The Sustainable Development Initiative in the Arab Region

Transcription

1 LEAGUE OF ARAB STATES: CAMRE The Sustainable Development Initiative in the Arab Region Third Progress Report Dr. Ibrahim Abdel Gelil Arabian Gulf University October 2011

2 Table of Contents 1 Introduction The SDIAR Initiative Peace and Security:... 6 Progress achieved Governance of Sustainable Development... 8 Progress achieved Poverty Alleviation Progress achieved Population and Health Progress achieved Education, Awareness, Scientific Research, & Technology Transfer Progress Achieved Progress achieved Resources Management Integrated water resources management Progress achieved Agricultural research Progress achieved Combat desertification Progress achieved Integrated management of coastal zones and marine resources Progress achieved Sustainable management of mountains and forests Progress achieved Third Progress report on implementation of SDIAR Page 2

3 8.6 Protection of biodiversity and Biosafety Progress achieved Air quality management Progress achieved Chemical Management Progress achieved Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) Progress achieved Production and Consumption Progress achieved Disaster Management and Emergency response Progress achieved Globalization, Trade and Investment Progress achieved Accession of the Arab countries to the World Trade Organization Trade and environment Foreign Direct Investment The Arab Environment facility Challenges for Sustainable Development Opportunities and the way forward Addressing the current challenges Addressing the emerging issues References Third Progress report on implementation of SDIAR Page 3

4 1 Introduction The sustainable development initiative in the Arab region (SDIAR) aims at addressing the challenges faced by the Arab Countries to achieve sustainable development. It asserts the commitment of the Arab countries to implement Agenda 21 and the development objectives included in the Millennium Declaration and the outcome of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, taking into consideration the principle of common but differentiated responsibility. The initiative is considered as a framework for the implementation of programs and activities using the available resources in the Arab countries, in the relevant Arab regional and international organizations, and in the Arab regional and international financial institutions. CAMRE in its 22 th session in 2010 concerning the preparation for the United Nation s Rio+20 Conference to be held on 4-6 June 2012, called for the preparation of a regional report on the progress achieved by the Arab countries, and the Arab regional and international organizations and Non-government organizations in the implementation of the different elements of the CDIAR initiative. Two progress reports on the implementation of the initiative were prepared before in 2008 and This report aims to 1) assess the progress achieved on the implementation of the CDIAR during the past ten years, i.e. since the world Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) including inter alia lessons learnt, challenges, and opportunities to overcome those challenges in order to achieve the internationally agreed goals, and 2) preliminary evaluate the CDIAR in order to identify needed amendments to reflect the emerging issues since the WSSD, and to go beyond Rio+20. This report draws basically on the two progress reports mentioned before, the Arab Environment Outlook Report (AEOR) published by LAS and UNEP, in addition to available information from regional and international organizations, and the Arab specialized organizations. 2 The SDIAR Initiative Since the Rio Summit in 1992, major accomplishments have been made in the Arab region towards the achievement of sustainable development, particularly in the areas of education, health and improved standards of living. However, a number of obstacles continue to face the Arab countries in the long-term implementation of sustainable development. Based on the Ministerial Declaration on Sustainable Development issued in Cairo on 25 October 2001, the League of Arab States adopted a comprehensive regional approach, through the Council of Arab Ministers Responsible for the Environment (CAMRE) and other specialized Ministerial Councils Third Progress report on implementation of SDIAR Page 4

5 and in cooperation with international, regional and Arab organizations. This approach aims at developing a regional program for sustainable development. The sustainable Development Initiative in the Arab Region (SDIAR) aims at addressing the challenges faced by the Arab Countries to achieve sustainable development. It asserts the commitment of the Arab countries to implement Agenda 21 and the development objectives included in the Millennium Declaration and the outcome of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, taking into consideration the principle of common but differentiated responsibility. The initiative seeks to enhance the participation of the Arab countries with the aim of strengthening their efforts in realizing sustainable development, particularly in light of globalization and its impacts, as well as finding a mechanism for financing the programs for environmental protection and sustainable development. The initiative is considered as a framework for the implementation of programs and activities using the available resources in the Arab countries, in the relevant Arab regional and international organizations, and in the Arab regional and international financial institutions. The initiative is also to be implemented through building partnerships with the other regions, groups and international organizations and institutions, as part of the international framework for achieving sustainable development, and with the involvement of all the stakeholders at the national and regional level, particularly the private sector and Civil Society, including the media. The SDIAR initiative calls for the support of partnership initiatives between developing countries, as called for in the Joint AMCEN/CAMRE Declaration on Sustainable Development (Cairo 2002), between industrial and developing countries and between the states and the organizations of Civil Society and the private sector. Those partnerships are to be fair and not selective and should not include political or economic conditions. The establishment of a program of action for this Initiative was based on the provisions of the Jeddah Declaration on the Islamic Perspective for Environment (2002), the Abu Dhabi Declaration on Perspectives of Arab Environmental Action (2001), the Oman Declaration on Environment and Sustainable Development (2001), the Abu Dhabi Declaration for Agricultural Development and Combating Desertification, the General Framework of Islamic Agenda for Sustainable Development (2002), and the outcome of the Amman International Forum on Environment and Sustainable Development (2001). It is also to take into consideration the outcome of the relevant international and regional conferences and symposiums, such as the Dubai Declaration on the Integrated Management of Water Resources in Arid Zones (2002) and the Muscat Declaration of the Oman International Conference for the Development and Management of Watercourses (2002). An action Plan for the Implementation of the SDIAR has been developed by CAMRE, it calls for cooperation with all partners; governments, Specialized Arab Organizations, regional and international organizations, private sector, academia, and relevant civil society organizations to Third Progress report on implementation of SDIAR Page 5

