations and cattle ranches, where they live in overcrowded reservations in terrible conditions. Today they seek to recover a minimal fraction of their original land. Their community is the symbol of earth, of water and animals. These ancient codes answer our present environmental challenges.

In sum, protecting and preserving them, both as a universal language and as a science for the welfare of humanity, is undeniably critical.

Clearly, every landscape and every scenario that defines human beings as a whole and within nature is actually a creation or a socio-cultural construction. Some of Brazil’s politicians and intellectuals have been protesting against some predatory economic models focused on land settlement, employing old farming techniques and very low labor costs.

Failing to stop this rapid process will eventually lead to the demise of the green continent.

“We need a new system of values, a system of the organic unity between humankind and nature and the ethic of global responsibility.”

- Mikhail Gorbachev, President, Green Cross International.

ENVIRONMENT & BUSINESS THE GREEN CEO

WORLDENVIRONMENT.TV

MAGAZINE

Magazine

The truly diversified portfolio ......................................................... 48 The win-win business model .............................................................. 52 The ‘No Compromise’ policy ................................................................ 56 Towards a greener Middle East ................................................ 59 The co-owners of our planetary organization ..................... 60

Environment & Business

By Sherine Bouez

BankMed The truly diversified portfolio Amongst other responsibilities, Mr. Mohammed Hariri is also Chairman and General Manager of a leading financial institution, BankMed, and is well aware of the firm’s duty to promote sustainable development and a greener environment for Lebanon. BankMed took it upon itself to declare 2009 as the year to better the environment as it launched its ‘Happy Planet’ program; a green initiative that has been growing ever since, focused on launching environmentally friendly activities, both within the bank and throughout the general public. Í 49

In line with its environmental commitment that started in 2009, and in collaboration with Operation Big Blue Association (OBBA), BankMed has launched the “Clean the Lebanese Rivers� campaign, a new ecological project.

Environment & Business The bank has successfully undertaken various projects to address specific challenges facing the country, such as deforestation, contaminated beaches and rivers, and carbon emissions.

Moreover, special attention is being given to educational initiatives to inform, update, and engage the general public and employees alike.

This also includes an ongoing advertising campaign to raise awareness of environmental issues, and is supported by an in-house implementation of ‘green’ practices in daily activities.

Up until recently, financial institutions in Lebanon and the Middle East saw their ‘green role’ as being purely philanthropic, whereby they give away a certain percentage of their pre-tax profits to environmental causes and charitable institutions. This dynamic is now changing, as institutions are becoming more environmentally and socially conscious. Financial institutions can increasingly act as investors in sustainable development initiatives, as visionaries by creating financial products that promote sustainability, and as shareholders and lenders by influencing the management of companies, especially small and medium sized enterprises which they tend to have close relations with, as Mr. Hariri explains.

Sherine Bouez: Which entities are critical for banks to partner with in their green endeavor?

Mohammed Hariri: Environmental and social problems concern all pillars of society, namely the private sector, the government, the NGOs, and of course the people. An institution’s ‘green role’ should therefore be considered as cutting across different fields with a broad agenda. It requires that key institutional actors work together to create a supportive environment for innovation and growth. Given their financial intermediary role, banks represent a substantial vehicle for addressing

society’s concerns, but to be more efficient, they need to partner with the veterans of social work, i.e. the NGOs. A corporate-NGO partnership presents an opportunity to bring useful business practices from the corporate world into the social sector, and in return bring successful social practices to business, thus enhancing the quality of the proposed corporate social responsibility scheme or ‘green’ initiative. Another important entity that helps banks overcome obstacles in sustainability is the government. Often banks find that there is an alignment between their business goals and certain governmental objectives, achieving them requires cooperation.

In fact, this public-private collaboration has been noted to be one of the sustainability trends to watch in 2012.

S.B: What are your upcoming projects and how have you planned them?

M.H: What we are seeking to do with our initiatives is handle them as longterm projects, rather than punctual short-term ideas, in order to be consistent in our work. Our plan for the upcoming years is to continue with our awareness raising campaigns, both within and outside the bank, since preserving a country and its natural resources involves continuous learning. We are continuing our work on reducing our carbon footprint, taking care of the environment, educating people on the importance of being eco-friendly, and supporting cultural and sports activities across the country. Moreover, we have declared 2012 as the year to clean rivers across Lebanon, following the “Clean the Rivers” initiative that was introduced in September 2011. Throughout the year, activities will be launched to restore Lebanon’s major rivers to take their natural course. Another innovative venture that we have decided to take part in is that of recycling electronic waste, such as computers, cellular phones, and printer ink, which the NGO ‘Beeatoona’ has launched.

Beeatoona’s ‘Ecycle-me’ project entails the recycling of e-wastes, and BankMed has signed an agreement with them whereby we will be sending them the first e-waste shipment soon.

S.B: Which cause primarily drives your green initiatives and why?

M.H: Our green initiatives are rooted in the responsibility we feel we have as a large financial institution towards the environment of the country we live in. Forests, beaches, mountains, and the whole milieu are the greatest assets and sources of revenue of Lebanon. Unfortunately, the country has suffered over the years as a result of war, pollution, and neglect. It is our belief that the general public plays a central role in achieving our sustainable development objectives, and as such we have incorporated social and educational programs as other causes underlying our green initiatives. The idea behind this is that for the preservation of the country’s natural resources to be effective, it has to be complemented by the people’s awareness of why it is critical that we do so.

In an effort to further its green commitment, BankMed has established a ‘Green Committee’ within the bank. The committee is part of the bank’s business development team, and its mission is to stay at the forefront of CSR developments on all fronts- local, regional, and international- and propose new endeavors. In countries like Lebanon, where financial institutions are the backbone of the economy, such institutions have the power to build or break trust and confidence among the general public.

They can generate a complete cycle of value creation by having a positive influence on people’s lives, and making the societies in which they operate stronger and more productive, through diversified investments with multifold returns.

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By Sherine Bouez

The win-win business model Mr. Joseph Massoud, Chairman of Etablissements Antoine Massoud (EAM), a large Lebanese distribution company, is also Chairman and CEO of Biomass SAL, the organic food enterprise he has founded some five years ago.

He believes that a good business leader ensures a healthy commerce while engaging the community and improving the quality of life.

Despite the challenges that innovation and growth are entailing, a win-win business model is at the top of this family owned company’s agenda.

Many studies clearly show that organic is the fastest growing food segment worldwide. However, the industry is still very small in Lebanon, as imports account for as much as 85% of total food needs. Although this figure presents a major drawback to the industry, it can also prove to be an opportunity for producers and farmers alike to grow local organic agriculture.

Premium or niche products can offer a competitive advantage compared to imported food products. More importantly, a few social initiatives and business leaders are working hard to make them increasingly accessible and affordable to all, in addition to introducing new environment friendly concepts to the industry.

‘Our family has grown increasingly passionate about organic food’ Í 52

explains Massoud. ‘We grew our little organic home farm and land for our personal use, and have been enjoying the fruit of our labor for a few years’. In this process, the family discovered the many famers that were passionate about healthy produce in various areas of the country, each of which also has its own fresh specialty foods. Indeed, microclimates and a diversified geography make for a bountiful offering here. However, most of the farmers told the family their stories of struggle as the challenges of bringing their products to market from remote areas, in addition to having to care for the laborious and costly cultivation processes, all took their toll over the years. Here, Massoud shares the birth of a new brand, but most importantly that of a new industry.

Sherine Bouez: How did you start your organic business?

Joseph Massoud: The more we enjoyed our organic produce at home, the more we felt like growing it and taking it to market. In addition to inhouse developments, we aspired to create ‘partnerships’ with various farmers to simultaneously promote their products by bridging missing gaps in their production line and sales activities. Out of this wish grew our new company, Biomass, which was certified according to the ‘European Regulation for Organic Farming’ by the Mediterranean Institute of Certification (IMC, Italy), in 2007.

The Biomass team wanted to grow and certified farmers needed to gain access to new markets. The goal of this new venture was to develop and distribute certified organic foods of high quality because we believe it is healthier, tastes better, and is good for our environment. Organic is surely

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a business, but it is also a passion and needs conviction to succeed.

Our team is made up of people who genuinely believe in our values and bio products.

S.B: How are you contributing to improving lives?

J.M: We work in partnership with household farmers. Our collaboration has allowed them to become better off today than they ever were before, and often engages the entire family in our work. We provide organic raw materials and input, offer quality control and testing, deliver extensive training, and share best practice.

One of the main issues they faced was that locating ways to sell their products. As we increasingly took care of getting their products to market, farmers focused on their area of specialty, in the comfort of their neighborhood. The products are healthier for consumers, for farmers who no longer use chemicals in their long hours of work, and for animals that are eating healthier foods and are raised in a better environment. We owe the growth of Biomass to the valuable input of our farming partners.

S.B: How is your business impacting the environment?

J.M: Bio products are environment friendly. Organic is a closed cycle, which means minimum waste, recycling, and reusing. We resort to the creativity of our employees to find useful and imaginative ways to make these processes possible. For example, the tomatoes that are not sold are used for organic composting for the next plantation cycle, can be processed as juice, or be part of completely new product ideas. Also, some products that are not commercially viable due to shape or size can be used to feed animals.

Awareness is still low in Lebanon, many consumers even have trust issues as people don’t understand why organic products cost more.

Unfortunately, many of the certified organic elements that go into our products such as grains or nutrients

are imported, and therefore make for more expensive merchandise. We have been carrying out public relations activities and doing advertisements to inform our consumer about the benefits of our approach. Many people are increasingly health conscious in Lebanon as the country has witnessed a sharp increase in cancer cases and other illnesses this past decade, in addition to growing environmental challenges, but organic is still a new concept. They also often can’t afford the products, don’t know where to find them, or don’t know what their benefits are in relations to allergies, cancer, or immunity.

Needless to say that this business is barely profitable. “It is an interesting business model that it is still very challenging’ explains Massoud, ‘but I believe it is a bet for the future in every sense”. Though the organic industry started its course about ten years ago, it is only growing and taking form recently.

Today, Biomass is the leader in the organic sector in Lebanon in terms of volume, distribution and variety of products. The Lebanese Ministry of Agriculture is in the process of creating a new committee to develop the sector. The next step for Biomass is to develop more products and work on volumes to reduce production costs, in addition to raising awareness and imparting valuable knowledge.

A good business leader ensures a healthy commerce while engaging the community and improving the quality of life.

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By Sherine Bouez

The ‘no compromise’ policy Karim and Sandro Saadé multitask to run the varied projects of their family business, the Johnny R. Saadé Holdings, but their responsibility to work on the cultural, social, and environmental impact of their ventures is an integrative part of their every move.

In addition, through their residential property development subsidiary, Greenstone Real Estate Developers, the co-CEOs introduce new green concepts and international certification in Lebanon despite a challenging socio-political environment.

