The Ajyal Podcast: Recent Episodes

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Going back to Season 2, Nature-based Solutions in West Asia, we invited Marie Tremolet, an expert on nature-based solutions with the UNDP, to provide a personal reflection on the topics we covered in both episodes.   

Marie Tremolet is a Nature-based Solutions and Policy Analyst with the United Nations Development Programme. She has worked with over 50 developing countries to enhance their commitments to nature-based solutions and their nationally-determined contributions.

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Guest: 

Fatema Frutan - Bahrain  

Purpose of the episode: 

This episode aims to discuss the challenges and barriers that women face in leadership positions and the potential for change. We want to elaborate on the social stigmas that de-motivate women for leading on leadership in the climate and nature space and discuss how overcoming them and involving women in leadership positions can benefit the climate movement in the region and foster positive change for people and nature.  

Quick questions with quick responses: 

1. From 1-10 how involved are Gulf women in climate decision-making? 

2. Name one barrier for women leadership in the region? 

3. How would you describe youth involvement in climate action in the Gulf?  

Topics/Questions to cover 

1. What is the role of women in leadership positions underrepresented? (In the Gulf and globally) 

2. How does the involvement of women benefit the climate movement? 

3. How can youth support the inclusivity of women in this space?  

Find more information about this episode, including more about this topic, additional resources and our key takeaways at www.youth4nature.org.

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Guest:

Abdul Rahman Al Mufta - Qatar

Purpose of the episode:

Big green projects have been emerging in the gulf as a strategy to tackle the climate crisis. However, these projects and others are presented in front of the public once the decision-making process has been completed without the involvement of the youth. In this episode, we want to provide space to have an open discussion on whether Gulf youth agree with the sustainability of these projects and whether they have proposals to improve or modify them. The intention is to show that youth have concerns and expertise that can benefit these green projects and should be part of decision-making processes, especially projects involving the future they will inherit.

The projects that will be discussed are:

• Qatar Fifa World Cup

• First Carbon Neutral

• The Saudi green initiative

• The Middle East green initiative

• Masdar city

Quick questions with quick responses

1. From 1-10 how involved are Gulf youth in climate decision-making?

2. Which one is more effective: community-based action, government action, or private sector action?

3. How would you describe youth involvement in climate action in the Gulf?

Topics/Questions to cover

1. Are big green projects considered greenwashing in oil and gas exporting countries?

2. Is Masdar in UAE, Msheireb in Qatar, and the first Fifa carbon-neutral world cup examples to be set for other West Asian cities or cities worldwide?

Find more information about this episode, including more about this topic, additional resources and our key takeaways at www.youth4nature.org

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Guest:

Rumaitha al Busaidi - Oman

Purpose of the episode

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is a regional, intergovernmental, political and economic union formed between Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates established in 1981 and headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The council’s basic objectives include economic and financial affairs, commerce, customs and communications, education and culture, social and health affairs, information and tourism, and legislative and administrative affairs. Given that the council does not include specific objectives on nature and climate, this episode will try to propose and discuss with the guests whether having a nature and climate-specific objective within the union would reinforce and strengthen cooperation to tackle the climate crises in the Arabain gulf, especially from a youth perspective.

Quick questions with quick responses

1. From 1-10 how involved are Gulf youth in climate decision-making?

2. Which one is more effective: community-based action or government action?

3. How would you describe youth involvement in grassroots action in the Gulf?

Topics/Questions to cover

1. Do you think that it is beneficial to include a climate objective with the GCC’s agreement?

2. How can youth demand the inclusion of this objective in the GCC?

Find more information about this episode, including more about this topic, additional resources and our key takeaways at www.youth4nature.org

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This series of the podcast is recorded in Arabic, with English subtitles available for the episode available on YouTube at https://youtu.be/mtEc28TgyY0

