Today, at the close of the 8th session of the Islamic Conference of Environment Ministers held at ISESCO headquarters in Rabat, the members of the Islamic Executive Bureau for the Environment (IEBE) were elected.
IEBE is composed of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as chairperson, ISESCO in charge of the secretariat, and the following nine Member States: The United Arab Emirates, Tunisia and Somalia (for the Arab region), Burkina Faso, Sierra Leon and The Gambia, (for the African Region), Uzbekistan, Suriname, and Malaysia (for the Asian Region).
The General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation shallttend IEBE meetings.
At its close, the Eighth Islamic Conference of Environment Ministers (ICEM) adopted ‘Rabat Declaration on the Promotion of Cultural and Religious Roles in the Protection of the Environment and Achieving Sustainable Development’.
The conference stressed the importance of renewing Member States’ political commitment to support international sustainable development agendas, in line with internationally agreed principles and frames of reference; harnessing all national and international efforts to achieve sustainable development while being mindful of cultural and natural peculiarities; demonstrating the political will as being a prerequisite for any success in this field; fulfilling the financial and technical obligations; engaging civil society organizations and the private sector given their vital role in this field; and urging the international community to take concrete measures to cancel loans and facilitate access to markets, transfer technology and build capacities.
The participants also called for concerting efforts of the international community to end internal wars, occupation and conflict that have raged in some Member States, which have resulted in the destruction of the environment and sustainable development infrastructure, increasing flow of refugees, destroying historic monuments and cultural and civilizational heritage, on equal footing in joint action, in accordance with Principle 23 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (1992) which provides for the protection of natural and cultural environment under war and conflict, despite the impossibility to achieve sustainable development in an instable and insecure environment.
Besides, the Conference noted that Member States, given the distribution of their natural resources, suffer from the effects of weather extremes and their ensuing plethoric challenges, particularly water depletion, low food production, rising sea levels, and drought waves which require urgent measures to reduce the risks and impact of disasters such as earthquakes, floods, drought, hurricanes and other disasters, through early warning and integration of disaster risk reduction strategies in sustainable development policies at all levels, and the promotion of investment in disaster risk reduction. It also stressed on the activation of the relevant international conventions, most notably those of the Conference of the Parties on Climate Change, held in Paris (2015) and Marrakech (2016) and its subsequent sessions; and called for the activation of the roles of the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery, development banks, donors and international funds in supporting the executive action plan to implement the “Islamic Strategy for Risk Reduction and Management”, as part of the synergy between north and south countries to face the impacts of these phenomena.
The participants also reaffirmed their commitment to give effect to the contents of the “Guidance Document on Green Cities and their Role in Achieving Sustainable Development”, issued by the Seventh Islamic Conference of Environment Ministers during which the “Programme of the Celebration of the Environment and Sustainable Development Islamic Capitals”, was launched to be supervised by ISESCO according to well-thought action covering outstanding cities from all over the Islamic world and rewarding green cities having won the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Award for Environmental Management in the Islamic World at its fifth category dedicated to “Islamic Green City” of which ISESCO assumes its General Secretariat.
They have also recalled the important role of the green economy in creating “green job opportunities” in several economic sectors such as renewable energy generation, energy efficiency, rehabilitation of the ecological system, environmental protection, ecological tourism, waste management and other areas that can contribute to solving the issue of youth unemployment, which require adequate policies to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and help them adapt to the requirements of the green economy.
Moreover, the participants reiterated their commitment to the improvement of the water situation in Member States and the implementation of more technical and legal measures under the Strategy for Water Resource Management in Islamic Countries and related plans, the OIC Water Vision for 2025, and the action programmes of the OIC Water Council; recommend the implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in the Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification (UNCCD); and reaffirmed that the water issue cannot be disassociated from the one of food security which constitutes a central issue in most Muslim countries.
By the same token, the participants stressed the need to raise awareness of the importance of non-governmental organizations and young people’s skills in societies, promote the role of women in operating the mechanisms of production, social solidarity and poverty eradication to achieve sustainable development through involvement, capacity-building, and human resource rehabilitation through education, training and skill honing and the choice of the most adequate applications and projects from the economic and technical perspectives to fight all forms of social exclusion and promote cooperation among all parties concerned in Member States and other parties in view of implementing integrated programmes within the framework of Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.
In addition, the participants took into consideration the developments on the international scene relating to the redemption of the substantial role played by religions, cultures, beliefs and local customs in promoting the protection of the environment and achievement of the development goals set in Agenda 2030 and beyond, which include, in addition to the achievements accomplished in the Islamic world, namely “the Islamic Declaration on Sustainable Development” issued by the First Islamic Conference of Environment Ministers held in Jeddah in 2002, the Pope’s encyclical Laudato Si “On Care for our Common Home” issued in 2015, of the “United Nations Strategy for Engaging with Faith-Based Organizations” launched in 2018 to protect the environment and attain sustainable development, the initiative of “Faiths for Earth” issued in 2019 by the United Nations Environmental Programme, the contents of “Makkah Charter” issued in 2019, the recommendations of Medina Forum on “the Role of Religious Speech in the Protection of the Environment” held in 2018, and the activities and experiences of ISESCO and other organizations in this field.