The CEOs believe that the construction industry plays a pivotal role in shaping our planet for the future. To them, ‘preservation, environmental commitment and real estate go hand-in-hand’, and the residences they build are not simply buildings, but they also entail a certain lifestyle, as the way they are conceived implies a functionality that is custom made for conscious living. The long-standing family values of working in a highly ethical fashion, in the Middle East and Europe, have been incorporated by the two businessmen into the standardized guidelines of the British BREEAM certification scheme, the world’s most widely used environmental assessment method for buildings. They endeavored to introduce this sustainability and environmental building evaluation method for the first time in Lebanon, in the hope to set a trend that is very close to their hearts. With three projects already underway, L’Armonial in Beirut, La Brocéliande in Yarzé and Orientalys in Adma, they explain how our conception of lifestyle and construction are key to the preservation of our environment’s natural beauty, bounty, and harmonious workings.

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Sherine Bouez: Which collaborations have allowed you to accomplish high standards of quality in green construction?

Karim Saadé: With the BREEAM certificate we benefit from the guidance of specialized British consultants that lead us throughout a development. We collaborate at the initial phase of a project to devise the plans, and again at the end of the construction work. In line with the five-star hotel rating, the scheme ranks projects on a five-star scale. This enables developers, owners or users to gain recognition for their building’s environmental performance.

To be certified means to take into account multiple facets of environmental considerations such as management, health and wellbeing, energy, transport, water, material and waste, land use, ecology, pollution. As we often tell our business partners, we have a ‘spare-no-expense’ approach. We join hands with specialized companies to fine-tune our technical expertise, and ensure premium quality of implementation through our corporate reference book, ‘The Greenstone Book of Requirements’ (G.B.R.S.), that we use as a common ‘language’ both internally

within the team, and externally to level with partners or clients.

S.B: What role does construction play in cultural preservation?

Sandro Saadé: Functionality and taste have evolved with the changing demands of life. However, this does not imply loosing our cultural heritage and identity. Modern concepts and rich cultural heritage can fuse to shape residences. Developers need to put an extra effort into providing the

modern amenities of new architecture while preserving the soul of a neighborhood. It is plain to see how this impacts the urban landscape for the generations to come.

For example, In the case of one of our developments, l’Armonial, we preserved a building dating back to the 1920s whilst containing it in a bigger, twenty-storey construction, and creating an ultra-modern interior space. For every assignment we find different ways to incorporate local

culture and tradition into the construction work. In Lebanon, the older generations feel like they are living in a different country, uttering nostalgic memories as they describe how things were before the intensive real estate development transformed streets and neighborhoods in such a drastic way.

S.B: What does quality control encompass in the application of green considerations?

K.S: To enable the implementation of evolving green concepts and foster innovation, we make sure that our stakeholders include architects, landscapers, value engineering experts, cost controllers, quantity surveyors, technical controllers, acoustical consultants, geotechnical consultants, mechanical electrical and structural engineers. We pool our resources and apply a rigorous system of quality control. Investing more comes at a cost, however only 57

in the short run, since the outcome lasts for generations and preserves our planet. In some cases such as in La BrocĂŠliande currently being developed in YarzĂŠ, we have willingly lost about 25% of the construction building area we were allowed to use in order to have gardens, but the result speaks for itself: in addition to offering an exceptional view on the mountains of the Chouf area, the development seamlessly blends into the landscape, and every residence benefits from a private garden and terraces. It is located in a breathtakingly green area in the outskirts of Beirut, in the heart of a legendary forest from the medieval era. The way we proceed in developing of our projects is already in line with many green criteria, but we keep with evolving times by updating and refining our approach.

This includes aspects such as thermal isolation, acoustic isolation, water recycling, recycling dustbins, transportation, building orientation, or green roofs. We face difficulty because awareness is low in a country that has lived through decades of struggle and has had other basic priorities, such as survival, for so long.

Still, even if sensitivity to our environmental issues were to develop, both Karim and Sandro SaadĂŠ believe that without any involvement from authorities to make it possible for green projects to develop nothing concrete can take place. Indeed, awareness alone is not enough; clear legislations need to outline the fiscal advantages or rebates for both developer and customer, and guarantees for buyers, in order to reconcile financial stakes- at least for the bold few who are comprehensively integrating their green efforts into every aspect of their business against all odds, rather than just using it as a marketing tool.

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Environment & Business

Towards a Greener Middle East Between the 5th and 8th of June, more than 800 national and international companies and tens of thousands of professionals will converge on BIEL in Downtown Beirut to visit 3 mega events organized

by IFP under one roof: EcOrient Exhibition & Conference for Environmental Technologies, Sustainability and Clean Energy, Project Lebanon 2012, the 17th International Construction Trade Exhibition for Lebanon & the Middle East, and Energy Lebanon 2012, The 3rd International Trade Exhibition for Power, Electricity, Lighting & HVAC for Lebanon and the Middle East.

Albert Aoun CEO of IFP talks to World Environment magazine ahead of the exhibition.

World Environment: Are sustainability issues addressed properly in the region?

Albert Aoun: Parallel to environmental concerns growing in the Middle East and the world, due to climate change and associated natural hazards, green solutions and their implementations receive increasing attention from governments and decision makers in the region. Green initiatives and environmental reforms carried out in the past few years in the Gulf and the Middle East in general, have created vast opportunities for investments in green projects and the renewable energy sector. Currently, many governments in the region invest heavily in sustainable developments and programs. Lebanon is not an exception. A reform plan is funded by the EU to control energy consumption in Lebanon and to adopt a framework for energy end-use efficiency and services in the context of environmental sustainability. All these incentives have led to increasing demand for green, environmentally-friendly and sustainable products and technologies in Lebanon and the region.

WE: What are the reasons that led to organizing the EcOrient exhibition and conference?

A.A: IFP realizes the importance of sustainability and environment related concerns on the development and well being of our region. From this perspective, IFP have put hand in hand with Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the organization of EcOrient Exhibition & Conference for Environmental Technologies, Sustainability and Clean Energy. The show gathered the support of Lebanon’s Ministry of Environment and the Chamber of Commerce for Industry and Agriculture of Beirut and Mount Lebanon, as well as many environmental NGOs .

During the past years the region has encountered environmental alerts, requiring serious attention and a growing demand for environmentally friendly and green products. The decision to organize EcOrient exhibition and conference is a commitment by IFP and its partners to offer a launch pad for creating sustainability consciousness amongst the building sector stakeholders.

WE: Can you give us some details of the exhibition and the conference?

A.A: A group of specialists and speakers will discuss the important aspects of the region’s environmental issues and will come out with answers and recommendations to face the problems that we encounter in the region.

During the conference sessions, professionals representing environmental organizations, reputable clean and renewable energy firms, waste-management companies, in addition to representatives of environmental research establishments, scientific institutions and governmental commissions will discuss and suggest solutions to environmental problems.

On the other hand, the concurrent exhibition will offer a unique opportunity for local, regional and international companies to explore the business possibilities in the Arab market. The exhibition will give them the chance to launch the newest products and technologies with respect to carbon emission, waste treatment, preserving water resources, controlling pollution and all other problems facing the environment. Participants in the exhibition will have the chance to directly meet the leaders and decision makers from Lebanon and the Middle East. Parallel to all the initiatives taken by public and private institutions for the environment in the Arab world, EcOrient will provide great returns to all participants.

WE: How does the synergy of concurrent events serves the participants?

A.A: EcOrient is held concurrently with Project Lebanon 2012, the 17th International Construction Trade Exhibition for Lebanon & the Middle East, which will definitely multiply the benefits of all participants. A special show case, held concurrently with the event is organized under the title Energy Lebanon 2012, The 3rd International Trade Exhibition for Power, Electricity, Lighting & HVAC for Lebanon and the Middle East.

It will sample new technology, products and services covering all aspects of future development including solutions for construction, energy and the environment.

Environment & Business

By Sherine Bouez

The co-owners of our planetary organization Chief Executive Officer and entrepreneur Michel Zoghzoghi heads Dima Healthcare in Beirut, Lebanon. Seven years ago, he fell in love with photography and has since turned his passion into a useful tool for the promotion of wildlife conservation and the support of charitable organizations, in addition to attending to his usual professional functions. Ă?

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Heading the family business in medical equipment and supply services, Zoghzoghi juggles managing over a hundred employees, and spending hours to capture the perfect shot, capable of conveying a powerful message.

Dima Healthcare and Byblos Bank sponsored his latest photography exhibition that took place in February 2012 in Beirut, ‘Prey’. The total proceeds of sales of the photographs were donated to the Children’s Cancer Center of Lebanon (CCCL), an affiliate of St. Jude’s Children Research Hospital in Memphis, U.S.A. The Center depends on donations, and provides access to free treatment and care to all children with cancer in Lebanon and the region without discrimination. A perfect match for Zoghzoghi, who

elucidates that tolerance is at the top of his corporate social responsibility’s agenda.

Rather than simply ‘speak to the chorus’, the photographer’s wish is to reach the many people who are not exposed to the animal kingdom or have never come into contact with nature in the wild. In ‘Prey’, he familiarizes us with predators and sceneries from all over the world, including destinations such as Kenya, India, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Canada, or Alaska, to name a few. Large portraits of lions, jaguars, leopards, polar bears, and other predators make visitors feel they are in the midst of wilderness at close range.

‘Prey’ has been a huge success, and the photographer explains that this is just the beginning. Í

Sherine Bouez: What is the role of photography in the preservation of our environment?

Michel Zoghzoghi : At the exhibition, visitors realized the extent of beauty found in nature. Most importantly, they identified with the animals portrayed here as the images reflect tenderness and other emotions that we, as human beings, can easily relate to. They do not deserve to live any less than we do.

People do not always have the chance to see animals in their natural habitat and don’t have much knowledge about who they are, how they live, and

how they relate to each other, to humans, or to the environment.

If people can’t be in nature, I intend, through my pictures, to bring nature to them. The role of photography is very powerful in nature preservation, and I would urge anyone who has the patience, gift, and willingness, to give it at least a try. Seeing animals in the wild and interacting with them is completely different from watching them at the circus or the zoo! I want to touch people’s hearts and minds, to trigger something inside of them that could inspire them to act. Í

Environment & Business

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Environment & Business

S.B: Which cause primarily drives your passion and why?

M.Z: Many causes need attention and are important to me; at the moment the closest to my heart is that of preserving predators.

The most powerful predator is also very ‘human’ in the way he relates to others.

As I write in my book, ‘It is impossible to be indifferent to the dedication of a mother who struggles against all the odds- a pitiless climate, a diminishing habitat, a territory full of dangerous rivals- to raise her cubs’.

Big cats are the most endangered predators. I feel they epitomize the spirit of the threatened animal since they convey a message of infinite strength, but also extreme fragility nowadays. All the proceeds of my photographic work go to causes related to humans, animals, or the environment, and I particularly like to support children, who are also so delicate yet such a powerful force in ‘building’ the future. I am also concerned with protecting a human being’s dignity by supporting families that have no access to funding or find themselves in unfortunate circumstances where they are too embarrassed to ask for help. As the head of a company, life is certainly hectic, but one can always make time on more important grounds.