6 implement the SDIAR. Further, it calls for the coordination between the SDIAR and NEPAD. The Action plan stated a mechanism for the implementation and monitoring of the Initiative as follows: A joint secretariat composed of the technical secretariat of CAMRE, secretariat of the Arab Economic & Social Council, United Nations Environment Program/ Regional office of West Asia (UNEP/ROWA) & Economic & Social Commission for West Asia (ESCWA) shall be in charge of the coordination and implementation of the Action Plan. Implementation of the initiative Action plan shall be followed up within the frameworks of: Joint Committee for Environment and Development in the Arab World (JCEDAR), and the Council of Arab Ministers responsible for Environment (CAMRE). Reports on the implementation of the Action Plan of the Initiative shall be submitted to the Arab Summit through the Arab Economic and Social Council on a periodical basis. As mentioned before, two progress reports have been developed, the first report in 2008, while the second one was in Peace and Security: For many years, armed conflicts in the Arab region has harmed human wellbeing, and resulted in the degradation of natural resources and ecological habitats. The cumulative impact of decades of Israeli occupation and neglect in the occupied Palestine Territories (OPT) has resulted in serious economic, social, and environmental problems, including the degradation of scarce water resources, and pollution by solid and liquid waste. The consequences of these wars include the disruption of health services, deepened poverty, destroyed institutions, unemployment, and of course the inability to enforce environmental legislation. Successive wars have increased the number of refugees to about 4 million. They live in poor socio-economic conditions, with high population densities and inadequate basic environmental infrastructure, adding pressure to the fragile environment. Further, Israel illegally seized lands and homes, as well as the property of some 600,000 Syrian Arabs and their descendents were expelled from the Golan Heights in During the 2006 hostilities along the borders of Israel and Lebanon, about 1 million people were temporarily displaced in Lebanon alone raising serious concerns over their well-being. War results in heavy infrastructural damage. Bombardments of military and civilian targets resulted in altered Iraqi, Palestinian and Lebanese rural and cityscapes. The economic infrastructure in the Gaza Strip was damaged in the May 2004 and December 2008 hostilities, aggravating existing environmental problems. The SDIAR initiative calls for: Third Progress report on implementation of SDIAR Page 6

7 "Establishment of a suitable environment at the regional level to support the efforts to achieve peace and security, including the termination of occupation and elimination of threats of aggression and interference in the internal affairs of countries, based on the United Nations resolutions, the principle of land for peace and on a just and equitable basis in order to achieve sustainable development. Protecting the environment and natural resources of the peoples under occupation and building the economic and social structures destroyed by the occupation". Progress achieved To achieve peace and security in the region, Arab countries, international and regional organizations and civil society organizations have implemented a number of activities including: 1. UNEP has conducted post-crisis environmental assessments in Gaza Strip, Lebanon, and Sudan. In January 2005, the Sudanese Government and the Sudan People s Liberation Army signed a Comprehensive Peace Agreement, putting an end to twenty-two years of continuous civil war. The post-conflict environmental assessment process for Sudan began in late The assessment identified a number of critical environmental issues that are closely linked to the country s social and political challenges. The linkages between conflict and environment in Sudan are twofold. On one hand, the country s long history of conflict has had significant impacts on its environment. Indirect impacts such as population displacement, lack of governance, conflict-related resource exploitation and underinvestment in sustainable development have been the most severe consequence t o date. The assessment main findings include impacts of natural disasters, desertification, regional climate change, severe land degradation due to demographic pressure, deforestation crisis, urban issues, industrial pollution due to the emerging oil industry, and depleted biodiversity. In 2006 the conflict between Lebanon and in Israel, led to nearly one million Lebanese over to a quarter of the total population fleeing their homes. This massive human displacement and destruction or severe damage of approximately 30,000 housing units clearly had a very deep impact on the population. One of the most high profile issues of the conflict was the bombing of the Jiyeh power plant, which resulted in the spillage of thousands of tones of oil into the Mediterranean Sea. The Government of Lebanon had requested UNEP to conduct a postconflict environmental assessment. The findings revealed that coastal communities have been severely affected by the oil pollution washed onto their shores. In the context of weapons used, UNEP examined specifically the possible use of munitions containing Depleted Uranium. Laboratory analysis of samples taken from different sites proved no evidence of the use of depleted or natural uranium-containing weapons. However, the large numbers of cluster bombs, which lie unexploded throughout much of southern Lebanon, do constitute severe challenges to the economic and physical well-being of populations. Third Progress report on implementation of SDIAR Page 7