معلومات عامة عن الحلقة

مع ضيفتنا الشابة ساندرا سليمان من لبنان

في هذه الحلقة، عرضت ضيفتنا أهداف التسليق، والتهديدات التي تؤثر عليه، والطرق التي يمكننا من خلالها ضمان استمراره. تصف ساندرا التسليق على أنه تراث ثقافي يتجاوز مجرد فكرة كونه وسيلة لجمع الطعام. شرحت مستوى المعرفة اللازم للتعرف على الأعشاب من خلال موقعها والموسم والشكل. إحدى الرسائل المهمة للباحثين المحليين عن التسليق هو التسليق المستدام، حيث تشرح هذه التقنية. من المثير للدهشة أن المحميات الطبيعية قد لا تكون أفضل طريقة لحماية الأعشاب والخضروات المحلية. تحدد ساندرا أيضًا طرق جذب الشباب إلى نشاط التسليق من خلال عملها. تعرف على إجابات كل هذه الأسئلة وأكثر من ذلك بكثير من خلال مشاهدة الحلقة!

هل لديكم المزيد من الاسئلة بعد المشاهدة؟ انضموا الى ريان وضيوفنا والخبير في التقليد الحيوي طارق العليمي في ندوتنا الإلكترونية للمسلسل الثاني في 19 آب الساعة 7 مساء بتوقيت بيروت! للتسجيل اضغط هنا

Episode overview

With youth guest, Sandra Sleiman from Lebanon

In this episode, our guest presented the purposes of foraging, the threats affecting it, and the ways in which we can guarantee its persistence. Sandra describes foraging as a cultural heritage beyond the simple notion of it being a means to collect food. She explains the level of knowledge needed to identify herbs through their location, season of blossoming, and shape. One important message to local foragers is to forage sustainably, in which she explains the technique. Surprisingly, natural reserves might not be the best way to protect local herbs and vegetables. Sandra also defines methods to attract youth to the activity of foraging through her work. Find out the answers to all these questions and much more by watching the episode!

Looking for more or have questions after listening? Join Rayan, both of our episode guests, and biomimicry expert Tariq Al-Olaimy at our Series #2 Webinar, happening on August 19 at 16:00 UTC / 19:00 Beirut time! Register here.

IUCN definition of nature-based solutions: https://news.un.org/ar/story/2019/09/1039902

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This series of the podcast is recorded in Arabic, with English subtitles available for the episode available on YouTube at https://youtu.be/70r0tAoSnQM

معلومات عامة عن الحلقة

مع ضيفتنا الشابة أمل عنبر من الاردن

الهدف من هذه الحلقة هو مناقشة ما إذا كانت مبادرات تخضير الصحراء يمكن اعتبارها حلولاً مستندة على الطبيعة. ناقشنا الفرق بين إعادة التحريج والتصحر والتشجير وتخضير الصحراء. لكي يتم اعتبار أي ,NbS مبادرة على أنها

يجب أن تعزز التنوع البيولوجي، وتخفف أو تساعد في التكيف مع أزمة المناخ، وتوفر فوائد لرفاهية الإنسان وخاصة مجتمعات السكان الأصليين التي تعتمد في كثير من الأحيان على الأراضي التي تتخذ عليها هذه المبادرات.

تزداد شعبية مبادرات التخضير في غرب آسيا وتكتسب مليارات الدولارات من التمويل بموجب سياسات تهدف إلى التخفيف من ظاهرة الاحتباس الحراري وتقليل درجات الحرارة المحلية وتوفير الرفاهية للبشر. تعتمد العديد من هذه المبادرات على زراعة الأشجار أحادية الزراعة ذات الاستخدامات غير المستدامة للموارد الطبيعية مثل التربة والمياه.

NbS شرحت ضيفتنا كيف يمكن جعل عملية تخضير الصحراء أكثر استدامة وشمولية في نهجها لتلائم تعريف

Episode overview

With youth guest, Amal Anbar from Jordan

The purpose of this episode is to debate whether desert greening initiatives can be considered as nature-based solutions. We discussed the difference between reforestation, desertification, afforestation and desert greening. For any initiative to be considered a NbS, it must enhance biodiversity, mitigate or help adapt to the climate crisis, and provide benefits for human well-being especially indigenous communities that often rely on the lands upon which these initiatives take place.

