Najat A Saliba is a professor of chemistry at American University Beirut, an environmental conservationist and a member of the Lebanese Parliament
September 30, 2022
Throughout history, environmental damage has been one of the most important factors in civilisational collapses. Environmental damage and climatic changes have driven crop failure, starvation and desertification, contributing to the collapse of many civilisations like the Peruvian Nazca, Easter Island, Norse Greenland, the Anasazi and the Roman Empire.
Coming down from the mountains in my country of Lebanon, a layer of thick brownish air covers the city of Beirut. It ominously reminds me of the severe smog in London and Los Angeles in the 1940s and 1950s caused by urban influxes and spikes in the number of cars and factories. In Beirut, the smog comes from diesel generators whirring across the country and most recently, toxic emissions due to the burning of carcinogenic low-quality fuel. This pollution of the air we breathe is visually and sensorially overwhelming, and I catch myself wondering whether Lebanon could one day join the sinister list of places where environmental damage has spiralled out of control.
Rampant environmental degradation in Lebanon is accelerating the total collapse not just of ecosystems, but of country, nation and culture. Coupled with socio-political shocks and exacerbated by the climate crisis, this degradation threatens our future. In the most unwanted ways, Lebanon is consistently demonstrating that the environment is interconnected with socio-economic stability, and is not something to be cast aside as a nature lover’s fancy.
The smog-filled skyline of Beirut in 2016. Getty
A quick overview of the current situation is useful. After three decades of chronic electricity deficits–from supply shortages, expensive and polluting fuel and diesel oils, non-billing and a weak grid–the electricity sector in Lebanon has collapsed. State electricity barely provides a few hours per day, the country’s cities are dark at night, and pollution from diesel generators has risen by 300 per cent since the beginning of the crisis. The pollution brings heavy particles and carcinogen materials into the air, increasing wheezing, coughing, and bronchial irritations. The ripple effects of a fallen electricity grid are grave. Water is scarce as communities cannot pump groundwater, farm irrigation is being affected, and trees are being illegally cut down for wood heating in the winter.
Although Lebanon is a relatively water-rich country in the water-scarce Mena region, mismanagement, contamination, and run-off into the sea have compounded to create a grave water crisis. Last summer, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (Unicef) warned that 71 per cent of Lebanon’s population risked running out of water. The water that does exist is often unsafe, with 92 per cent of wastewater in Lebanon disposed of without treatment. Over 96.2 per cent of our river water harbours fecal bacteria or coliforms and 95.5 per cent harbours the E coli bacteria.
Lebanon’s waste problem continues to affect the natural world and human lives. Collection is unreliable and the government barely provides funds or technical support for municipalities. Open dumping and burning are rampant and often the only option, amounting to an estimated 900 open dumps in the country. The solid waste sector produced 11 per cent of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2011. In 2018, Lebanon lost $200 million due to the lack of solid waste management.
The mountains and hills that still have functioning ecosystems are consistently targeted. Due to corruption and spotty land records, unregulated development overtakes pristine areas, and faulty construction deals abound. For example in 2020 the World Bank infamously canceled its loan for a dam in Bisri, after local activism showed that construction would destroy a highly biodiverse ecosystem, multi-cultural historic sites, agricultural areas, and bird migratory areas.
Many are trying their hardest to help, from NGOs, to foreign actors, to citizens. However, structural problems have consistently undercut all efforts for change. Foreign aid is crippled by corruption and inefficiencies –over the past 30 years Lebanon has received billions of dollars in aid and yet running water and electricity are increasingly sparse. The nonprofit sector has attempted to take on the difficult task of filling in for the social state, but lack of co-operation and concerns about trustworthiness and partisan affiliation abound.
All this devastation is damaging an already fragile system, with Lebanon located in a climate change hotspot. In many ways, this is more dangerous than the Civil war which affected localised areas. This is an all-around war that has compromised the main essence of life. It has affected air and water, exposed the soil to erosion due to deforestation, and threatened our food supply.
Environmental troubles are some of the most important factors in Lebanon's decline. Reuters
Are there reasons to be optimistic? Can we at least delay the disaster if we cannot stop it? From my perspective, hope lies in grassroots movements led by the people who live through this crisis day in and day out. They need change the most urgently, are motivated to work towards new futures, and consistently create solutions through their knowledge of the place they belong to. Grassroots movements from the 2015 You Stink protests to the 2019 Thawra have been our closest shots at regime change and the building blocks towards it. Locally-born environmental and social initiatives run by passionate citizens are coming closer to systemic solutions than foreign aid. I witness this consistently through the Environment Academy at AUB, a community-born movement I co-founded in 2019 that addresses urgent environmental threats through the matching of local teams with expert mentors and the media. Environment Academy is showing us how collapse can create a push for transformation–whether in the attempt to secure water, clean up village-wide solid waste, or prevent forest fires. This moment is certainly dire, and the environment under real threat, but motivated citizens are bravely initiating ground-up transformation through their hard work at the local level.
Sustainably integrating these initiatives into Lebanese society is the challenge that will require local government and international players to listen to what is happening on the ground. The vacuum created by the current crisis in Lebanon could be a space for change, imagination, and transformation, as it could be the beginning of a longer downfall. Let us heed the warning signs of our polluted air and wildland fires to reimagine what life could look like after the storm.
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
How to avoid crypto fraud
Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
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Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
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'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Date started: Founded in May 2017 and operational since April 2018
Founders: co-founder and chief executive, Doaa Aref; Dr Rasha Rady, co-founder and chief operating officer.
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: Health-tech
Size: 22 employees
Funding: Seed funding
Investors: Flat6labs, 500 Falcons, three angel investors
Company Profile
Name: Thndr Started: 2019 Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr Sector: FinTech Headquarters: Egypt UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi Current number of staff: More than 150 Funds raised: $22 million
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
The UAE volunteers campaign can be reached at www.volunteers.ae , or by calling 800-VOLAE (80086523), or emailing info@volunteers.ae.
Moral education needed in a 'rapidly changing world'
Moral education lessons for young people is needed in a rapidly changing world, the head of the programme said.
Alanood Al Kaabi, head of programmes at the Education Affairs Office of the Crown Price Court - Abu Dhabi, said: "The Crown Price Court is fully behind this initiative and have already seen the curriculum succeed in empowering young people and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in building the future of the nation at all levels.
"Moral education touches on every aspect and subject that children engage in.
"It is not just limited to science or maths but it is involved in all subjects and it is helping children to adapt to integral moral practises.
"The moral education programme has been designed to develop children holistically in a world being rapidly transformed by technology and globalisation."
