In partnership with Reyadah.. an event for the National Forum for the Environment on the occasion of World Environment Day
In partnership with Reyadah.. an event for the National Forum for the Environment on the occasion of World Environment Day
The National Forum for Environment and Sustainable Development, and the Reyadah Foundation, celebrated World Environment Day, which falls on June 5th of every year, and this year’s slogan was “Land Restoration, Combating Desertification and Drought Resilience”.
The event, which was held via remote communication technology, included a consultative session moderated by a group of academics, specialists and activists interested in environmental and climate issues, in addition to discussion sessions for youth in ten discussion rooms dedicated to discussing various environmental issues at the local and global levels.
During the consultative session, the researcher in climate change and environmental sciences, Haj al-Hajabi, stressed that “combating land degradation, which is the focus of this year’s World Environment Day, is in fact the core of climate action and the first line of defense against the effects of climate change and biodiversity loss.”
For his part, the Executive Director of the Palace of Expertise for Environmental Solutions, Engineer Abdullah Abu Al-Futuh, touched on a set of manifestations of the challenges facing the Yemeni environment during the years of war, foremost of which is “the continuous depletion of green spaces due to the escalation of the phenomenon of deforestation.”
Engineer Abu Al-Futuh warned that “the phenomenon of rampant deforestation threatens an imminent environmental and botanical disaster, and it will have repercussions on all economic, social and other levels.”
Meanwhile, the national expert in the field of climate change, Engineer Moeen Al-Sawari, explained that Yemen needs to develop policies and incentives to reduce land degradation and resist drought and desertification, foremost of which are: “strengthening laws that protect the environment, imposing fines on activities that cause environmental degradation such as pollution and desertification, providing financial support and facilities for individuals and companies that build sustainable environmental practices, in addition to implementing control policies to ensure compliance with laws, and finally, the trend towards investing in environmentally friendly technology to contribute to finding solutions to the problem and mitigating its effects.”
For his part, the regional contact point for the UN’s Seventh Goal Youth Group, Engineer Mohammed Al-Yatari, highlighted the important role that technology and renewable energy have come to play in restoring land, combating desertification and adapting to drought, and our hope that one day Yemen will volunteer those tools to address its escalating environmental problems.