The participants also stressed that environmental challenges, despite being a new topic in people’s understanding and scientific interests, are consistent with the fundamental relevant answers relating to the challenges of protecting the environment given in religious texts and the principles of social education and upbringing in all beliefs and cultures regardless of their differences; and undertook to promote the understanding and capacity of environmental communication between Muftis, Ulemas, imams, preachers, and promoters of the Islamic faith and activists in relevant associations through forums, short workshops and other information media in order to vulgarize the hallmarks of the crisis and the issue of sustainable development from a scientific, religious and cultural perspective, show their social and economic implications on the future of communities and encourage academic research in the field.
They also recommended the adoption of the best practices being implemented inside and outside the Islamic world in the field of working with faith-based institutions in the protection of the environment and achieving sustainable development through inventorying models and specificities of the Islamic world experiences and joining the United Nations strategy and executive programmes in this field such as the initiative of “Faiths for Earth” and other international organizations such as the International Union for the Protection of Nature (IUPN), and the religious institutions working in the field such as the Vatican. They also recommended benefiting from the experiences of national institutions and field and scientific associations active in the environmental and cultural action which Muslims and followers of religions in Member States are interested in.
Likewise, the participants considered the adoption of the “Strategy for the Activation of Cultural and Religious Factors in the Protection of the Environment and Achieving Sustainable Development in the Islamic World” and the call for establishing the “Islamic Network for Environmental Action and Sustainable Development” good tools for federating efforts and sharing experiences inside and outside the Islamic world with national, regional and international organizations and various civil society organizations regardless of their religions and cultures inside and outside Member States’ communities; encouraging scientific research on the issue, and ensuring the necessary support for faith-based institutions active in the protection of the environment and sustainable development.
Moreover, they highlighted the importance of environmental education and the need to activate its presence in religious schools, public and private formal schools and in the media. Teachers themselves need enlightenment to strengthen the environmental programmes existing at schools while giving examples of environmental measures to step up the pace of self-motivation among students to protect the environment. They also undertook to ensure the incentives through well-thought support, organizing contests and establishing prizes for environmental associations and activities of green schools based on indicators measuring concrete actions on environmental protection such as the provision of energy, management of waste, forestation, hygiene and sewage, waste recycling, providing educational material that is open to the cultural and religious dimension, and the importance of protecting the environment and its integration in current school curricula. Faith-based non-governmental organizations may seek the assistance of journalists to use the media to spread best practices and knowledge based on moderation in understanding texts and activating their meanings.
The conferees considered that the principles of Islamic economy and the fundaments of social solidarity in Islamic rites are based on achieving the purposes of the Sharia in preserving the five fundamentals ensuring the balance and continuation of human life. Thus, the economy is an effective tool for directing the management of natural resources towards economic development, for the Islamic finance is based on real economy which prohibits usury and encourages initiatives to take concrete measures to ensure the well-being of man through organizing the exploitation of the planet’s resources as a sustainable heritage that should be enjoyed by future generations on the basis of cooperation and participation.
In addition, they called for mobilizing the efforts of Islamic finance, including Waqf and Zakat and organizing charity and alms to attain the goals relating to poverty, vulnerability especially in the social sectors such as education and health in accordance with Sustainable Development Goals. Waqfs can be more creative in choosing and implementing their projects such as the provision of clean water, management of natural reserves and protection of public lands to be used for agriculture or forestation, planting fruit trees or developing pasturelands.
They also called upon the competent authorities in Member States, the Conference presidency and ISESCO to follow up the implementation of these obligations, orientations and recommendations in cooperation and coordination with the relevant parties.
The Director General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, in an address he delivered today morning at ISESCO headquarters, at the opening of the Eighth Islamic Conference of Environment Ministers, reaffirmed that the blue planet is not all right because it endures a massive destruction of its ecosystem. He added that natural resources have been polluted, the habitats of plant and animal species degraded and the people who have been displaced by drought and natural disasters outnumbered refugees of wars and racial conflicts. If this situation persists, ISESCO Director General warns, about 700 million people, mostly from the Islamic world, will be forced to flee their areas by 2030.
Moreover, Dr. AlMalik stated that reliable reports issued by specialized institutions and bodies disclose horrible figures and awful facts about climate change raising real concerns about the warming of the planet and pointing to brewing disasters and tragic effects for natural resources, particularly as the number of disasters have soared from 599 disasters in 2002 to 1100 in 2017.