Greening initiatives in West Asia are increasing in popularity and are gaining billions of dollars in funding under policies that aim to mitigate global warming, decrease local temperatures, and provide well-being for humans. Many of these initiatives rely on monocultural tree planting with unsustainable uses of natural resources such as soil and water.

Our guest stepped in to explain how the process of desert greening can be made more sustainable and more holistic in its approach to fit the definition of NbS.

IUCN definition of nature-based solutions: https://news.un.org/ar/story/2019/09/1039902

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This series of the podcast is recorded in Arabic, with English subtitles available for each episode available on YouTube at https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5Op9k1BEcOmlvmC7XWZCWHUIcsMrbyxo

في هذا المسلسل، سننقل مناقشتنا نحو مواضيع على أرض الواقع حول الحلول المستندة على الطبيعة. الحلول المستندة على الطبيعة هي "الحلول المستندة على الطبيعة هي إجراءات تقوم بحماية النظم الإيكولوجية الطبيعية، أو تلك المعدلة، وتديرها بشكل مستدام. وهي أيضا وتتصدى للتحديات المجتمعية. وبالتالي فإن الحلول المستندة على الطبيعة توفر، في وقت واحد، فوائد لرفاهية الإنسان وللتنوع البيولوجي أيضا" (الأمم المتحدة ,2019). من الناحية النظرية، تستضيف الحلول المستندة على الطبيعة العديد من الفرص للطبيعة والمناخ والمجتمعات. من الناحية العملية، شاركت العديد من المنظمات مخاوف جدية من افتقار هيكل قانوني وهيمنة الشركات على التعريف والتطبيق لهذه الحلول (مقابل قيادة المجتمع) إلى سلب حقوق تملك الأراضي والمزيد.

In this series, we’ll move our discussion towards on-the-ground topics about nature-based solutions (NbS). NbS are “actions to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural or modified ecosystems, that address societal challenges effectively and adaptively, simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits” (International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 2016). In theory, NbS host many opportunities for nature, climate and communities. In practice, many organisations have shared serious concerns about everything from lack of legal structure to corporate dominance in the space (vs. community-led) to land left and more.

ما المقصود بالحلول المستندة على الطبيعة؟

الطبيعة: واحدة من "أكثر الطرق فعالية" لمكافحة تغير المناخ | أخبار الأمم المتحدة (un.org)

المسلسل #2 من الأجيال بودكاست: الحلول المستندة على الطبيعة | The Ajyal Podcast series #2: Nature-based solutions — Youth4Nature

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Thank you for listening to our first series "Climate justice in West Asia" on The Ajyal Podcast!  

We hope that the conversations we had with our guests brought you new knowledge and has helped to bridge the gap between you and West Asian youth. We know that the conversations have sparked interest in you and that is why we hosted this webinar to give listeners the space to ask our guests questions on the spot and have them heard and answered in front of other interested listeners!   

In addition to the episode guests, Dr. Rania Masri also joined us to comment on the series and add her own knowledge on climate justice in the region. She is well-known for her advocacy for indigenous rights to land, the Palestinian cause, and political ecology. She has been on many international television interviews and is currently a member in the Lebanese political group "Citizens in a State" along with her other involvements.  

Find more information about this episode, including more about this topic, additional resources and our key takeaways at www.youth4nature.org/west-asia

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إذا أردتم مشاهدة الحلقة مترجمة إلى العربية، الرجاء زيارة الرابط على اليوتيوب

Video episode with Arabic subtitles is available on YouTube

Guest:

Suha Jarrar - Al Haq organization

Purpose of the episode:

Though the implications of colonisation on Indigenous People and climate are not unique to Palestine, this episode aims to highlight the nuances and intersections between Palestinian freedom and climate justice at this time. It delves into the struggles of indigenous communities in their fight for social and climate justice and displays the interlinkages between them. We discussed the Palestinian crisis and its relation to Palestinian land rights and resource acquisition. Through Suha’s personal experience with the occupation, we identified that climate movements that deem colonization as a sensitive and neutral topic are greenwashing and are doomed to fail long-term.