8 Following the escalation of Israeli s hostilities in the Gaza Strip in December 2008 and January 2009, UNEP initiated a post-conflict environmental assessment to examine the natural and environmental impacts of those hostilities, in addition to an economic evaluation of the rehabilitation and restoration of the environmental damage. Findings were published in the Environmental Assessment of the Gaza Strip report in September In response to the resolution of the Arab summit in Kuwait regarding reconstruction of Gaza Strip, a LAS mission was conducted to assess the damage caused by Israeli attack on Gaza strip during the period 27/12/ /1/ The mission estimated the value of damage to be nearly $ 2.1 billion of which $ 1.3 billion is needed urgently. The LAS mission s report described in details the damage in different economic sectors specifically in the Agriculture sector, water resources, industry, infrastructure and public utilities. 3. Support for the Palestinian people in their just struggle to attain their national rights and to have their independent state with Al Quds as its capital. 4. Support of the Syrian people to free their occupied land in the Golan Heights. 5. Support for the Iraqi people to build their democratic institutions. 6. Support for the Somali people to establish a national government to achieve their unity, independence and territorial integrity. 7. Call for turning the Middle East into a zone free of weapons of mass destruction including nuclear weapons. 8. Protection and conservation of natural resources of countries under occupation such as Palestine, and Iraq (support for environmental management of the Iraqi Marshlands starting from 2004) 4 Governance of Sustainable Development Environmental governance at the national, regional, and global levels is critical for the achievement of sustainable development. It includes strengthening the institutional and legal frameworks, fostering equitable participation in decision-making and promoting effective participation of the civil society and the private sector in the decision making process. The environmental Governance in the Arab region has been evolving since the early 1990s. The development of the regime of the multilateral environmental agreements has been playing a major role in such evolution. This has led to establishing various regional and national environmental institutions and enacting a large number of laws and other regulatory instruments addressing most of the environmental issues of the region. The scope and mandate of environmental agencies had gradually expanded to include many issues that are historically put under the jurisdictions of line ministries and municipalities. This, in many Third Progress report on implementation of SDIAR Page 8

9 instances, expanded the administrative burdens of the environmental agencies, created many overlaps in responsibilities of government institutions, and lead to lack of coherence in policy formulation. The SDIAR initiative calls for: "Supporting and enhancing the institutional framework in Arab countries in the field of sustainable development, including the development and implementation of the necessary policies and legislations. Supporting the efforts of the League of Arab States to establish a mechanism for addressing sustainable development at the regional level" Progress achieved At the regional level, a number of regional and sub-regional environmental organizations are working in the Arab region to help advance the environmental agenda of the League of Arab States (LAS). These institutions are either part of the UN system, the League of Arab States, or created as a result of regional conventions. The evolution of the sustainable development concepts at the regional level is best observed in the declarations and initiatives that emanated from many regional forums. Regional commitments are usually articulated under the auspices of League of Arab States (LAS). The Arab League signaled its renewed commitment to a comprehensive regional approach to sustainable development by developing two institutional bodies: The first is the regional joint secretariat to assist in the coordination of activities and priorities on sustainable development in the Arab region. This regional joint secretariat, which was established in June 2000, and further developed in 2004, comprises the technical secretariat of CAMRE, the technical secretariat of the Arab ECOSOC, the UNEP Regional Office for West Asia (UNEP/ROWA) and UNESCWA. The second body is the Joint committee for Environment and development in the Arab countries (JCEDAR), which was established under the auspices of the Arab League as an inter-ministerial advisory committee to CAMRE. Furthermore, CAMRE s responsibilities were extended to include enhancing Arab cooperation in all matters related to sustainable development. At the national level, as environmental management evolved in the region, environmental laws have also facilitated the creation of institutions responsible for coordinating, supervising and monitoring environmental management in the Arab countries. New institutions have been created and, sometimes, old ones restructured. Arab countries have different approaches in creating institutional framework, some countries have environmental ministries (such as Iraq, Lebanon, and Morocco), others have general directorates and/or environmental councils (such Third Progress report on implementation of SDIAR Page 9