S.B: How do you intend to perpetuate your charitable work in the short run?

M.Z: ‘Prey’ will possibly soon show in Dubai and Paris with some new material. I am also working on a book with the aim of conveying a message of tolerance. Human beings are not

better than any other living beings, just as the latter are not better or superior to us. The format of the book will be similar to that of the ‘Prey’ exhibition, with around eight chapters on predators, and a chapter entirely devoted to the Masai Mara reserve in Kenya.

I am writing the introduction myself, however, each guide who has taken me to ‘his’ predators will write his own respective section. I admire those who devote several decades to such a noble cause as overseeing the lives of predators and imparting their extensive knowledge about nature’s harmonious workings. They have an intimate connection with animals, but also with trees, plants, the air, or soil, a wisdom we have become estranged to, and can perceive the slightest signs or changes needed to predict behavior, protect nature, or prepare for contact. Whether on a global level or on a regional front I believe the main drivers for harmony and evolution are education, education, and education!

When Zoghzoghi was asked whether we could learn anything from the animal kingdom, he replied: ‘honorability’. His take is that animals only kill for food and let nature be once their basic needs are met. A lion, with all the power that is in his hands, will demonstrate grace by not eating a gazelle in his reach if he has just had his ratio of food, a humbling realization indeed. Zoghzoghi’s emotional portrayals convey brittleness and the fact that the balance of this ecosystem can easily be tilted by man in either direction, but ‘it is their planet too’ he voices.

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The Water Agreement provides the framework for the production and distribution of clean water in the city, and as such, directly impacts the rights and livelihoods of the people of Jakarta.

Water

By Agnes Callamard

Indonesia Jakarta’s water agreement muddied by lack of transparency The lack of information on water privatization in Jakarta has resulted in an opaque and unaccountable system, excluding civil society from crucial decisions regarding their fundamental right to access water. ARTICLE 19 calls on the government to recognize that information is key to realizing the right to water, and urges them to publish the Water Agreement.

Over the last year, a group of Indonesian NGOs led by the People’s Coalition on the Right to Water (KRuHA) has been calling on Jakarta’s public waterworks sector to release details of its 25-year-long privatized Water Agreement. Despite repeatedly calling for the release of the Water Agreement, all of KRuHA’s public disclosure requests have been rejected, in clear infringement of Indonesia’s Freedom of Information (FoI) Act. Since its inception in 1997, the Water Agreement has not been open to public debate or tender.

The Water Agreement provides the framework for the production and distribution of clean water in the city, and as such, directly impacts the rights and livelihoods of the people of Jakarta. Because the Water Agreement is jointly regulated by the Jakarta Water Sector Regulatory Body, private firm PAM Jaya and its concessionary bodies, the lack of transparency not only denies civil society a chance to scrutinize a key public utilities service, but also to hold the government accountable in its dealings with the private sector.

KRuHA has lodged several information requests with the water regulators and regional waterworks company (all Public Bodies under the FoI Act), and after repeated rejections, they are now taking their dispute with the Jakarta waterworks sector to the National Information Commission.

ARTICLE 19 fully supports KRuHA in its effort to reinstate the public’s voice in the management of Jakarta’s water supply. As a party to both the International Covenant on Civil and

Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Indonesia is obliged to respect the right to information. In particular, UN General Comment 15 on the Human Right To Water requires states to guarantee ‘the right to seek, receive and impart information regarding water issues’.

Furthermore, the Indonesian Freedom of Information Act, which came into force on 1 May 2010, provides a legal guarantee for access to information held by public bodies, obliging them to proactively publish information and to release information upon request.

ARTICLE 19 calls on Jakarta waterworks sector to better integrate the principles of accountability and institutional transparency in its relationship with the public, and to lift this information blockade. The Indonesian authorities must provide full and immediate disclosure of the Water Agreement, including the terms of reference and final contract.

ARTICLE 19 further calls upon the National Information Commission to review the freedom of information dispute between KRuHA and the Jakarta water sector, and to ensure that KRuHA’s information requests are fully met.

NGOs Call for the Disclosure of Jakarta’s Water Cooperation Contract The privatization of Jakarta’s water services were conducted in 1997 during Soeharto’s “New Order” regime, without public consent and without any public tender. Even Í 73

“We want water to be returned to politics and this can only be started if there is transparency”.

Mohamad Reza, The People’s Coalition on the Right to Water.

today after democracy has been achieved in Indonesia, the public is still left in the dark.

Several months ago, as a part of a joint research project, the People’s Coalition on the Right to Water (KRuHA) and other NGOs filled a Freedom of Information request to Jakarta’s waterwork company PAM Jaya, its concessionaires PT Palyja and PT Aetra and the Jakarta Water Sector Regulatory Body (BR-PAM) for full access to the details of the service contract between the municipality and the service provider, but to no avail. The refusal to disclose the FoI request is currently being lodged for a proceeding at the National Information Commission.

Indonesia is a party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the UN General Comment 15 on the Human Right to Water requires state to guarantee “…the right to seek, receive and impart information concerning water issues”.

According to Mohamad Mova Al Afghani from the Center for Water Governance Universitas Ibn Khaldun Bogor, this opacity in Jakarta’s water services cannot be tolerated. Al Afghani points out to UN Independent Expert (now Special Rapporteur) report which stresses that the terms of reference and the final contract should

be made available for public scrutiny and that “Commercial confidentiality must not jeopardize the transparency requirements provided for under the human rights framework”.

“As a natural monopoly, utilities claim for confidentiality is often not justifiable”, Al Afghani continued.

“The problem is not only in holding the government accountable in its dealings with the private sector, but information from the contract is crucial for the customer to know their rights. It is absurd that customer’s rights are dubbed “commercial confidentiality’” he said.

Mohamad Reza from the People’s Coalition on the Right to Water added: “Ever since the contract was concluded, the public is considered as a “third party” without any meaningful voice. We want water to be returned to politics and this can only be started if there is transparency”.

Rahmat Bagja from the Center for Law Information (CeLI) will coordinate the legal processes in Indonesia. The NGOs are committed to push forward this case through both legal and political means at both national and international levels. Any possible redress mechanisms, including reporting the Indonesian government to the UN Human Rights Council through its Special Procedures are being considered.

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MAGAZINE

By ValĂŠrie Issumo

Ethical Water Exchange Introducing a New Model

Is water a resource or a weapon of mass destruction? Today ninety percent of wastewater remains untreated, hereby endangering our planet, health, security, and economy. Today, 2.6 billion people still have no access to basic sanitation. Wastewater can be promoted as a raw material, given all the byproducts that can result from appropriate treatments. Indeed, wastewater can be changed into a valuable raw material for fertilizers, polymers, biogas, treated water, and other purposes.

Mechanism The Ethical Water Exchange uses the mechanisms of Futures markets to trade treated water from wastewater as a commodity. This means commodities are sold before production thanks to commitments to future deliveries, which generate the financing of wastewater treatment.

Ethical Water TitlesÂŽ (EWT), the futures contracts traded on the Ethical Water Exchange, are priced by matching the following medium term commitments: - Treated water supply from wastewater treatment at listed decentralized sanitation locations - Demands of treated water to be supplied locally (i.e. in the operating range of decentralized sanitation plant), or internationally via agreed water footprint of listed goods/services.

Different security levels can strengthen the system. The methods used include clearing houses holding deposits and margin calls, independent supervision and verification companies, smart grid monitoring. The 1% philanthropic fee charged on every traded Ethical Water Title generates additional funding for environmental projects (e.g. for the African Great Green Wall) and water banks. Ă?

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Water

Innovation The most innovative aspects of the Ethical Water Exchange are: - Pricing wastewater transparently according to the ecosystem’s values and the demand for related byproducts (e.g. phosphorus, energy), including water risk management - Incentivizing and organizing the water reuse to reduce global water and carbon footprints - Scaling-up & prioritizing decentralized wastewater energy positive treatment technologies - Using treated water as the underlying commodity of all goods/services as a common “currency”, including automatic philanthropy related to food security The Ethical Water Exchange incentivizes entities to produce what makes sense (covering basic needs first), where it makes sense (according to the water exploitation index and water risks), and in a way that makes sense (with treated wastewater, sludge energy, and pre-paid commitments using commodities markets’ mechanisms). The ‘water footprint’ acts as an indicator of water use that looks at both direct and indirect water use of a consumer or producer.

The Ethical Water Exchange is a global solution via the foreign exchange of water ‘footprints’, a virtual measuring tool, with local water reuse execution. As a result, production is limited to goods that have buying commitments and makes sense.

Example of Implementation 1. Ethical commodity product demand (here for functional food/sugar) with treated water, 1kg of sugar cane has a water footprint of about 1500 liters, if only 1% of water used to produce sugar comes for treated water, 20,000 tons of sugar can cover every year/crop the wastewater recycling of about 13,000 persons near the sugar plant 2. Water, energy & ecological assessments of the producer of the goods Í 78

The Ethical Water Exchange could be considered as an opportunity for governments to fulfill the human right to sanitation of their population, while building a sustainable investment climate.

3. Sewage infrastructure financed via pre-payment of treated water of ethical products 4. Micro-credits or leasing at household level to improve living conditions: equipment for rainwater harvesting, water filters & decentralized sanitation with wastewater metering for collecting wastewater with wastewater ownership transfer agreements 5. Seller of Energy Water Titles responsible for collecting household wastewater, sanitation and supply of treated water to the producer (not invoiced to producer) and decarbonized energy 6. Buyer receives the food supply invoice with deduction of treated water price pre-financed 7. Reverse micro-credit or leasings for rainwater harvesting, water filters and sanition reimbursed via commoditized treated water from wastewater 8. Reporting (new jobs created via the pre-financed water footprint, access to sanitation, scaled-up technology, quality and yields data near sanitation plant, reduction of charcoal use in tropical areas, ‌etc‌), branding and follow-up of philanthropy.

Adoption Possibilities The Ethical Water Exchange tool is primarily designed for non-State actors (such as a luxury or an ethical brand willing to have a sustainable lifecycle for its products or irrigation needs) agreeing on a voluntary basis to the trading scheme for advantages pertaining to the buyer and seller.

For the buyer of Ethical Water Titles: - Water procurement security and benefit of treated water stocks - Reduction of environmental exposures and default risks - Branding For the seller of Ethical Water Titles (a wastewater treatment and management company that collects, treats wastewater, and stores treated water): - Sanitation/Sewage market visibility, stability and financing 80

A switch from traditional environmental fines to a legal obligation for polluters to buy a specific amount of Ethical Water Titles, based on the degree of their wastewater and impact water footprint and/or the obligation to transfer the wastewater ownership to the Ethical Water Titles sellers could be applied.

A State could perhaps generate more income through the governmental tax, which can be included in each Ethical Water Titles transaction. The latter could directly be divided between a Ministry of Finance and that of Environment, and through leverage effects of access to dignity and green jobs created, such as for the green water banks or wetland with 1% philanthropy. The Ethical Water Exchange could be considered as an opportunity for governments to fulfill the human right to sanitation of their population, while building a sustainable investment climate.

