Solid waste is the most significant environmental problem in the Arab world, shows a survey in which 82 percent of 31,000 respondents said that the environment was steadily worsening due to governmental inaction. The public opinion survey comes as part of the 2015 annual report by the Arab Forum for Environment and Development on “Sustainable Consumption for Better Resource Management” launched Monday.
The survey aims at examining consumption patterns and people’s willingness to change.
It was conducted online between January and May 2015, with 31,010 valid entries from 22 Arab League countries.
According to the survey, 16 percent felt solid waste was a major environmental issue, while 14 percent relegated that title to traffic congestion and transport and 12 percent to inefficiency in water and energy use.
Seventy-two percent of respondents said that over the past 10 years the environment has worsened. In Lebanon that percentage was 82. Also in Lebanon, 99 percent said that the government wasn’t doing enough to solve environmental problems.
The survey comes at a time when Lebanon continues to suffer from a staggering trash crisis after the Naameh landfill was closed July 17.
“Certainly [there’s a relationship between] consumption and garbage,” Najib Saab, secretary-general of the AFED, told The Daily Star.
“I haven’t seen any program in Lebanon targeted changing habits.”
Saab pointed to the example of plastic bags, where the government could pass a law forcing the public to pay for the environmentally unfriendly disposable bags they take from shops in order to discourage using them.
“It’s not enough to have public relation campaigns to tell people don’t use plastic bags,” Saab said.
He said changes of this nature would help lessen the crisis, explaining that certain individual practices – such as using glass water bottles instead of plastic – could be of help.
Saab was speaking on the sidelines of a two-day conference held at Phoenicia Hotel during which the report was released. The conference will continue Tuesday covering topics on “green finance and consumption and production in post-2015 sustainable development agenda.”
Food and water consumption patterns were also tackled.
Dr. Nahla Hwalla, dean of the faculty of agriculture and food sciences at the American University of Beirut, explained to The Daily Star that consumers play an important role.
“If I am a nutritionist, I have always thought about telling you what’s best for you to eat regardless [of whether] this impacts the environment, emissions, water consumption and land need,” said Hwalla, who also presented a study on the matter at the event.
“What I am proposing now is that we have to look at this end. We have always looked at agriculture production [in terms of] ‘what can agriculture production do for food security and for providing food?’ We do not see what the consumer can do to help agriculture be sustainable agriculture.”
Red meat is an example. Not only does increased consumption of red meat affect one’s health, “red meat accounts for the highest water footprint,” Hwalla said in her report.
Most Arab countries consume a lot of meat without taking into account the amount of water and energy required in its production.
The region already suffers from water scarcity.
They explained that there is evidence that nutrition-based diets have a lower effect on the environment.
“Our food-based dietary guidelines in Lebanon and in the region never looked at the sustainability of the environment vis-a-vis these recommendations,” Hwalla explained. “What I am proposing is that we recommend to people from now on nutritional advice and food advice that think about the environment.”
But the survey also has some positive signs. Eighty-four percent said that they would be willing to change dietary habits to save water and energy resources with 99 percent saying they are ready to change their dietary habits to improve their health.
Attending the event were a host of figures, including Environment Minister Mohammad Machnouk, who represented Prime Minister Tammam Salam.
By Ghinwa Obeid