10 as in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia), and few has both such as in Egypt, Jordan, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Recently, Oman restructured its environmental ministry to become a ministry for environment and climate affairs. Continuous amendments of institutional structures and responsibilities reflect the changing attitude of the Arab countries to trends in environmental management. On the other hand, all Arab countries have enacted different kinds of legislations and regulatory instruments to improve environmental quality and protect public health. Revisions and amendments of those legislations received attention within the past few decades to address many emerging global issues such as desertification, management of chemicals and hazardous wastes, and conservation of biodiversity. It is worth to note that most of these legislations mainly depend on the command and control approach and rarely consider market-based mechanisms such as pollution tax, permits, and financial incentives. Arab countries increasing interest in enacting environmental laws is an encouraging indicator of movement toward full adoption and integration of the MEAs and regional legal instruments into national legislation. The establishment of the Arab Regional Centre for Environmental Law (ARCEL) in Kuwait and the development of joint programmes of cooperation with UNEP and other UN agencies with the aim of enhancing training and capacity building efforts in the area of environmental law is a recent and encouraging development in the region. Whereas the proliferation of the various environmental conventions and protocols constitutes an outstanding achievement on the part of the international community, it also raises the need for continuing support to developing countries including the Arab ones to enable them to take their part in that global regime. Arab countries have to implement large number of MEAs that has been a major obstacle to compliance. This is primarily because governments institutions have become overloaded with the reporting requirements and countless number of meetings called for by the mounting number of conventions and protocols. The importance attributed to MEAs by Arab countries, however, varies significantly from one agreement to another and from one country to another. Among the most important MEAs are the UNCCD, the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD), and the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the Kyoto protocol. Other global conventions of significant importance to the region are the Vienna Convention on the Protection of the Ozone Layer and the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, and the Basel Convention on the Control of Trans-boundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal. Table (1) clearly shows that apart from Iraq, Palestine, Somalia, and in some cases Lebanon, which suffer somehow from peace and security issues, the rest of the Arab countries have almost ratified the said conventions. Third Progress report on implementation of SDIAR Page 10

11 Table 1: Ratification of selected MEAs in the Arab Region States POPs Biosafety UNCCD CBD UNFCCC Algeria Bahrain (a) 1994 Comoros Djibouti (a) Egypt Iraq Jordan Kuwait (a) Lebanon Libya 2005(a) 2005(a) Mauritania 2005(a) Morocco Oman (a) 1996(a) Palestine Qatar 2004(a) 2007(a) 1999(a) (a) Saudi Arabia 2007(a) 1997(a) 2001(a) 1994(a) Somalia 2002(a) Sudan (a) Syria (a) (a) Tunisia UAE (a) (a) Yemen (a) 1997(a) Third Progress report on implementation of SDIAR Page 11

12 Additionally, for the last two decades, MEAs have catalyzed regional coordination on common environmental concerns through regional organizations. CAMRE provides a forum for environmental ministers in the region. The GCC, MAP, PERSGA and ROPME councils provide subregional forums for addressing global and regional environment, development and trade agreements. CAMRE, in collaboration with UNEP/ROWA and ESCWA has been trying to coordinate activities of the Arab countries related to some of the MEAs. Three standing committees were formed, one is responsible for the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol, the second is responsible for chemical management, and the third one is responsible for protection of the Ozone layer. Memberships of these committees include representatives of the Arab member countries, Arab League organizations, and some Arab experts. These Committees meet regularly to discuss the Agenda items of the respective MEAs with the aim of information and expertise exchange, and coordination of the Arab countries positions. In addition to developing the institutional structure for environmental management at the national levels, some Arab countries have established an institutional unit to deal with issues of sustainable development; some have developed national strategy on SD or national agenda 21 (Table2). Table 2: Institutional framework for sustainable development in selected Arab countries Country Institutional mechanism SD strategy/ plan Iraq Egypt Tunisia Saudi Arabia Higher committee on SD (2005) National committee on SD (2006) Higher committee on SD (1993) Sustainable development Agency (2007) Draft National strategy on SD National Agenda 21 Long-term Development Strategy 2025 UAE National Agenda 21 Jordan National Agenda 21 Bahrain Bahrain 2030 Qatar Qatar 2030 Third Progress report on implementation of SDIAR Page 12