Bilateral agreements could also be done via pension funds that want to avoid global crisis contagion, by making sure that countries who do not have enough sanitation today will be able to sustain the consumption of their production, and that the water pollution which does not recognize borders will not jeopardize the production yields, climate and health of the contributing employers/employees.

In the spirit of long-term partnership and environmental protection, development banks might also condition their loans to cover of the wastewater treatment of the trade of certain goods via Ethical Water Titles that ensure the sewage or sanitation of the related productions.

In sum, insurance premiums increase because water related risks remain uncovered. The end of water and agro subsidies, and other classical ways to finance wastewater infrastructures show the need for new ways to finance and manage sanitation. The Ethical Water Exchange model guarantees integrated water management with transparency, viability, philanthropy and accountability. It reduces defense, health and climate change costs, while securing economic, social and environmental interests.

"I think everyone is entitled to our heritage and should not be denied it. It is elitist not to teach it, to say someone is not good enough or smart enough."

- John Bell, Irish Physicist.

CULTURAL HERITAGE & SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

WORLDENVIRONMENT.TV

MAGAZINE

Magazine

Save Beirut Heritage ................. 82 The Gathering ............................. 106

Save Beirut

Heritage In the 1990’s, an initial census counted 1600 traditional homes and buildings in greater Beirut. Today, it is estimated that only 200 structures remain. In close cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, Save Beirut Heritage helped save around 100 historic buildings that were set for demolition in the past two years.

Otherwise in the past two years alone, Lebanon would have lost almost a quarter of the architectural heritage of Beirut. Ă?

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Save Beirut heritage is lobbying to pass a strict but fair law in parliament to stop the demolition of Beirut’s history once and for all. It also aims at raising popular awareness and, through its volunteers, offers practical support to government agencies.

The care of the often-impoverished inhabitants of traditional homes is also their priority.

Giorgio Guy Tarraf is a former junior ambassador of peace for UNESCO and the current president and spokesperson for Save Beirut Heritage. He studied biology at AUB and is currently writing his thesis for his masters degree in International Affairs at LAU. World Environment: When was Save Beirut Heritage established?

Giorgio GuyTarraf: Each of us has a different story; but what we all have in common is heartache. We saw Beirut being disfigured, stolen from its rightful owners and sold by the meter square. What made the city beautiful, its urban tissue, was being torn apart.

We knew that Beirut belonged to those who grew up under its arcades and in its jasmine gardens. We knew that it was the architecture and its history that made Beirut so unique and welcoming, but what we didn’t know was that we weren’t alone in our sadness and despair. We were all boiling inside, feeling helpless against the mass exodus of Beirut’s inhabitants and the erasure of our architectural heritage. Nonetheless, we refused to see our childhood homes falling victim to the greed of anonymous sharks.

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In his search for support, our founder, started a Facebook group two years ago. This group quickly grew to include over 8500 wonderful, passionate members. The movement gained momentum when we were able to actually stop the destruction of a stretch of historic buildings on the iconic Lebanon Street. We also held a candlelight walk in the area of Gemmayzeh, which really brought the issue back in the public eye.

W.E: What are your objectives? How do you hope to achieve them? What are the main obstacles?

G.G.T: Our greatest hope is to pass a law in parliament that would once and for all protect our heritage. We are the only country in the Arab world that does not have specific legislation to preserve our national heritage.

As long as parliament and its schedule are under the control of major shareholders in real estate companies, it is unlikely for a law to pass without genuine and widespread public upheaval. We are an NGO. But most importantly, we are looking for sponsors as most of our actions are currently being funded mostly out-of-pocket.

W.E: You are affiliated with APSAD (The Association for the Protecting Natural Sites and Old Buildings in Lebanon). Do other groups or governmental organizations collaborate with you or support your efforts?

G.G.T: When we started our action, we logically went to the wellestablished APSAD for support.

While we do still work in parallel, our actions remain quite different; as they focus on the countryside, we remain focused on Beirut.

We also had some support from the Ministry of Culture. Also worthy of note is the Direction Generale des Antiquités (DGA) with whom we sometimes have quite lively interactions. All it takes sometimes is an individual to make a difference in the system. We are sometimes

surprised to see a ministry employee wake up at 5 or 6 a.m. to stop a building that is under imminent threat, or a minister asking us to pick him at midnight so he can witness first hand an illegal demolition. It is competent, passionate people like these who are keeping our country’s heritage alive; and to them, we are thankful.

Our strength really comes from the people we encounter when we are walking the streets. We spend countless hours knocking on doors, making sure residents know their right as landlords or renters. Many tell us that all they want is to die in these homes, the ones their families have owned, lived in and fought for. It is them who keep what is left of Beirut alive. It is their personalized, patient and loving contributions to the architectural and cultural heritage of the city that gives it its charm. They are amazingly kind and welcoming people who believe in us. We cannot let them down. In these old homes, everything seems to tell a story. It is the collection of these stories that make up the memory of Beirut. Every time we lose one of these homes, a fragment of our common memory is irremediably shattered. It would be unbearable and unforgivable for us to lose the last remaining fragments of our heritage without a fight. Í

Every time we lose one of these homes, a fragment of our common memory is irremediably shattered.

It would be unbearable and unforgivable for us to lose the last remaining fragments of our heritage without a fight.

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W.E: What activities do you organize to increase awareness for your cause?

G.G.T: Our first major public action was a candlelight walk in Gemmayze we organized a couple years ago. We also hope to organize a much larger event in a few months that will rally and awaken the Lebanese population to the ‘urbacide’ that is currently happening. You may also remember an event for the definite closure of ‘Ahwet el 2zez’ about a year ago.

We also organize gatherings where we screen movies in old houses.

This has been especially popular with the expatriates who are ironically more curious about our heritage than the locals. We also organize conferences in schools to raise awareness among the youth and tours around the city to teach people to ‘look up’.

W.E: What laws are in place to protect Beirut's old buildings? To what extent are they being enforced?

G.G.T: There are virtually no laws that specifically protect old buildings.

There is only a law targeting antiquities dating from the French mandate, which hasn’t been updated in over eighty years. There is also a ministerial decree that states that every demolition permit must be cosigned by the ministry of culture.

Therefore giving power to the ministry to stop the demolition of traditional homes. But there is nothing that can truly guarantee the long-term survival of the few remaining traditional homes in Beirut except the tenacity and will of its inhabitants.

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W.E: What are the prominent architectural characteristics of old buildings?

G.G.T: There is a major difference between ‘old’ and traditional homes.

What we aim to preserve are traditional homes and the ones that contribute to the traditional character of the street. Traditional homes in Beirut fall under two major categories: First is the obvious Traditional ‘Lebanese House’ with its cubic shape, red roof tiles and triple arcades that delimit a central hall. Of course there are many other factors that enter in the definition of these homes such as the materials used in their construction, their orientation towards the sea, their high ceilings, ornamental interiors, windows, balconies and gardens.

Second, comes the art deco house.

Most art deco architecture in Beirut is seen in the form of 3 to 4 stories high buildings. It is very difficult to define the Beirut’s art deco style. It is absolutely unique in the world and very eclectic. One usually sees sharp edges and ornamental balconies, often with a touch of traditional Lebanese architecture with an adaptation of the triple arcades, but in elaborate, usually rectangular shapes.

The central hall often remained, so did the high ceilings and ornamental interiors. They are usually very sculptural; when you will see one, you will notice it.

Of course, they are buildings that were constructed in the period of transition between the Traditional Lebanese of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s and the art deco period of the 1930’s. It is these homes that are the most difficult to save, and arguably the most valuable for our architectural heritage. I am particularly sensitive to this architectural era as my childhood home belongs to it.

These buildings are very much in danger because they are difficult to define and classify.

Architectural influences in Beirut often originate from Ottoman, French and Italian (mostly Venetian) architecture. It is this complexity and variety that makes every one of these homes so unique and architecturally valuable and ironically, makes them also difficult to classify and preserve.

W.E: How has Beirut (vis-à-vis urban planning and architectural cityscape) changed over the years?

G.G.T: What we are witnessing through the years is not the urbanization that real estate developers and their marketing teams are trying to sell us; it is on the contrary, an ‘urbacide’. Beirut is – was, a very well thought-out city. The public marketplace (now ‘downtown’) was by the port near the sea, people lived on the green hills surrounding it (Gemmayzeh, Tabaris, Ashrafieh, Zokak el Blat) and public transportation (the train and tramway) connected the capital to the rest of the country.

Today, the once public marketplace is now ultra-private, the green hills are turning into concrete jungles and public transportation is non-existent.

As usual, we will realize too late what we have lost; it is therefore essential to preserve the few historic districts left before they are forever gone. This is why I urge the brave people of Beirut not to leave their homes; after all, they are the last keepers of Beirut’s memory. Í

Our greatest hope is to pass a law in parliament that would once and for all protect our heritage.

We are the only country in the Arab world that does not have specific legislation to preserve our national heritage.

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W.E: Given the rise in population and lack of space, can Beirut logically retain its former 'low-rise' architectural charm?

G.G.T: The ‘low-rise’ architecture that Beirut enjoys is not only part of its charm; it is essential for the survival of its urban tissue.

One cannot help but wonder how the ‘zawarib’* of Beirut are to accommodate the hundreds of new luxurious apartments currently under construction. These vertiginous constructions are perfect examples of complete disregard to the inhabitants of the city and its urban structure. The already congested streets of the old city will be subject to an immense increase in the flow of traffic, effectively strangling the city.

Furthermore, the already struggling infrastructure must now accommodate an exponential increase in electricity usage, waste flow and water consumption.

This is all in addition to the discomfort that these towers create to the residents of these streets: They put whole neighborhoods in eternal shade, dry up the ground water, and cut off the flow of air coming from the sea.

These developments, beyond the architectural and often archeological massacres that they have engendered claim that they offer the neighborhood ‘thousands of meters of lush gardens’ which are, in reality, the balconies.

W.E: How much of old Beirut remains?

G.G.T: I can say that very few districts still capture the charm of the Beirut of my childhood. It is important to note that it was not the Civil War that destroyed beautiful Beirut, it was the savage real estate speculation. I saw Beirut die very quickly before my eyes. In the year that followed the expropriations in Downtown,

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Lebanon Street, the street I was born on, became a ghost town. Almost all of its buildings were cleared of their original inhabitants and businesses to make space for luxurious apartment buildings and boutique hotels.

A symbol of the death of old Beirut is the Downtown area. There is nothing left but the facades; all the interiors have been cleared out to make space for boring office space. How can you genuinely love something has been gutted; that literally has no depth? How deep can the claimed love of Beirut be when there is so little left to love?What is left of Beirut is the paranoid façade of a traumatized city that has faced history. Fortunately, tradition sells.

W.E: How fast is old Beirut disappearing?

G.G.T: I will let the numbers talk. In the 90’s, an initial census counted 1600 traditional homes and buildings in the greater Beirut. Today, we estimate the number to be close to 200 remaining standing structures.

