The Ajyal Podcast Youth4Nature

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.

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.

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

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

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

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