13 5 Poverty Alleviation Poverty alleviation is necessary for human development. However, poverty alleviation remains a significant challenge for many countries of the region, and thus a major impediment to achieving sustainable development. Social integration must be part of the equation to resolve the poverty problem to ensure that social, economic and environmental benefits are equally shared. It is thus imperative to strengthen political commitments and efforts to enhance the quality of life for all sectors of the population, with special emphasis on vulnerable groups such as women, children and the disabled. There is also a higher incidence of poverty in rural areas than in urban areas across the region. Furthermore, Poverty is significantly higher in countries that have faced conflicts, particularly Iraq, Somalia, Palestine and Yemen The SDIAR calls for Supporting the plans of action and programs on the local, national, subregional and regional levels, particularly through financing small-sized projects and through technical and institutional cooperation, with the aim of alleviating poverty while giving the role of women due consideration Progress achieved With regards to poverty, the Arab region continues to be characterized by sharp disparities between the different sub-regions, particularly between the high-income countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Arab Least Developed Countries (LDCs). These disparities are not only large in terms of level of development but also in terms of progress made towards achieving the MDGs. While the GCC countries are on-track in achieving most of the MDG targets, the Arab LDCs, most of which suffer from conflict, together with Iraq and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, lag significantly behind, making it unlikely that they will be able to meet the majority of the targets by These differences, compounded by wide in country disparities, are very significant in assessing the impact of the global Food, Fuel and Financial crises on prospects for achieving the MDGs. The first Millennium Development Goal (MDG1) aims to eliminate extreme poverty and hunger by The main targets to measure progress of countries towards this goal are: reduction by half of the proportion of people living under $1.25 per day, attainment of full and productive employment for all men and women and a reduction by half of the proportion of the population suffering from hunger. Arab countries are on track with respect to halving the proportion of people living below $1.25- a-day. However, progress in Arab region LDCs has been undermined since 2006 due to the rise in food and fuel prices. For example, in Somalia an additional 2.6 million people in 2008 required emergency food relief. In Yemen, rising food prices are expected to have pushed a significant proportion of the population under the food poverty line. In Gaza and the West Bank, the issue of food security is magnified by the daily struggles for survival under military occupation and siege. Third Progress report on implementation of SDIAR Page 13

14 Furthermore, the region lags behind in the target of halving hunger. This is also the case with regards to achieving full and decent employment, where the youth and gender indicators are particularly worrisome. The trends and future prospects for achieving Goal 1 vary remarkably within the region. Thus, rapid progress on employment and poverty in the Maghreb countries contrasts sharply with limited or no progress in the Mashreq countries. In addition, labor markets in most Arab countries were characterized by widespread unemployment with an average unemployment rate for the Arab countries of 12 per cent of the labor force for the period. Youth unemployment is particularly high, reaching 30 per cent in 2006, and the youth share among the unemployed exceeded 50 per cent for most Arab countries. The situation is particularly grave for young women, as reflected by the 2:3 ratio of male to female youth unemployment rates. However, some female gains in employment were achieved and there was an improvement in female labor force participation. There has also been notable improvement in women s access to education and health care in the Arab region, but these changes have not been translated into a significant increase in opportunities for women s political and economic participation. Accordingly, for the Arab region to reach the MDGs by 2015 it has to accelerate the pace of its efforts through well designed and focused reforms and development policies, supported by regional cooperation and integration. The region has taken important strides towards providing equal access to education for young boys and girls. Though gender parity at the primary and secondary level has not been achieved for the region as a whole, most sub-regions are on track towards reaching the target by 2015, whereas the Arab LDCs are still lagging behind. In the Arab LDCs, only around eight girls to every ten boys receive secondary education. While few Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia have reported on their efforts to develop and support SMEs, there has been no regional program to achieve the same objective. Most of the Arab countries are implementing various national strategies and programs to alleviate poverty. For example, Saudi Arabia has reported on a national strategy to eradicate poverty, establishment of a special fund for the same purpose, and enacting a set of legislative and regulatory actions to expand social security networks. Similar activities have been implemented in Morocco, Yemen, and Oman. Rural development including rural electrification, providing health services to rural areas and reducing illiteracy are another means to eradicate poverty in Morocco and Yemen. In addition, Oman is promoting human development, job creation, and capacity development to reduce poverty. Food subsidies and low water and energy tariffs are other instruments by which governments seek to alleviate burdens on the poor. The removal of these subsidies -as requested by most structural adjustment programmes- poses serious implications for poverty in the region. Third Progress report on implementation of SDIAR Page 14