Among the 200 remaining homes, we helped save around 100 buildings that were set for demolition in the past two years alone. So in the past two years alone, we would have lost almost a quarter of the remaining architectural heritage of Beirut.

W.E: What must be done to save what's left?

G.G.T: The only thing that can save Beirut today is a genuine popular awakening; something that failed to happen in the 1990’s. We hope that Save Beirut Heritage can become a center around which those who are grieving the death of Beautiful Beirut can gravitate and find comfort. While our lobbying action has been quite efficient, the pace of demolition has become ferocious.

We plan to bring together a selection of powerful men of business and politics that would form a coalition and demand proper urban planning to protect the historical districts of the city once and for all. Furthermore, the destruction of old buildings is

currently illegal. We must become thousands upon thousands of watchful eyes, if you see anything urgent, report to the Ministry of Culture’s hotline immediately on 00961(1)612299. You can also reach us 24/7 on our own hotline on 00961(71) 011310. We also encourage everyone to photograph and film any vandalism act they see in addition to reporting it. Also, send your photos of endangered homes to info@savebeirutheritage.org or write on the wall of our Facebook group.

Things can and will be done!

W.E: To what extent are investments being made in renovating old buildings?

G.G.T: The public sector’s investment in the renovation of old buildings is close to null. With the exception of the Barakat Building on Sodeco that will become a museum to the memory of Beirut, there is very little to no interest in renovating old buildings.

It is again the private sector that is guiding this phenomenon. The increasing rarity of historical homes has made them fashionable. New restaurants or hotels often look for traditional homes as they offer prestige to the brand. Also, expats often snap up traditional homes and refurbish them.

One must admit that renovation is quite costly, especially for owners whose buildings are occupied by old rents. In order to solve the monetary issue, what we propose is the creation of a fund from which landowners can loan money with low interest on very long terms. This fund would be created from a percentage of the significant fees that developers pay to city to obtain building permits. Í

* Zawarib: Small narrow streets.

The only thing that can save Beirut today is a genuine popular awakening; something that failed to happen in the 1990’s.

W.E: Can a compromise between old architecture and new be reached? How so?

G.G.T: Absolutely, there are many areas in or around Beirut that are in dire need of development. The Qarantine or Corniche el Nahr are two of such areas that can accommodate high rises. The land is cheap and minutes away from the center thanks to the newly built highways. They have excellent views over the city, the sea and the mountain, and they are rich in ground water and most importantly, they have plenty of empty space that high-rises need in order to not only be beautiful but also beneficial to their environment. We have solutions, but who’s listening?

W.E: Is everything new bad?

G.G.T: Of course not, it would be ludicrous to say that Beirut doesn’t need development. But it doesn’t have to come at the price of our urban tissue and heritage.

W.E: What price is Beirut paying by losing old buildings?

G.G.T: Beirut’s soul is being sold by the meter square. By losing its traditional homes, our city is losing its urban tissue and its inhabitants those same inhabitants who gave so much to build and preserve their city.

By uprooting these people from their streets, the real estate market is alienating a whole section of the population who now feels occupied and invaded. This lingering anger and malaise caused by the disappearance of the city they fought to preserve is setting a very dangerous mood in a country that is resting on a very fragile territorial balance.

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The green hills are turning into concrete jungles and public transportation is non-existent... it is therefore essential to preserve the few historic districts left before they are forever gone.

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By Krystel Comaty

THE GATHERING Authentic Lebanese architecture bears witness to a particular way of life expressing a dialogue between citizens of the world and Nature; this is the valuable heritage that ‘The Gathering’ project aspires to recreate and sustain, through its architectural and ethical considerations. Í

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Sustainable Development

Scattered on the streets around the capital of Beirut, several typical old Lebanese houses dating back to the early twentieth century are now living their fate. Some are currently being destroyed and replaced by skyscrapers, while others will indefinitely remain untouched, or at best be renovated. As the rural population started its exodus to the newly developing city, some entrepreneurs undertook the construction of ‘islets’- a replica of old village squares, made up of small residential houses no higher than an olive tree, located around a central courtyard built out of clay, previously called “Hoche”.

Architectural Considerations The Gathering project is located in “Gemmayzeh”, an area that has established itself over the past few years as one of the country’s foremost destinations for a buzzing nightlife. It is a grouping of three door-to-door original Lebanese houses in a courtyard, rehabilitated into an Italian restaurant, a wine bar and a grill, with the conventional olive tree at the center. A special space has been dedicated to conferences and exhibitions, where visitors enjoy food, but also gather to share thoughts and ideas.

In the past, the “Hoche” was a meeting place around a small pond or an oak tree beside the village parish church.

On sunny days, clothes were stretched onto a rope from the façade of one building to another. Housewives met to chat, and practice fortune telling with their coffee cups. Í 109

This meeting place combines the pleasures of the palate with an environmentally friendly policy, encouraging the rescue of Lebanon’s heritage and introducing new concepts linked to ethical consumerism.

During the holidays, children enlivened the atmosphere with their screams and laughs, and men met to play cards, backgammon or chess.

This ensemble of houses has survived a history of events that damaged the aesthetic aspect of a city once called the “Paris of the Middle East”. The façades of the walls of which parts of the plaster had fallen off revealed the remains of the rustic “ramle” stone – typically used in the initial construction of Beirut. Rather than apply the design patterns of the neighborhood, and in line with ecofriendly norms, the rough outer layer of the walls was delicately peeled off to reveal the building’s true identity.

Bought from flea markets or second hand shops, the furniture and silverware were reused to reduce the production of new fittings.

Ecofriendly Solutions The Gathering was driven by the cradle-to-cradle biological cycle system and waste hierarchy, which boils down to sustainable production and consumption. As far as waste management is concerned, oil, water, cleaning supplies and papers all go through a process: composting food to fertilizer, redistributing cooking oil to local garages, managing water flow, using friendly cleaning supplies and recycling paper, glass, plastic, aluminum, metal (a system that is not yet fully developed in Lebanon). Í 110

Sustainable Development

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“Waste equals food, whether it's food for the earth, or for a closed industrial cycle. We manufacture products that go from cradle to grave. We want to manufacture them from cradle to cradle.”

William McDonough.

The delivery bag is a biodegradable corn based pack, the conception of which was thought through to the last detail in compliance with ecofriendly solutions. In addition, twelve photovoltaic solar panels and a wind turbine were placed on the roof of the houses to provide sustainable and energy sufficient electricity, including LED fixtures.

Local Fair Trade The project adopts the concept of ‘Slow Food’, at the crossroads of ecology and gastronomy, or ethics and pleasure, only to encourage fair trade.

Local organic products harvested in organic farms provide most of the food offered here.

This adds value to the local commerce and reduces the pollution caused by transportation. Some of the products available on the premises such as the furniture, the food, or the utensils can be purchased.

The Gathering is expecting to be granted the “Know your meal” IMC (Instituto Mediterraneo di Certificazione) certificate for companies that work in the agricultural, agro food, ho.re.ca and tourism sectors.

This meeting place combines the pleasures of the palate with an environmentally friendly policy, encouraging the rescue of Lebanon’s heritage and introducing new concepts linked to ethical consumerism.

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“Water is essential for all dimensions of life. Over the past few decades, use of water has increased, and in many places water availability is falling to crisis levels.

More than eighty countries, with forty percent of the world’s population, are already facing water shortages, while by year 2020 the world’s population will double. The costs of water infrastructure have risen dramatically. The quality of water in rivers and underground has deteriorated, due to pollution by waste and contaminants from cities, industry and agriculture. Ecosystems are being destroyed, sometimes permanently. Over one billion people lack safe water, and three billion lack sanitation; eighty per cent of infectious diseases are waterborne, killing millions of children each year.”

- World Bank Institute Water Policy Reform Program.

AROUND THE WORLD IN PHOTOS KENYA FIELD TRIP

Photos for WFP by Diego Fernandez

These photos were taken during an assessment the World Food Programme (WFP) conducted in November 2011 for an emergency intervention in response to the Horn of Africa drought of 2011, which affected nearly 4 million people in Kenya.

A fundamental and recurring challenge affecting development in rural areas is water resource management. Impoverished rural communities are often forced to dig contaminated water from dry seasonal river beds to meet drinking needs. The absence of basic water infrastructure such as water reservoirs or irrigation canals, are hampering agricultural production, even in well rain-fed areas. Without sustainable access to clean water and food, education, democracy or civil liberties inevitably become a secondary priority.

In 2011, WFP through its Food for Assets projects in Kenya excavated more than 270 community water ponds, constructed 40 shallow wells, contributed to the rehabilitation of irrigation schemes benefiting around 750 hectares of agricultural land and reclaimed nearly 5,000 hectares of gully land as a result of check dams and gully rehabilitation structures.

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WORLD ENVIRONMENT.TV

MAGAZINE

Technological Innovation, Style and Sustainability Archi-Technology, Made in Italy

By SheryleTamagini

In 1960, when electroacoustics, lighting technology and audio-visual were still virtually unexplored, Alessio Vignola began his company specializing in these very areas. In those years there was neither the technology nor the research to lend support to new ideas, only intuition, ingenuity, and abnegation of very few operators and contractors of the time.

Ever since, “Alessio Vignola” has offered solutions and personalized creations for interior and architectural lighting, audio and video equipment, as well as building automation and domotics, with a unique specialization in the contextualization and customization of the systems, to best satisfy both the technical and esthetical needs of their clients.

Operating in the Eternal City, Alessio Vignola has been constantly at the forefront of the industry, a leader. Alessio Vignola has created the professional figure of the “Architechnologist”, a term the company has coined to define itself, by its method of approach to the world of systems installations, to emphasize the aspect of customization and integration as well as to distance itself from widespread and common definitions that are limiting and inadequate to its modus operandi.

The Architechnologist strives to provide technology solutions to complement architecture. It is a profession characterized by a strong expertise in the fields of Acoustics, Videotechnique, Electronics, Home Automation and Lighting, remarkable creative skills and an extensive knowledge of commercial products, furniture and design trends, as well as of most applied materials and techniques in the field of building and renovation.

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In 2006, the company’s lifelong work in lighting technology and scenography, combined with its unique expertise in design of technology solutions, culminated in the creation of lighting sculptures.

Thus the “AV Design” line of lamps was born. It was created by Alessia Vignola, designer grown professionally in her father’s company, where in over 20 years she has acquired an in-depth knowledge and experience of materials and technologies, developing a strong passion that leads her to continuous experiments in lighting.

The AV Design lamps are “green”, made of plastic materials, mostly processed acrylic and Plexiglas, with very low consumption and maximum energy saving. In fact, these lamps use non-conventional lighting systems, such as LED and optical fibre, guaranteeing low energy consumption.

Furthermore each lamp contains an electronic circuit and management software specially created by the research laboratory of the Alessio Vignola company, allowing the gleaming light emission typical of AV Design lamps.

