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Ed Webb

Why Afforestation Is Not The Answer To Desertification - 0 views

www.noemamag.com/if-the-desert-was-green

Algeria ecosystems sustainability agriculture Senegal sahel desertification colonialism BurkinaFaso Tunisia Sahara COP COP26

shared by Ed Webb on 28 Jul 22 - No Cached
  • Ed Webb on 28 Jul 22
     
    I wrote about the mad, and often harmful, schemes to "green" the desert, and the Tunisian village of Rjim Maatoug - built in the 70s/80s and billed to "fight against desertification" while aiming to do much more. For @NoemaMag https://t.co/a8Qnv6ulIl
Ed Webb

The Role of Corruption in the Syrian Civil War | GAB | The Global Anticorruption Blog - 0 views

globalanticorruptionblog.com/...uption-in-the-syrian-civil-war

Syria assad corruption violence war civil_war analysis economy climate environment agriculture food security

shared by Ed Webb on 06 Feb 17 - No Cached
  • the pervasive corruption of the Assad regime, which contributed to the outbreak of the civil war in at least three ways
  • the Sunni majority felt the economic repercussions the hardest
  • the arrival of large numbers of Syrian farmers and Iraqi refugees into the cities, which forced a large population to interact with corrupt officials on a more regular basis
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • violent outbursts against corrupt officials were the first spark of what would become a full-blown civil war
  • corruption also worsened desertification in Syria, an important environmental driver behind the Civil War
  • The drought was a known issue among the general population and in the government, but attempts to combat the disaster and stall the desertification of the countryside were hampered by corruption
  • Even as the government was attempting to address the issue, the very officials in charge of controlling water use were undermining the regulations
  • Many have pointed to Assad’s younger brother and uncle, who served in his cabinet and in the military, to explain Assad’s aggressive posture towards the early protests. Both figures were able to wield a high degree of influence in Assad’s government due to their familial connection to Assad’s father, the founder of the current Baathist regime in Syria. Their connection to the military made them potential threats to Assad’s own rule if he went against the wishes of his commanders and took a more conciliatory role towards the protesters.
  • entrenched nepotism and concentration of power
  • it is important to remember that systemic corruption can at times lead to violence
Ed Webb

Desert Cucumbers: The Sahara Forest Project Comes to Tunisia - Tunisialive - 0 views

www.tunisia-live.net/...desert-cucumbers

Tunisia agriculture economy climate environment food desertification

shared by Ed Webb on 25 Mar 16 - No Cached
  • A $30 million, high-tech agricultural facility covering 10 hectares in the desert in Tunisia’s south is scheduled to open in 2018. The facility, which is a highly sophisticated green house, will use solar energy to power its operations and seawater to irrigate crops and maintain humidity. The extracted salt from the seawater will also be sold commercially.
  • hoped to be a new environmental solution to create green jobs through profitable production of food, water, clean electricity and biomass in desert areas. The first pilot project opened in Qatar in December 2012, and another facility will be launched in Jordan later this year
  • Although there are no numbers or estimates available for Tunisia yet, the Qatar facility directly employs 6,000 people, with a further support staff of 30,000. Tunisian unemployment is estimated around 15 percent countrywide and even higher among young college graduates
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  • It has also become increasingly difficult to maintain a stable agricultural output as the country faces droughts and floods due to climate change
  • 1 percent of Tunisia’s energy supply is based on renewable energy sources, but the Tunisian government has pledged to increase that number to 30 percent by 2030
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