15 Discrepancies in social status and poverty levels are also pronounced between GCC and non- GCC countries in region. The large majority of people in GCC countries have adequate shelter, access to basic public services, health and education, while significant and growing gaps in meeting the needs of the poor persist in other countries. 6 Population and Health In the last few decades, Arab countries have made striking progress in rising life expectancy and falling infant mortality rates. This is a result of improved access to basic health services as well as more hygienic conditions and better infrastructure. Despite this substantial progress, the Arab region as a whole is not on track to meet the target of reducing the under-five mortality rate by two thirds between 1990 and This is due to the noticeable disparities among different Arab states. Accordingly, while the region as a whole is on track, this is not the case for all of the Arab sub-regions especially in the least developed countries. The SDIAR called for: Supporting the development of integrated population policies and improving primary health services and enhancing programs of awareness for family planning and motherhood and child care. Supporting the efforts for the development of population health through the provision of clean water, safe food, sanitary services and the control of chemical hazards and all forms of pollution. Progress achieved Some countries of the region have achieved significant progress in reducing maternal mortality ratio (MMR), while others have seen little or no achievements at all; and, within countries, rural rates are sometimes more than five times greater than those in the capital city. Countries with significant progress towards achieving reduction in MMR also have a higher proportion of births attended by skilled personnel. All sub-regions except the LDCs have made significant improvements in skilled delivery attendance. Both Mashreq and Maghreb sub-regions made remarkable progress in increasing family planning, where about 6 out of 10 married women are using family planning methods. Although the rate of family planning declined in GCC countries, it remained higher than that of LDCs. All of the four subregions showed progress in antenatal coverage between 1990s and 2000s. 8 out of 10 pregnant women in the GCC, the Mashreq and the Maghreb region, and 6 in 10 pregnant women in LDCs receive antenatal care. Gains on reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis (TB) have been made to Third Progress report on implementation of SDIAR Page 15

16 varying degrees within the Arab states. Though the prevalence of HIV/AIDS continues to be relatively low in Arab countries, the majority of reported cases in the region involve unprotected sexual contact among young adults; however there is increasing evidence of epidemics amongst injecting drug users (IDU) and their sexual partners. Malaria has been successfully eliminated in the majority of the region but it does still remain endemic in four LDC countries: Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen (together with a limited geographic area in Iraq and Saudi Arabia at the border with Yemen). Tuberculosis (TB) is considered to be the leading cause of communicable deaths in the Arab world, especially in the LDC sub-region. Djibouti, Mauritania and the Sudan have witnessed increases in incidence of 40 per cent since 1990 and therefore remain the region s biggest challenge concerning TB reduction. With regards to access to fresh water and sanitation, the region can be classified into four categories, The first category contains the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Overall water supply coverage in the GCC is estimated at 93 per cent while sanitation coverage is at 98 per cent. Thus, countries in this group have almost entirely achieved their MDG targets The second category comprises countries that are on track to achieve MDG. Countries in this category include Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia. Overall WSS coverage stands at 96 per cent and 89 per cent, respectively for the Mashreq countries and 87 per cent for both for the Maghreb countries. The third category comprises Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Water and sanitation coverage in this group stands at 67 and 38 per cent, respectively. All these LDCs countries are not currently on track to reach their MDG target. The fourth category comprises countries currently experiencing political instability, hostilities, occupation and/or internal strife, namely Iraq, the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Somalia. The water and sanitation infrastructure of these countries have deteriorated as a direct result of conflict and/or internal strife. As such, these countries face an uncertain prospect in reaching the desired progress. Across all countries, eight out of ten people now have access to improved water sources, but deficits remain in many places. Furthermore, there is a gap between access to potable water in urban and rural populations. 7 Education, Awareness, Scientific Research, & Technology Transfer The SDIAR calls for supporting the development of strategies and national programs for education and illiteracy eradication as a part of the strategy for poverty alleviation and also through support to the implementation of the internationally agreed upon objectives on education, including those contained in the Millennium Declaration. Third Progress report on implementation of SDIAR Page 16