That is what makes these lamps magical; their charming glitter creates both exciting and relaxing atmospheres because these refined lighting sculptures are able not only to illuminate, but to furnish the environment in which they reside.

It is a completely handmade line, in the most exclusive Italian tradition of design and elegance. For this reason, each lamp differs in detail, further ensuring its uniqueness.

The AV Design line includes floor, table and pendant lamps, wall and desktop paintings and creations made to measure, each one with a pulsating soul and the luxury hallmark of a gemstone.

Energy

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By Sherine Bouez

Fondation Saradar E-ecoeducation & Mobile Computer School ‘A non-doer is very often a critic-that is, someone who sits back and watches doers, and then waxes philosophically about how the doers are doing. It's easy to be a critic, but being a doer requires effort, risk, and change’ It is this kind of bold effort Fondation Saradar is putting into its development projects in Lebanon, by bridging the longstanding gap between social, regional, or educational differences, with the aim of leading the way to conscious living for all.

The foundation strongly believes that awareness and education lay the groundwork for ‘going green’.

Eco-Living The Promising First Few Miles of the E-Caravan Fondation Saradar, a Lebanese Nongovernmental Organization, is on a mission to raise awareness about the environment, not simply by informing but also by engaging its visitors in its own special way. A unique idea that might prove to inspire a wide array of initiatives linked to literacy, the environment, or even peace.

In a first instance, the ‘e-literacy’ program offered a qualified training inside mobile computer schools, or E-Caravans, which stepped into unchartered territories, to facilitate the

reintegration of marginalized individuals into the community and into the workforce. The project primarily targeted internally displaced women, special needs individuals, and children. It also addressed any socially marginal challenge such as delinquency or drug addiction.

Then, the 24th October 2011 saw the launch of a second project, the ‘e-ecoeducation’, or the ‘eee’. The foundation tackled the challenge of changing attitudes and beliefs linked to the environment, with attractive and entertaining ideas every time, as its mobile computer schools set sail in different areas, calling all age groups

and hopeful participants to join the fun! In addition to raising awareness in the public at large, the aim is also to present concrete solutions that are fast, practical, and feasible to instantly implement green habits and initiatives.

Taking the First Step is What Matters Change is certainly a process, however, the foundation strongly believes that awareness and education lay the groundwork for ‘going green’. Hence, this initiative starts by making people realize that every action they undertake has a Í

consequent reaction on behalf of our environment. A considerable effort is put into leveling with candidates, or talking every visitor’s own unique ‘language’. The training uses examples they can relate to, so as to sensitize them to the training.

The ensuing new perspectives help master the social setting and express important connections with others and the environment.

Mrs. Tania Helou, General Manager of Fondation Saradar, tells us more about this example of best practice.

Sherine Bouez: What does the ECaravan stand for?

Tania Helou: Our E-Caravan, namely the "e-ecoeducation®" mobile school, is a fruit of our previous caravan projects (the Saradar IT Programme®, the E-Caravan® Phoenix and the Cadmus Caravan®).

Furnished with a network of ten PCs with flat screens, a laser printer, a wireless Internet connection and an LCD Projector, the vehicle is also equipped with a ramp for special needs and a customized software welcomes visually challenged participants. Once one project was over, the ‘Saradar IT Program’, we reused the Caravan by rebranding it and changing its concept for a new initiative, the ‘e-ecoeducation’ (environmental education program).

Professionals implement the training and Formatech Integrated Learning Centers certify it (learning associate to Microsoft Cisco and Oracle). It targets university and school students, and small and medium enterprises.

S.B: What is a key aspect of your strategy?

T.H: Mobility is part of our scheme because we aim at minimizing logistics, accommodating special needs, and meeting participants in their own environment. It’s our way of reaching people and facilitating a fruitful interaction between 132

candidates who are not used to mixing together for varied reasons, and who therefore often do not know much about each other. We are a small group of individuals, made up of ad-hoc teams that implement a comprehensive set up, in a new training location every time. Small administrative and management teams oversee the implementation.

Our services, logistics and training are outsourced to cut costs. We rely a lot on fundraising as it is a not-forprofit organization, and our status is that of a public utility organization.

S.B: What can you tell us about collaboration?

T.H: Several local and international players are involved in our work in one way or another, including Comptia through Formatech, Oxfam Canada, Cida Canada, UN-ESCWA, UNIFIL, Italian co-operation (the emergency program of the Italian Embassy in Lebanon), Canada Funds for Local Initiatives. We also work with Lebanese private sector enterprises such as IDM, BankMed, Picasso, or Solicar. We continually develop the content of our program with changing times and evolving needs. The subject matter includes concrete practical measures that have been developed by international companies based on global standards. However, solutions have been adapted to the Lebanese reality, in a feasible way. The aim is to answer concerns. The training approach is workshop orientated to provide a pro-active environment for trainees. We solicit their ideas on solutions to challenges and seek their involvement in the process, all with the aim of consolidating a list of recommendations. The latter will be used as food for thought at an upcoming press conference. This development will publicize the recommendations that will also be presented to the concerned authorities for their consideration.

S.B: What concrete actions can visitors integrate in their day-to-day life?

T.H: We are starting from scratch so that people can become more knowledgeable about existing green programs in Lebanon and their role as a responsible citizen. In other words, we act as a platform for useful initiatives that are already being carried out with the hope of furthering their consolidation.

The main focus is that of recycling plastic carton paper equipment at work and at home, reusing and reducing waste and electronic hardware. Some people realize this and ask ‘what can we do?’ To answer basic concerns we handout a manual with simple steps one can start off with such as ‘if you are not in the office turn off the light’, or ‘unplug your electronic machines such as the printer if you are not at work’.

Recycling batteries or throwing away mobile phones are also major concerns that we address. Our partner, ‘Beeatoona’, offers recycling points for electronic equipment. The latter provides storage, and once the amount required is filled in the container it is sent abroad for recycling and for ewaste reusing or recycling.

On the professional front, we are also targeting small and medium size enterprises by suggesting concrete methods to adopt green habits and policies. This also has an impact on corporate branding and visibility. A ‘best practice award’ is in place to motivate companies to go green. The collected data will also be reused in their trainings.

Since its launch the e-ecoeducation project has been extensively solicited by educational institutions and business companies, its website www.fondationsaradar.org has witnessed heavy traffic through search engines, and the caravan’s training calendar is fully booked six months in advance! This is in line with the foundation’s conviction that the best way to lead is by example.

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“On the professional front, we are targeting small and medium size enterprises by suggesting concrete methods to adopt green habits and policies�.

Tania Helou, General Manager, Fondation Saradar.

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STARS Foundation Leading lights in child protection, education & health

By Mona Samari

The STARS Foundation supports frontline, impactful initiatives improving children’s health, education and protection needs.

Through the Impact Awards, the STARS Foundation helps already effective organizations become even stronger by enhancing their capacity to deliver vital services on the ground. By supporting these outstanding organizations and recognizing the deep and lasting impact they are having on entire communities, the Awards also inspire others to reach similar standards of excellence.

The 2011 recipient organizations – hailing from Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Nepal and Bangladesh - were selected in recognition of their excellence in the provision of services to disadvantaged children and in their demonstration of effective management practices.

In addition, two Rising STAR Awards were bestowed, in special recognition of the potential these organizations are demonstrating. Í 135

AFRICA-MENA 2011 RECIPIENTS HEALTH AWARD Uganda: Remote hospital wins health award Set in the heart of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest - a large primeval forest in the Virunga Volcanoes mountain range, in southwestern Uganda - Bwindi Community Hospital has been selected for its pioneering work in reducing the prevalence of illnesses within communities residing in this inaccessible region.

In rural Uganda, one in every seven children dies before the age of five.

Established as a small health center in 2003 to tackle the lack of healthcare provision and reduce the prevalence of illnesses in this hugely inaccessible region, it became a fully operational hospital in 2009 and as the only hospital in the region, provides care principally to women and children. Providing preventative health care to some of the most marginalized communities in East Africa, including Batwa pygmies.

“Bwindi Community Hospital’s vision of access to healthcare for all sprung up in one of the most biologically diverse and inaccessible areas in the world, bordering one of the most protracted conflicts in the region. Yet it has succeeded in encouraging marginalized communities to look after their health and that of their family and neighbors,” said Samia Zoued, Programme Officer, Africa-Middle East, STARS Foundation. Set at the edge of Bwindi impenetrable forest National Park in South Western Uganda bordering DR Congo, it is the only hospital in a radius of 40 km situated in an area covered by hills and forests. As the only hospital in the region, it provides care principally to women and children and is entirely run by Ugandans.

Members of staff are encouraged to collaborate with registered village chiefs and Bataka Burial Leaders to build trust within the community and to identify the most excluded and vulnerable families.

Through sports and music, WEMA has developed a program, which deals specifically with behavioural issues in relation to HIV/AIDS prevention, drug abuse, commercial sex, rape and reproductive health.

In rural Uganda, one in every seven children dies before the age of five. Until recently malaria was the biggest killer of children, and the hospital saw at least one death a week from the disease. But a huge mosquito net campaign launched by the hospital has resulted in more than half of the local population now protecting themselves by sleeping under insecticide treated mosquito bed nets, and admissions with malaria have drastically reduced as a result. Í 136

In rural Uganda, one in every seven children dies before the age of five.

Until recently malaria was the biggest killer of children, and the hospital saw at least one death a week from the disease.

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Kenya: WEMA Center Trust wins award for street child reintegration work

Nigeria: SSNCEF receives award for child protection work

Mombasa based charity, Wema Center (WEMA stands for Well Being Center in Kiswahili) has been selected for the holistic approach it takes to removing children from vulnerable and risky conditions - such as street life - and integrating them into mainstream society, ensuring a smooth transition into adulthood through tailored treatment plans. It has grown organically from being a home catering for six street girls in 1993 to becoming a safe haven for over 500 girls today, many of whom go on to live normal, healthy, independent lives. The organization’s psycho social approach to reintegration and family re-unification, coupled with its engagement of the local population in giving a haven of hope to underprivileged children, puts WEMA at forefront of child protection in Africa.

“Through the genuine family environment it nurtures at the centers and affiliated homes, Wema realizes its vision of a transformed and responsible citizenry, where children who face a host of social issues and live in fear for their security are given the space to blossom. The magic of Wema’s approach is that it has succeeded in making invisible and vulnerable children, visible to society again,” said Samia Zoued, Programme Officer, Africa-Middle East, STARS Foundation.

Millions of children are at risk from abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence in Kenya. WEMA’s beneficiaries – such as girls, child headed households and survivors of sexual exploitation - are amongst some of the most vulnerable children in Kenya.

Through sports and music, WEMA has developed a program, which deals specifically with behavioural issues in relation to HIV / AIDS prevention, drug abuse, commercial sex, rape and reproductive health. With a long term vision which encourages children to become economically independent, the organization runs income generating training programs with access to livestock, poultry and computer training facilities.