Suha also talked about the interlinkages between culture, tradition, and natural resources including the access to safe water, the prosecution against growing local crops, and the introduction of colonial agricultural practices.

Questions:

1. Give a quick overview of land and resource inequality in Palestine
2. How are the social, economic, and environmental conditions of colonized Palestinian youth different from those in the Western World?
3. Climate movements in Palestine: Do they call for the same justices as in Western countries? What is their focus? How can they be supported?
4. How are suppressive actions against traditional socio-ecological practices in Palestine related to climate injustice?

Find more information about this episode, including more about this topic, additional resources and our key takeaways at www.youth4nature.org.

Have more questions after listening? Join us on July 1 at 16:00 UTC / 19:00 Beirut time for our Series 1 webinar, where you'll be able to ask your questions directly to our episode guests. Register through our website!

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إذا أردتم مشاهدة الحلقة مترجمة إلى العربية، الرجاء زيارة الرابط على اليوتيوب

Video episode with Arabic subtitles is available on YouTube

Guests:

Neeshad Shafi, Qatar - Arab Youth Climate Movement Qatar

Purpose of the episode:

This episode focuses on youth perspectives in the Gulf region of West Asia on how they can push for climate action when their economies largely depend on oil and gas exports. The gulf region of West Asia depends on oil and gas exports as the primary source of income which subsidizes most of the sectors within their economies. Although trends of “green initiatives” have been emerging in the gulf, the shift from fossil fuel dependence is still weak. What would happen to people’s livelihoods if fossil fuel exports suddenly dropped? How can the world help the gulf in shifting to a greener economy?

Questions:

1. Can climate action movements in the west be applied in the gulf? If not, how can we push for climate action in the gulf?

2. Is there a balance between oil and gas economic growth vs climate action? Is Masdar City in UAE a good example or is it green washing?

3. What is the best way for youth in the gulf to demand for a better climate?

Find more information about this episode, including more about this topic, additional resources and our key takeaways at www.youth4nature.org.

Have more questions after listening? Join us on July 1 at 16:00 UTC / 19:00 Beirut time for our Series 1 webinar, where you'll be able to ask your questions directly to our episode guests. Register through our website!

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Guests:

Yemen: Ala Mustafa - Global Ambassador at Youth4Naure

Syria: Lama Ranjous - Water Science Policy

Purpose of the episode:

We discussed in this episode how war, the lack of political stability, and national security affect climate movements in Western Asia with a specific focus on Syria and Yemen. We delved into how youth priorities change in these circumstances and how progress can be regained for climate justice ensuring steady momentum with ease. We also shed light into the responsibility of the international community needed to eliminate these struggles and how youth from around the world can support vulnerable youth trying to work for a better climate.

Questions:

1. Were you involved in the climate movement in your country prior to the war? How has the war affected your progress?

2. How did your priorities change during militarization? Does stability affect how you perceive the environment?

3. During hard times and violence people tend to stop caring about the environment around them as a resentment to their suffering especially with the effects on climate change. Combined (CC + militarization) can cause a culture of environmental degradation in which the only future seen is that of survival and not handing down a better climate to future generations. How do you resonate with that?

4. What message of accountability do you have for the international community? How should they support youth in your country to push climate movements forward?

Coming June 3, 2021: Is there a balance between oil and gas economic growth and climate action in the gulf region? With guest Neeshad Shafi (Qatar - Arab Youth Climate Movement Qatar)

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Welcome to The Ajyal Podcast, a new podcast hosted by Y4N Regional Director for West Asia, Rayan Kassem, aiming to highlight and discuss youth priorities, perspectives, concerns and expertise related to nature and climate in the region. Over the coming months we will be releasing three mini-series as part of The Ajyal Podcast and we’re starting next week with series #1: Climate Justice in West Asia!

YOU WILL LEARN ABOUT: 1. The social struggles West Asian youth face hindering their climate actions 2. The climate movement of Arabian Gulf youth and their call to end fossil fuel dependence 3. The Palestinian crisis and its relation to Palestinian land rights and resource acquisition 4. How youth around the world can support climate justice in West Asia 5. Why it is important to have a local perspective on climate change