17 Progress Achieved Most Arab countries have been implementing national programs to eradicate illiteracy, and reform national education systems. 1. Illiteracy eradication Arab countries have achieved remarkable progress on lower illiteracy rates. Whereas in 1980 the adult literacy rate across the Arab region was approximately 55 per cent for males and 25 per cent for females, by 2005 it had climbed to 82 per cent and 62 per cent respectively. Nevertheless, these achievements should not overlook the fact that more than 60 million of Arab people, two thirds of them women, are illiterate, and some nine million school-age children are out of school. 2. Achievement of Millennium Development Goals of education Recognizing the urgency of developing common solutions to the problems of the Arab education systems, The Arab Summit in Khartoum in 2006 asked the Arab League Educational Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) to prepare a strategic plan to develop education in the Arab world. ALECSO has prepared that plan which was adopted by the Arab summit in Damascus in The strategic plan identifies strengths, weaknesses, challenges and opportunities to develop the Arab education systems in order to achieve a set of objectives. It also emphasizes the inter-linkages between education and sustainable development. The plan recommends a pan-arab research projects in a number of priority areas such as biotechnology, water desalination, and environmental protection. In 1980, the gross enrolment ratios in all levels and types of secondary schooling stood at a median of approximately 57 per cent for males and 38 per cent for females. In 2006, they had reached 70 per cent for males and 65 per cent for females. In 1980, tertiary enrolment medians were 8 per cent and 4.6 per cent respectively and higher education was non-existent or virtually non-existent in a third of Arab countries. By 2005, only three Arab countries had tertiary enrolment rates below 5 per cent and the median had risen to 18 per cent for males and 29 per cent for females. The net enrolment rate in primary education and the rate of progress achieved since 1990 vary significantly across the countries. This is exemplified by the fact that almost two thirds of the more than 7.5 million out-of-school children in the region live in the Arab LDCs. Despite considerable progress over the past 15 years, about one child in two was out of school in the Arab LDCs in It should be noted that enrolment rates have dropped by over 6 percentage points since 1990 in Iraq, due to economic sanctions and, subsequently, war, and by over 16 Third Progress report on implementation of SDIAR Page 17

18 percentage points since 1999 in Palestine due to continued oppressions by the Israeli occupation forces. Further, as countries in the Arab region began economic reforms in the 1990s, governments introduced legislation permitting the private sectors to setup higher educational institutions. The result has been an unprecedented boom in the numbers of these institutions. 3. Scientific research and technology development The current weak capacity of S&T in the Arab region can be attributed to several main factors. One is an overall underfunding of science and technology development, second is the deterioration of education systems. These factors, along with the inadequate infrastructure and R&D support systems, create an environment that is not conducive to research and development. Based on the number of scientific publications per million people (26 research papers in 1995), Arab countries fall within the advanced group of developing countries, although they are still far removed from the production levels of developed countries, such as France (840), the Netherlands (1,252) and Switzerland (1,878) 1. The scientific publication movement in the Arab world experienced a substantial increase in the last three decades of the 20th century. The number of papers published by Arab scholars in specialized global periodicals increased from 465 papers in 1967 to nearly 7,000 in 1995, i.e., by 10% annually. This increase was, however, modest in comparison with some developing countries, such as Brazil, China and Korea. On a global level, the number of scientific publications originating in the Arab world does not exceed 1.1% of world production. In terms of the ratio between gross domestic expenditure on R&D (GERD) and GDP investment, in the Arab world it was declined from a world share of 0.4% to 0.2% by Egypt, Jordan and Kuwait spend the most devoting 0.4% of GDP to GERD. The figure for the remainder of the Arab region is as low as 0.1%. Despite the increase in the number of published Arabic research papers in specialized global periodicals, Arabic research activity continues to be far from innovative. Most of it is applied research and only a small portion is related to basic research. Research in advanced fields, such as information technology and molecular biology, is almost non-existent. Indicators of the number of patents in Arab countries confirm the weakness of R&D activity, which lags far behind that of developed countries and other countries of the developing world. The total Arab patents during the period ( ) registered in the US was 370 compared to 16,328 of Korea. 1 UNDP, Arab Knowledge Report 2009 Third Progress report on implementation of SDIAR Page 18

19 Arab Expenditures in research and development do not exceed 0.2% of GNP, although this ratio varies from one country to another. The ratios spent by developed countries vary from 2.5% to 5%. Furthermore, 89% of expenditure on R&D in Arab countries comes from governmental sources, while non-government sectors spend only 3%, as against more than 50% in developed countries. 4. Information Technology With very few exceptions, access to information and communication technologies (ICT) in the Arab countries increased steadily over the last two decades. However, despite this progress, the region as a whole lags considerably behind the world average in terms of fixed telephone lines, personal computers, and internet users. Moreover, disparities between Arab countries remain very high. The digital divide is most noticeable when comparing the advanced countries of the GCC with many poorer Arab countries. The mobile sector in the Arab world has grown very rapidly during the past decade. Between 1996 and 2005, the number of cellular subscribers has increased by a factor of 50 and, today, there are on average more than 25 subscriptions per 100 people, close to the world average. However, in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, there are still less than 5 cellular subscriptions per 100 people. In contrast to the mobile sector, the number of fixed telephone lines in the Arab region has grown at a slow pace since the early 1990s. By 2005, the average number of fixed lines in operation per 100 people had reached only 9.5, around half of the world average. While fixed telephone markets in some of the GCC countries, namely Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE are showing signs of saturation, the penetration rate remains below 4% in all the six Arab LDC countries and Morocco. While still less than half the world s average (6.5% as opposed to 13.4%), the number of personal computers (PCs) in Arab countries has increased notably since the mid 1990s. The average number of PCs in the Arab sub-regions clearly illustrates the digital divide that separates the GCC countries from the rest of the region. Access to and use of the internet in Arab countries has grown at a very fast pace over the past few years. In 2005, 7.2% of the Arab population was using the internet, compared to only 1% in With the exception of four Arab countries Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE, the average number of internet connections in the Arab countries is still well below the world average of 21 per cent. Internet use is particularly limited in Iraq, Mauritania, and Yemen, where less than 1% of the population use the internet. This may be in part attributed to the low number of websites available in Arabic Third Progress report on implementation of SDIAR Page 19