Founded in 1993 in response to the plight of six young street girls, WEMA pioneered the first drop-in center in Mombasa. The organization now reaches out to 42,680 children and runs various street children and vulnerable orphan's rehabilitation projects from the Coast and Central Provinces, in Mombasa, Kisauni and Thika districts. As a pioneer in the field, WEMA favors re-integration of street children into mainstream society over institutionalization, by securing support from government structures and village elders to monitor their progress.

The combination of Christianity and traditional beliefs has led to a widespread belief in witchcraft in Nigeria.

Akwa Ibom is the epicenter of the witch-hunt, where 15,000 are branded as witches each year. Children are frequently the subject of accusations and routinely tortured until they confess; this then leads to stigmatization and expulsion from the community.

Stepping Stones Nigeria offers a drop-in facility for children aged 5 - 18 who have been labelled as witches and provides them with food, clothing, healthcare, counselling, non-formal education, and vocational training.

It also monitors child rights and reports violations to the police, and offers family tracing services, as well as financial assistance and vocational training to reunited families.

“Despite repeated death threats to staff, Stepping Stones Nigeria continues to challenge witchcraft accusations, the multiple causes of this phenomenon and the role of the revivalist church in peddling these beliefs. The organization provides drop-in and outreach psycho-social and welfare services and support to vulnerable children who have fallen foul to a form of extreme violence which is symptomatic of a more serious problem at the community level, deeply linked to a phenomenon of generalized violence against children,” said Samia Zoued, Programme Officer, Africa-Middle East, STARS Foundation.

Stepping Stones Nigeria's research has shown that the belief in child ‘witches’ in the Niger Delta is also linked to the widespread viewing of Nigerian or Nollywood 'home movies.' The film, End of the Wicked, is distributed widely across the Niger Delta by the Liberty Gospel Church, a powerful evangelical sect with some 150 branches in the region.

An increasing number of children in the Niger Delta, as in other parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, are being accused of being child ‘witches.’ The consequence of the peddling of these beliefs is devastating for the children affected, as the fate of suspected child witches results in being abandoned and ostracized from the community, taken to the forest and slaughtered, disgraced publicly and murdered, bathed in acid, poisoned to death, buried alive and/or chained and tortured in churches in order to extract a confession.

EDUCATION AWARD South Africa: Theatre for Life wins education award Johannesburg based charity, AREPP: Theatre for Life stood out for its unique approach to providing life skills education through theatre. arepp’s theatre shows travel the country targeting the most vulnerable children in the most economically deprived schools (townships), with the highest rates of drug abuse, teenage pregnancies, bullying and suicide cases.

Harnessing the ability of drama to act as a powerful medium used to engage young people in confronting hard-to-reach subjects, whilst challenging mindsets through peer facilitated debate, the organization now reaches out to almost 80,000 children.

“With AREPP: Theatre for Life, all the world and its issues are presented on a stage, but the children in the audience are not passive players. There is no doubt that their shows transcend a mere theatre experience to become a milestone life experience for the young audiences affected. External impact assessments clearly demonstrate that children leave arepp’s theatre shows better equipped to walk the

fragile path to adulthood,” said Samia Zoued, Programme Officer, Africa-Middle East, STARS Foundation.

Launched in 1987 in South Africa, AREPP: Theatre for Life now directly engages approximately 120,000 five to eighteen year-olds in approximately 350 schools annually.

As a result, the schools that arepp: Theatre for Life worked in, reported a drop of 50% in physical and sexual abuse cases from the previous year, and pregnancies in those schools dropped from nine to just below four per cent.

South Africa is home to nearly 19 million children, many of whom are considered vulnerable. With two-thirds of all children living in poverty – many grow up in homes with unemployed, single, chronically sick or elderly parents and caregivers. Many children experience a difficult journey through school, characterized by absent teachers, teenage pregnancy, irregular attendance and violence in and around schools. Í 139

ASIA-PACIFIC 2011 RECIPIENTS EDUCATION AWARD Bangladesh: Combating Disability Prejudice recognized for education award Dhaka-based Centre for Services and Information on Disability (CSID) was selected as this year’s recipient of the Education award.

CSID works with some of the most marginalized children and young people in Bangladesh, offering them access to education and employment and promoting their inclusion into society. By advocating for equal rights for people with disabilities, CSID’s work centers around their inclusion into mainstream society, whilst combating prejudice, which favors institutionalization and marginalization.

CSID’s two-fold approach to tackling prejudice involves working at the national level, to advocate for the rights of disabled people and at the community level, to motivate and sensitize parents, leaders, teachers on the need of inclusion, not institutionalization.

“Centre for Services and Information on Disability is a very community-based organization, providing a much needed service to children and adults with disabilities, working tirelessly to ensure they have access to same basic rights as people without disabilities,” said Cecile Hyafil, Programme Officer, Asia-Pacific, STARS Foundation.

CSID was established in December 1997 by the current Executive Director, Khandaker Jahurul Alam.

Alam had polio when he was a child and is now physically disabled.

Although organizations working on disability in Bangladesh existed before CSID was established, none were offering holistic services to the disabled, as most focused on a particular field of institutional based intervention such as health or physical rehabilitation and isolated special education. CSID’s all encompassing approach to tackling the issue at all levels enables the organization to provide a muchneeded comprehensive service.

“We are delighted to have received the STARS Foundation Impact Award. With the additional funding, we will be able to establish a permanent setup for organizational sustainability and improve access to formal education and further develop partnerships between families/community and schools as well,” said Khandaker Jahurul Alam, Executive Director, Centre for Services and Information on Disability. Í 140

CSID’s two-fold approach to tackling prejudice involves working at the national level, to advocate for the rights of disabled people and at the community level, to motivate and sensitise parents, leaders, teachers on the need of inclusion, not institutionalisation.

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The STARS Foundation Impact Awards, recognize outstanding organizations working in children's health, education and protection in Africa, South Asia, Middle East, East Asia and Pacific. The annual award carries $100,000 of unrestrictive funding and consultancy support, giving recipient organizations the flexibility to respond more effectively to the challenges they face and to the needs of the children they serve.

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HEALTH AWARD Nepal: Restless Development, the youth-led development agency wins health award Kathmandu-based Restless Development Nepal was selected for this year’s Health Award for capitalizing on the enormous potential of young people to lift the country out of poverty by putting them at the forefront of improving health and sanitation conditions of communities in Nepal.

Through their youth-led awareness-raising programs focusing on HIV, hygiene and sanitation, the agency has helped nurture a generation of young leaders who care about the health of their communities.

“Restless Development Nepal’s excellent use of international, national and local volunteers to bring about change within marginalized communities has resulted in the development of a sense of leadership and responsibility amongst the local youth. The effective use of youth-led community radio shows have proven to be instrumental in delivering health education messages on HIV, sanitation and hygiene,” said Cecile Hyafil, Programme Officer, Asia-Pacific, STARS Foundation.

Working in collaboration with other NGOs, its programs are delivered in schools and the wider community by international and national volunteers, who offer peer-led interactive development activities.

These volunteers promote the formation of youth clubs, to widen the impact of the programs and help develop young people’s life skills.

Restless Development Nepal also works alongside local communities to build hygiene and sanitation infrastructure, and advocates at a national level for the health and participation rights of young people. Í 143

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Timor-Leste: Ba Futuru receives award for children in conflict work

Nepal: GoodWeave Foundation for carpet worker’s rights wins protection award

In addition to the Impact Awards, the STARS foundation recognizes the work of an organization whose application demonstrates potential as a ‘rising star.’ It has selected Dili-based Ba Futuru as this year’s Rising Star.

Through its activities, the organization contributes to peace-building and sustainable human development by facilitating the psychosocial recovery of conflictaffected, vulnerable and at-risk children, and by developing the knowledge, skills and values of community leaders, young people and their caregivers in the areas of human rights, children’s rights and non-violent conflict transformation. It works closely with adults in the community to transform mistrust and violence into peace and self-directed growth.

“Ba Futuru’s contribution to loosening the grip and influence of Timor-Leste’s cycle of violence, by placing children’s rehabilitation at the forefront of the country’s reconstruction, is an inspiration to us all,” said Cecile Hyafil, Programme Officer, Asia-Pacific, STARS Foundation. Launched in 2004, Ba Futuru has reached more than 15,000 children with its Transformative Arts and Human Rights Education (TAHR) programme, which was inspired by the belief of the transformative power of human rights education in post-conflict situations coupled with the vision of creating an environment in which children’s voices and hopes can be expressed and nurtured.

Kathmandu - based Nepal GoodWeave Foundation was selected as this year’s recipient of the Protection Award, for its pioneering work in preventing child labor in the carpet - weaving industry by successfully engaging businesses to abide by the GoodWeave licensee agreement – a child-labor free stamp of good practice.

Through workplace inspection, monitoring and consumer labelling, the GoodWeave carpet label provides the best possible assurance that no illegal child labor was used in the manufacture of a carpet or rug.

The organization - the only one of its kind in Nepal - also works to provide viable alternative opportunities for child workers, through education and vocational training.

“Thanks to the work of Nepal GoodWeave Foundation, more than half of the carpet industry capacity in Nepal including some spinning industries - are now subject to inspection and monitoring by the organization.

Particularly impressive is the holistic approach the organization takes towards rehabilitation and prevention,” said Cecile Hyafil, Programme Officer, AsiaPacific, STARS Foundation.

Nepal GoodWeave Foundation was established in 1995 as a result of a joint collaboration among carpet entrepreneurs, child-rights NGOs, and international development organizations - including UNICEF, the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ), and the Asian American Free Labour Institute (AAFLI).

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Through workplace inspection, monitoring and consumer labelling, the GoodWeave carpet label provides the best possible assurance that no illegal child labour was used in the manufacture of a carpet or rug.

The organization - the only one of its kind in Nepal - also works to provide viable alternative opportunities for child workers, through education and vocational training.

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By Maya Nassar

The Unheard Effects of Noise Pollution Harmful sounds affect citizens throughout the world, most of them oblivious to the effects it generates. Noise pollution can be defined as physically painful, unwanted sounds; a phenomenon that is widely dispersed in cities and rural areas, posing threats to inhabitants, but also impacting nature, the environment and those we share our planet with.

In cities like Beirut, we endure constant hustle and bustle. A couple of years back, the Lebanese Government closed down at least fifteen unlicensed pubs in the buzzing nightspot of Gemmayze, after residents in the area complained about the unwanted rackets. Today, signs adorn the popular street stating that “Gemmayze is a residential area� to remind partygoers and bar owners to keep it down.

Daily Interference Whether triggered by humans or machinery, excessive sounds can disrupt daily life. Impatient drivers stuck in traffic cause the most common type of noise pollution in urban areas. Horns honked by cars, buses, trucks and motorcycles add up to create irritable sounds that can go as far as causing permanent damage to the auditory system, disrupt sleep patterns, or the ability to merely unwind and relax.

Another popular cause of noise pollution is construction work. It is quite common for some construction companies in Lebanon to begin working as early as 6:00am. Construction sites erecting buildings, houses, projects, roads, streets, malls and other developments will affect residents in the area and passersby. In homes, generators, boilers, vacuum cleaners, loud television, radios sets, and other appliances may cause unwanted noise for both residents and neighbors.

