As Understanding of Environment Grows, Fewer Saudis "Throw It in the Desert"

By Roger Harrison

IT LONG HAS BEEN axiomatic that, as a country develops, the maintenance and protection of the natural environment gives way to the development of an industrial and technological infrastructure. The shift from rural to urban living alters peoples' survival techniques and priorities alike.

In the construction of an urban environment, the rural environment frequently is seen simply as a resource. Only when full industrialization has been achieved do concerns for the protection and preservation of the environment resurface. Even then, however, they often are perceived as something to be tolerated rather than promoted. Rarely, after all, does environmental protection yield a profitable financial return to investors

With regard to Saudi Arabia, the word "environment" conjures the image of desert. Certainly the country is mainly inhospitable desert-the Rub Al Khali, or "Empty Quarter," alone, which comprises 25 percent of the country, is the size of France, and one of the most inhospitable environments on earth. A common perception is that little or nothing lives in these wild places, so to dispose of waste by "throwing it in the desert" seems like a reasonable option.

However, the native species of plants and animals that make their home in the Saudi desert cling tenaciously to life, and are affected by the subtlest changes in their surroundings that come with cast-off rubbish from industrial development.

In the desert areas live hardy reptiles, birds and mammals that ultimately rely on the plants that survive there. Any change in the environment has particularly significant effects on the food chain simply because of its tenuous grasp on survival.

The rapid industrial development of Saudi Arabia over the last 70 years has seen several generations become increasingly separated from the desert environment. The original inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula were acutely aware of their environment; their lives depended on it. Urbanization and the ready acceptance of technology have brought the modern Saudi public a largely Western-style social infrastructure in an arid land, and insulated them from it.

Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the U.S. Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz crystallized the national concern when he said that the discovery of oil and the subsequent urbanization "had as a consequence a drastic reduction in the natural flora and fauna" of the region. "As a desert people sensitive to their environment and the creatures that live in it, we were dismayed that this rich heritage of wildlife would be lost to future generations," he noted in his 2000 introduction to Gifts from the Desert.

Unfortunately, public awareness of the desert environment and of the damage-both actual and potential-caused by urbanization and industrialization is very low, especially among the young. Sixty percent of the population of Saudi Arabia is currently under 20 years of age. By 2015, that figure will have risen to 75 percent.

Environmental awareness among consumers remains low as well, taking on importance only when it directly impinges on their lives, as a sewage overflow in Jeddah demonstrated last August. Likewise, official bodies and industries tend to view environmentally friendly practice as either added cost or not really necessary. Contributing to this state of affairs is a lack of sophisticated understanding both of the deleterious effects of pollution and of the importance of enforcing current legislation.

A recent unpublished report described Saudi environmental policy as "not well developed, publicly very effective nor publicly visible. The government certainly endorses environmental activities, but funding is low. The private sector often uses the environment and recycling either because they are obliged to due to international connections-ownership or export-or for public relations purposes."

Government and non-government organizations alike are looking to the private sector for funding and support of environmental programs, research and awareness campaigns. "However," the report continued, "most companies hesitate to get involved for fear of attracting attention to environmental malpractices that may occur at their industrial institutions."

A number of committees and organizations have been established espousing as their aim the promotion of environmental awareness. Apart from relatively low-profile conferences and meetings, however, there has been little public recognition of these bodies.

Raising Public Awareness

Nevertheless, during 2003 there were indications that moves toward raising public awareness were beginning.

Following the national conference on water at the beginning of last year, the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Award for Environment and Water Research was launched in June. The substantial prize attracted papers from academics and engineers on water conservation, recycling and reuse.

In November, the first phase of the Central Laboratories for Environmental Observation in Dammam was inaugurated by Prince Sultan-whose personal interest in the environment has given him responsibility for environmental legislation apart from his official duties as minister of defense. The first project of its kind in the region, it will determine the levels of air and marine pollution.

Later the same month, executive regulations signaling the first steps in the implementation of coordinated environmental legislation were signed.

Prince Turki Bin Nasser, president of the Meteorological and Environmental Protection Agency (MEPA), somewhat clouded the issue by saying, "The aim is not to enforce punishment as much as it is to protect the environment." This raises the question as to just how strict-with no increase of inspectors or marine environmental patrols-enforcement and punishment will actually be.

The media have been encouraged to "enlighten people about the environment law and its regulations" and to "promote environmental awareness on all levels." Meanwhile, the government's existing general policy (Articles 31 and 32 of the Governance Law) stresses the need for the state to take care of "citizens' health, protect the environment and prevent pollution."

The new laws "urge and encourage" public companies to "comply with the provisions of the law and to introduce executive measures to ensure commitment to the environmental standards set by the competent authority."

In what seems to be a new initiative, the regulations specify four areas required to make special efforts in the area of environmental awareness:

* Educational authorities-"should introduce environmental concepts into the curricula of the various educational stages"

* Information authorities-enhance existing programs and draw up national plans to enhance awareness

* Islamic affairs authorities-should play a stronger role to promote environmental awareness from an Islamic perspective

* All authorities-governmental, NGOs and private organizations-should "make sure their programs contain environmental awareness plans."

The solipsistic assumption that because a project is announced, therefore it will be, applies as much in the Kingdom as it does elsewhere. Jeddah, for example, has a major environmental issue with the disposal of its urban effluent through discharge both into landlocked areas and into the Red Sea, home to some of the best corals and richest marine life areas on the planet.

That said, serious attempts are being made by institutions set up by the government to attract dedicated scientists and administrators-expatriate and Saudi alike-who have both professional and personal interests in Saudi Arabia's unique environment.

Two such organizations are the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Research Center for Environment, Water and Desert at the King Saud University in Riyadh, and the National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development (NCWD), established in 1986. The former is concerned mainly with research and establishing links with similar institutions around the world, the latter with reserves and fieldwork. Under the NCWD's aegis are the King Khalid Wildlife Research Center near Riyadh and the National Wildlife Research Center at Taif, which focus on research and breeding programs.

Of the Kingdom's eight wildlife reserves, the flagship is the 'Uruq Bani Ma'arid, in the Kingdom's southwest, which covers 12,000 square kilometers. The reserve is divided into three conservation areas on the western edge of the Rub Al Khali, thus allowing varying degrees of resource use. The NCWD hopes thereby to restore the natural habitat, reintroduce endangered species and, most significantly, seek the partnership of the local people.

So far, it has proved successful, and the reintroduction of the Nubian Ibex, the Rheem gazelle and the iconic Arabian Oryx are the instantly recognizable symbols of its work.

The pace of change in many areas of Saudi society is glacially slow. While quick to adopt technological changes, the Kingdom often is criticized for its "cultural lag" in accepting innovations in attitude and culture, or new ideas and approaches. Perhaps it shows just how far Saudi Arabia has come when one realizes that the country has grown from tented nomads to a major industrial economy in less than a lifetime.

And, slow as it may sometimes seem, change continues to happen. Not only the natural evolution of species, but the evolution of societies and ideas, takes time and several generations.

Roger Harrison is a free-lance writer based in Jeddah.

This article was published in the September issue of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. It is used here with permission.