20 Fiber optics and wireless networks are being established within and between university campuses to help pool resources in teaching, research and access to information. Many Arab universities, particularly in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and the Gulf states, have created online education and Open University systems to link up to open universities in the UK, as well as to European and American universities. Libraries are also being linked to each other through a National Information Centre (NIC), in order to create an intranet electronic library system and Internet online library. 5. Environmental Information Systems. There is a general lack of coherent environmental information and information systems in the region, and there is a need to collect, process, analyze, produce and disseminate environmental information in a systematic way. The greatest challenge lies in issues of data availability, accessibility, harmonization and standards, and the networking mechanism to facilitate information exchange. Although considerable improvement has been made to information technology and telecommunication systems in the region, the environmental sector has not kept pace with such improvements. The lack of a structured approach to meeting data needs limits the value of environmental information. Another key issue, which hinders the use of environmental information, is the institutional aspect. Most institutions have not institutionalized the process of information management and use through clear structures that define the roles of the stake holders and the information flow within the one institution and across agencies at the national and regional levels. Data gaps and deficiencies concerning environmental indicators vary greatly from one set of indicators to the other and also from one environmental theme to the other. For instance, some themes like water resources have far more data readily available than others such as land resources. The SDIAR calls for: Encouraging initiatives to enhance the national and regional capacities in the field of environmental information, such as the Abu Dhabi Global Environmental Data Initiative (AGEDI). Progress achieved A near final draft of "Arab Region: Atlas of our Changing Environment" is now being reviewed and prepared for launch in the end of the first half of The objective of this Atlas is to provide decision makers and other key stakeholders scientific evidence of rapid environmental changes taking place in key priority selected areas in the Arab region. At the national level; four countries (Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait and Syria) have completed the framework of the national environmental information network. The framework is to be used by the countries to establish their national environmental information network. The countries are now working on implementation plan for those frameworks. Third Progress report on implementation of SDIAR Page 20

21 The West Asia GEO Data Portal is also underway, with the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (formerly the Environmental Research and Wildlife Development Agency, ERWDA) assisting in the development of the portal with the support of the University of United Arab Emirates (UAE). UNEP has also continued to support Abu Dhabi Global Environmental Data Initiative (AGEDI), as a strategic partner on the initiative and in support of regional and national efforts in environmental information development and management. As such, UNEP organized and coordinated a regional and a global study for AGEDI. The regional study, named "West Asia Regional Study on the Experience in the Development of Environmental Data and Information Systems," produced 12 national studies, and 4 regional cases, in addition to the integrated study. At the international level, UNEP has introduced the Global Environment Outlook (GEO) process to keep under review the global environment through a policy relevant integrated assessment conducted by a network of collaborating centers spread around the globe, including the Arab world. Three collaborating centers were selected from the Arab Region, CEDARE to cover North Africa, and ACSAD and Arabian Gulf University to cover West Asia. In addition, UNEP Regional Office for West Asia has led an initiative to produce a report on Arab Environment outlook to build on the inputs of the GEO process. The report has been prepared in collaboration with CEDARE, ACSAD, and AGU to be the first integrated report on the State of the Environment of the Arab World. 8 Resources Management 8.1 Integrated water resources management Among the major development issues in the Arab region has been the scarcity of water resources. Due to its geographic location, the Arab region is one of the most water stressed areas in the world. The main driving forces for water problems in the region are the burgeoning population, the accelerated development and competition for water in the urban, industrial and agricultural sectors (with the agricultural sector consuming more than 70% of the water supply in most countries of the region), ineffective water management policies and practices, erratic precipitation and the highly volatile regional peace and security situation. The growing water claims of upstream riparian countries of shared water resources has resulted in further reducing the share of the downstream Arab countries, especially in Syria and Iraq. Water quality has also become a major issue of concern in the Arab Region. Water pollution, mainly with sewage pathogens, industrial wastes and agricultural effluents represent a serious threat to human health and further aggravate water scarcity by reducing clean water availability. The Current water scarcity will be intensified by a further decrease in water availability due to reduced rainfall, which is projected to decrease by 20 per cent over the next 50 years. Third Progress report on implementation of SDIAR Page 21