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Health, Wellbeing, and Work Efficiency The most common effects of noise pollution are feelings of irritation, frustration, and extreme levels of fatigue. This can also affect social life and even lead to isolation or antisocial behavior. Noise pollution also raises medical concerns as some reports have shown that it can trigger mental illnesses or elevated blood pressure. In many cases, productivity and efficiency at work can be compromised, affecting working rhythms and distracting individuals from carrying out their tasks properly or bringing them to completion. Individuals working for long hours around loud noises, such as lorry drivers, mechanics or construction workers suffer from temporary or permanent deafness.

Growth, Balance, and Infrastructure However, noise also affects nature and our environment. Studies have shown that sounds of a certain frequency indirectly affect vegetation. In order for plants to grow, they require peaceful and quiet environments. Farms surrounded by noisy areas will produce weak crops and poor quality.

This also affects animals, especially those with sensitive hearing, as damage can be caused to their eardrums or even disrupt their nervous system. Birds rely on communication to attract mates, and not hearing each other prohibits

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them from finding a mate and reproducing. Disruption disturbs and causes trauma to aquatic creatures, including whales, dolphins, squids and octopuses, relying on sonic pulses traveling through water to relate to each other and survive. Harmful wavelengths also affect buildings, monuments and bridges by weakening their structure and making them more likely to collapse.

Considerations and Practical Solutions One advantage is that noise pollution is easily solvable. Once disturbing sounds are discontinued, the problem is swiftly resolved. A simple tactic can be to introduce knowledge about sound in the educational system. Social awareness campaigns can also draw attention to the issue. New regulations can be put into place restricting car horns to a certain frequency, such as by imposing fines, particularly in residential areas.

Loud machinery can be regulated this way as well. Factories can be kept far from cities, workplaces, people and animals.

As for residents, they can soundproof their homes, including windows and doors. Most importantly, we all have the responsibility to keep noise levels to a minimum. In extremely noisy situations, care can be taken to leave the area or protect the auditory system by wearing earplugs or soundproof devices as a basic and easy safety measure.

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By Elsa Sattout

The Creative Arts as a Significant Path to Green Ethics Art can be perceived as a discipline facilitating the visualization of our relation to others, the environment, spirituality, and our own selves. Moreover, it can be used as a tool to infuse green ethics into the young generation’s lifestyle. In 2010, the ‘living green ethics’ course was introduced in the curriculum of the Notre Dame University of Louaize, Lebanon, at the Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences. Today, it is going strong. Í

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The aim of this initiative is to provide a platform for students to discover their sense of self, amidst both natural and built environments. This includes the roles, characteristics, comportments, and links that we deem most significant about ourselves as social beings, and inhabitants of our planet.

Students from various disciplines join the experience to express on a piece of paper a sketch of new relational dynamics, but also to contribute their different perspectives, either in an arts studio or out in nature. In other words, this course provides a new creative space for young generations to form an intimate rapport with themselves and Mother Earth.

Knowledge and Action: An Intricate Link Evidence is increasingly pointing towards education as the basis of our vision for a better future. By engaging students in various artistic expressions, ‘Living green ethics’ offers students valuable knowledge about the ecosystem, making for highly aware citizens of the world.

These teachings gradually permeate all aspects of their lives as they become increasingly involved in active life. The collaborative learning processes used here give birth to a dynamic ‘learning community’, preparing one to be an effective stakeholder in environmental protection and sustainable development, in various aspects of life.

The Self as the Starting Point The Environment, Societies & Ethics course, of which the ‘living green ethics’ is part of, guides students through various exercises such as that of asking vital questions linked to their identity.

The latter can be classified as ‘anthropocentric, non-anthropocentric, ecofeminist, deep ecologist, or having special unique bonds’. This activity enables participants ‘to define the moral values of all that is found in the outside world’. Í 151

Students Undergo the Following Experiences - Discovering the environment, wildlife, ecosystems services and goods, and the anthropocentric factors affecting the environment - Learning green ethics through the historical evolution and types of moral relationships between human and nature - Applying green ethics at international, regional and national levels - Living green ethics in the different aspects of human life The end of the course is marked by a short expedition for students to immerse themselves in the natural world, or ‘to shape oneself with biodiversity’, hereby appreciating, sensing, and caring for the value of natural Lebanese heritage.

Harmony as Our Original Mode of Communication During this process, the students’ first revelation is: ‘we are leaping back in time to childhood! It is amazing how we have lost our harmonious relationship with nature as we have progressed on our life’s journey!’ A mosaic of drawings portraying human beings and nature, collages made of natural elements, or personal quotes are but a few examples of the output of a fruitful day. These ‘patchworks’ of ideas serve as future scenarios, dependent on different choices of action, such as imagining the world without biodiversity, or with increasingly anti-social behavior.

Guiding students in the discovery of green ethics is certainly a mission to be fulfilled with patience, perseverance, and love! However, is it not our passion as teachers to support students as they flourish into responsible inhabitants of our countries and planet?

Moreover, must we wait to sit on university benches to get in touch with what matters most in our education?

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By Mariejoe Raidy

The Power of

Organic Dialogues!

When education and social entrepreneurship meet and merge, the result can only be passionate, full of potentialities and vision for the future!

This is how the success story of a communication campaign for an NGO fighting child abuse, Child of Lebanon (COL), started over an organic conversation. Ă?

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LAU integrates Child of Lebanon website design as part of a course at Beirut campus.

Above left: The winning project.

Left: Some of the students’ submissions.

The discussion led to the launch of a contest by young entrepreneurial ladies against child abuse, and the results were integrated in a course at the Lebanese American University (LAU). The aim was for students to participate in a real professional project, proactively participating in a good and essential cause.

Child of Lebanon (COL) is an NGO founded by Lebanese doctors striving to fight child abuse by offering them free medical help, as well as giving free conferences to professionals who seek to take a stand in the fight for children’s rights.

“Most of the studies in Lebanon show lack of information about mortality and vulnerability during childhood, and the relevant conditions and burden” (Gerbaka, 2003; Status of Lebanese children: 2004 national report).

Moreover, “in these fields, Beirut has achieved considerable reduction in infant and child mortality and has dozens of realizations towards the improvement of children condition” (Ajouz-Sidani, Gerbaka, Kheir-ElKadi, 2004). There is, however, scarce reliable information and poor qualitative knowledge on different child related issues, such as those of development and protection, database and analysis, institutions and education, risky situations and disadvantaged children, informal and governmental interactions.

The NGO, which has been actively present for more than ten years, is only known to a few; a fact that instigated the rebranding of the NGO’s image by building an advertisement/marketing campaign, with the purpose of reaching out and involving the

public sector, as well as raising awareness about related figures and numbers.

Société Générale de Banque au Liban (SGBL) is a firm supporter of the cause and Mrs. Joanna Baloglou, Head of Communications at the Bank, said at the award ceremony speech that “SGBL is pleased to have contributed to the rebranding of the Child of Lebanon. Throughout this contest, we have measured the enthusiasm of LAU students and the diversity of the layouts that were submitted proved the effort and passion they put into it, engaging people to interact for a cause. We are proud to help Child of Lebanon fight this essential cause that is child abuse and help raise awareness.”

It all started with a small photo contest on the Facebook page of the European company Creative Lounges, which then lead to a bigger website design contest on the Facebook page of Child of Lebanon.

The students loved the project, and gave their all to becoming top marketers, by assisting in making the page grow from 60 likes to 2000+ in less than ten days! As some students from other universities stated, “it became the talk of the town and everyone reached out wanting to get involved in fighting for this cause!”

Eventually, the goal of this exercise would be to lobby for laws protecting children against abuse in Lebanon.

Over a period of ten years, the totality of the relevant statistics were never known by or revealed to the public, neither was the medical help these doctors have been offering. In order to break a taboo, what better than to inform and involve as many people as possible?

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FUTURE ENVIRONMENTAL EVENTS JUNE

JULY

AUGUST

2/3 June 2012 2nd International Conference on Environment and Industrial Innovation www.iceii.org

2/4 July 2012 1st International Conference on Environmental and Economic Impact on Sustainable Development, New Forest www.wessex.ac.uk

1/2 August 2012 International Conference on Sustainable Development 2012 www.ontariointernational.org

5/8 June 2012 Ecorient www.ecorient2012.com

Hampshire, United Kingdom

3/5 August 2012 Behavior Change for a Sustainable World

Beirut – Lebanon

8/12 July 2012 Global Conference on Global Warming www.gcgw.org

Columbus, Ohio, United States

Hong Kong, China

19 June 2012 Cost-Saving Energy Efficiencies Conference www.theenergyconference.com

London, United Kingdom 20/22 June 2012 Earth Summit

www.earthsummit2012.org Rio de Janeiro. Brasil 27/29 June 2012 2nd International Symposium for Environmental Geotechnology, Energy and Global Sustainable Development www.isegnet.org

Los Angeles, California, United States

Istanbul, Turkey 19/21 July 2012 7th Annual Green Economics Conference www.greeneconomics.org.uk

Montclair, New Jersey, United States

4/5 August 2012 3rd Journal Conference on Environmental Science and Development 2012 www.ijesd.org

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Oxford, United Kingdom 8/9 August 2012 International Conference on Sustainable Tourism in Developing Countries

Zanzibar, Zanzibar, Tanzania 15/17 August 2012 The Global Summit 2012 www.theglobalsummit.org

London, United Kingdom 29/31 August 2012 International Sustainability Conference 2012 www.sustainabilityconference.ch

Basel, Switzerland

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URL ACCESS INITIATIVE www.accessinitiative.org

NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY OF LOUAIZE www.ndu.edu.lb

ANVIL KNITWEAR www.anvilknitwear.com

PRANA SUSTAINABLE WATER www.pranasustainablewater.ch

ARTICLE 19 www.article19.org

PEW www.pewenvironment.org

BANK MED www.happyplanetlebanon.com

RAIDY PRINTING GROUP www.raidy.com

CHILD OF LEBANON www.facebook.com/ChildOfLebanon

SAVE BEIRUT HERITAGE www.facebook.com/savebeirutheritage

CREATIVE LOUNGES www.creativelounges.com

SGBL www.sgbl.com.lb

DIEGO FERNANDEZ GABALDON www.diegofgphoto.net

SOUND LIGHT SYSTEM www.alessiovignola.it

EARTHSCAN, LONDON www.earthscan.co.uk

UNEP www.unep.org/greenup

ECOLIVING www.ecoliving.com

UNEP'S GREEN ECONOMY INITIATIVE www.unep.org/greeneconomy

IFP-ECORIENT www.ifpgroup.net

UNFCCC www.unfccc.org

IISD ORGANIZATION www.iisd.org

WORLD ENVIRONMENT TV www.worldenvironment.tv

LEBANESE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY www.lau.edu.lb

YOOX.COM www.yoox.com

MARIEJOE RAIDY www.mariejoeraidy.com 160