Category Archives: Sustainable Development

Islamic and Sustainability: Perspectives

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The 21st century is characterized by a number of global environmental challenges that shaped and defined the discourse and agenda of the West with respect to the developing world, specifically the Islamic world. Islam provides new sustainability perspectives for discovering and explaining the root causes for the current environmental, economic and social crises as manifested in climate change, HIV, poverty and human security. For example, the Islamic perspective on climate change is that the root cause of this global issue is the absence or lack of human stewardship and is an indication of market failures. Pitfalls of the Western Model … Continue reading →

The Significance of Water in the Islamic Culture

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The great cultural bloom that took place during the al-Andalus period was made possible from a material and social viewpoint thanks, among other factors, to the judicious water management at those times. Countryside, cities, public bathhouses and fountains, qanats, mosques and gardens honoured the element of water. However, this water culture emerged from a distinctively Islamic conception which is briefly summarized in the following paragraphs. Water in the Holy Quran In Islam, life and knowledge originated from water, a divine gift that symbolises profound wisdom, the drink that quenches the soul’s thirst. But it is also science. Thus, the word al-ma’a – … Continue reading →

كاربونيفا: إعادة صياغة العمل المناخي من خلال الكربون، والطاقة والتكيف

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بالغالب عندما نقوم بمناقشة التغير المناخي، نقوم بمناقشة مجزأة، حيث نصوّر الطاقة كأداة للتخفيف من آثار هذا التغير وننظر للتكيف على أنه وسيلة للسيطرة على الأضرار الحاصلة، ونقوم باختزال الكربون لمقياس وحيد للانبعاثات. وبالرغم من ان هذه المقاربات ساهمت في تنظيم العمل المناخي عالمياً، إلا أنها تقف عاجزة أمام التسارع الذي يواجه العالم بآثار تغير المناخ ومخاطره وتحديات الموارد المرتبطة به. لا تنقصنا التكنولوجيا أو الطموح، بل التكامل. فالتغير المناخي ليس مجرد مشكلة طاقة، ولا انبعاثات فقط، بل هو تحدٍ لكيفية إدارة الكربون ويمتد هذا التحدي عبر أنظمة الطاقة والنظم البيئية وموارد المياه، والامن الغذائي، والمرونة الاجتماعية، وكذلك الاقتصادية. ولتتم … Continue reading →

5 Top Reasons To Embrace Sustainable Manufacturing

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What is sustainable manufacturing? Put simply, it defines processes that minimise a plant’s overall environmental impact. Once regarded as rather niche, sustainable practices are becoming widely adopted. Here are five reasons why embracing sustainable manufacturing is growing in popularity: 1. It can create a Unique Selling Point Climate change and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions continue to dominate the environmental agenda: sustainability is here to stay. Did you know that millennials, those born between 1981 and 1996, makes up most of today’s workforce? They are also the generation that is most committed to implementing sustainable goals, according to Forbes … Continue reading →

Future Water Scenarios in the GCC Countries: Perspectives

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Water is an important vector in the socio-economic development and for supporting the ecosystem. In the arid to extremely arid Arabian Peninsula, home of the GCC countries, the importance and value of water is even more pronounced. The GCC countries of United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait, are facing the most severe water shortages in the world.  Rainfall scarcity and variability coupled with high evaporation rates have characterized this part of the world with a limited availability of renewable water. However, the scarcity of renewable water resources is not the only distinctive characteristic of the region, … Continue reading →

CARBONEVA: Reframing Climate Action Through Carbon, Energy, and Adaptation

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Climate change is often discussed through fragmented lenses. Renewable energy is framed as a mitigation tool, adaptation is treated as damage control, and carbon is reduced to a single metric of emissions. While these approaches have helped structure global climate action, they increasingly fall short in a world facing accelerating climate impacts, systemic risks, and interconnected resource crises [1,2]. What is missing is not technology or ambition, but integration. Climate change is not only an energy problem, nor solely an emissions problem. It is a carbon management challenge that unfolds across energy systems, ecosystems, water resources, food security, and socio-economic … Continue reading →

Water Engineers: A Pillar for National Water Security in Water-Stressed Regions

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Water scarcity is now recognized as one of the most pressing global challenges of the 21st century. Climate change, population growth, urbanization, and industrial expansion have intensified pressure on already limited freshwater resources, particularly in water-stressed regions such as the Mediterranean and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) [1,2]. According to UNESCO, more than two-thirds of the global population experience water scarcity for at least one month per year, with projections indicating further deterioration under current climate scenarios [1]. Within this context, the role of the water engineer has fundamentally evolved. Beyond the design and operation of treatment plants … Continue reading →

بصمة خضراء… ثلاثية الخطر

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منذ الثورة الصناعية، اعتمد العالم بشكل شبه كامل على ما يُعرف بـ «الوقود الأحفوري» لتشغيل اقتصاده وبناء حضارته الحديثة. الفحم، النفط، والغاز الطبيعي كانت هي العمود الفقري للطاقة؛ منها انطلقت المصانع، وبها توسّعت المدن، وعلى ضوئها أُضيئت البيوت، وتحرّكت وسائل النقل، وتسارعت عجلة الإنتاج. هذه المصادر منحت الإنسان قدرة غير مسبوقة على السيطرة على محيطه وتسخير الطبيعة لخدمته، لكنها لم تكن يومًا مجانية الأثر. فخلف كل وحدة طاقة ننتجها من احتراق الوقود الأحفوري، هناك كلفة خفية لا تظهر في فواتير الكهرباء أو أسعار الوقود، بل تُدفع من رصيد البيئة والمناخ. هذه الكلفة تتمثل في كميات هائلة من الغازات التي تُطلق … Continue reading →

The Key Dimensions of Sustainable Development in the Arab World

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Sustainable development is a pattern of growth in which resource use aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come. Arab world is facing major sustainability challenges in achieving social, economic and environmental goals. Extremely arid climate, acute water scarcity, high energy consumption and polluting oil and gas industry present a unique challenge in Arab countries. There are four major dimensions of sustainable development – social, economic, environmental and institutional. Lets delve into the different dimensions of sustainable development in the Arab world. Social Dimension Availability of energy … Continue reading →

Pakistan’s Thirst for Water: Towards a National Sustainable Water Policy

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Being the world’s 6th most populous country, Pakistan is home to about 210 million people. The growing population reduces average water availability every day. In 2017, Asian Development Bank reported that the agriculture sector of Pakistan consumes 93% of the water resources and contributes 21% – one-fourth – to the Gross Domestic Product. Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources published a report titled “Water requirements of major crops in Central Punjab,” that has mentioned that over 60% of water is lost in transmission and applications. This implies that the agriculture sector that consumes 93% of water resources wastes two-third … Continue reading →

Water Diplomacy in the Middle East for Transboundary Water Supplies

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Increased pressure on transboundary water supplies as a result of rising economic and population needs, exacerbated by climate change processes, can have catastrophic consequences in the Middle East. Management of groundwater extraction from transboundary aquifers must involve sharing the amount of accessible water and preserving its quality in order to ensure that future generations will have access to safe groundwater supplies. The Middle East is afflicted by internal water mismanagement and conflicts. This necessitates not only the building of water governance institutions but also diverse engagement platforms and other water diplomacy techniques. The negotiations about water management create the need … Continue reading →

Water Stress in the Mediterranean: Perspectives

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For many years now, the Mediterranean has been facing problems leading to a situation of serious environmental degradation. An increase in the temperature and salinity levels has been recorded during the second half of the 20th century in the Mediterranean Sea. However, this increase does not follow progressive trend and periods of temperature alternation have been observed. Following several climate change scientific reports, sea level trend at the global scale is higher than at the regional scales. Furthermore, in the regional scale there are other influence factors such the atmospheric pressure and the wind. In addition, the small rises in temperature … Continue reading →