In this context, ISESCO Director General wondered about the usefulness of international conventions on climate as long as superpowers are responsible for the largest share of gas emissions that cause global warming, do not honor their commitments to the international community with regards to a human issue such as this one, and absolve themselves of the legal responsibilities they have committed themselves to at Paris Summit, amid the prevalence of short-term interests driven by the commercial and industrial greed.
“Despite the contemporary environmental crisis, our hope lies with Allah and our great Islamic world, our hope resides in joining our efforts, our hope resides in joint action inside and outside the Islamic world. We also hope that serious and quality initiatives be taken to protect and preserve the environment”, ISESCO Director General concluded.
In the same vein, Dr. AlMalik reaffirmed ISESCO’s willingness to cooperate in developing action programmes with any initiative from the Member States of the Islamic world and that ISESCO has taken upon itself to fully become an eco-friendly institution following international regulations and standards in the operation of its daily work and activities carried out with Member and non-Member States.
It is worthy to note that the Conference agenda features the examination of a number of reports and draft documents relevant to the issues of the environment and sustainable development in the Islamic world. They include the Report of the Fifth Meeting of the Islamic Executive Bureau for the Environment; the Report on ISESCO’s Efforts in the Fields of the Environment and Sustainable Development between the Seventh and Eighth Sessions of Islamic Conference of Environment Ministers; the Progress Report on the Creation of the Islamic Academy for the Environment and Sustainable Development; the Report on the KSA Award for Environmental Management in the Islamic World; the Report on the Celebration of the Environment-Friendly Islamic Capitals; and ISESCO’s Report on the Executive Action Plan for Natural Disaster and Risk Reduction and Management in Member States.
As for the projects, the Conference will examine the establishment of a joint Islamic Network for Sustainable Development; the Draft Strategy for the Activation of the Role of Cultural and Religious Factors in Protecting the Environment and Achieving Sustainable Development in the Islamic World; and the Draft Guidance Document on Strengthening the Role of Youth and Civil Society in the Protection of the Environment and Achievement of Sustainable Development in the Islamic World.
The Conference will also witness the delivery of the statements and reports of heads of delegations, the election of the members of the Islamic Executive Bureau for the Environment and the fixing of the date and venue for the Ninth session.
The eighth session of the Conference is held seventeen years after the first session in 2002 in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which laid the foundations for joint Islamic action in the field of the environment by adopting a founding document titled “Jeddah Commitments for Sustainable Development”.
The King of the Kingdom of Morocco, Mohammed VI, commanded the efforts invested by the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) in the promotion of multi-faceted joint Islamic action, namely in the environmental field, thanks to its largely important academic, cultural and religious dimensions necessary to achieve sustainable development and protect the environment.
This came in a message His Majesty addressed to the participants in the Eighth Islamic Conference of Environment Ministers, which kicked off today morning, at ISESCO headquarters in Rabat, under His Majesty’s high patronage.
In his message, His Majesty King Mohammed VI reiterated his congratulations to Dr. Salim M. AlMalik on his appointment as ISESCO Director General and wished him every success in his new mission.
His Majesty also stated that Morocco has taken the first steps toward setting up the Islamic Academy for the Environment and Sustainable Development as being a an ambitious academic project that aims to deepen academic thinking, raise awareness about the current and future environmental and development challenges and determine how to tackle challenges in the areas of governance, science, technology and capacity-building. In addition, His Majesty revealed that one of the Academy’s objectives is to be a leader in the field of sustainable development, while being keen on using working methods inspired by Islamic culture with regards to exploiting natural resources.
“The fact that necessary measures must be taken to ensure that the Academy is affiliated with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has been emphasized. This would enable the Academy to use international cooperation mechanisms in order to ensure optimal performance and play its role fully within the OIC by interacting with similar regional and international institutions”, his Majesty added.
In addition, the royal message pointed out that the issues pertaining to the environment and sustainable development are among the major challenges faced by the world, citing the fact that many international studies point to an unprecedented depletion of natural resources, a dramatic rise in pollution levels and a major disruption of the global environmental balance. This situation, His Majesty added, has serious and alarming consequences for the planet today, including evident adverse impacts on the economic, social and health situation.
In this vein, His Majesty underscored that pressing environmental problems and their negative effects, on which political and geographical borders have no bearing, can be tackled through close cooperation between states and that no single country can effectively address these problems on its own, whatever its capacities.
The royal message also touched on the efforts Morocco delivers to develop the mechanisms specific to environmental action. In this regard, His Majesty stated that his country had embarked on a collective mobilization process, domestically and at the international level and had been pursuing a proactive policy for the preservation of the environment, through mustering energies and pooling efforts for the achievement of sustainable development, in which the preservation of the environment is mainstreamed in all development plans and sectoral development strategies. He also added that enshrining the right to a safe environment in the Constitution was one more step that established Morocco’s resolute commitment to environment preservation.
The royal message also highlighted Morocco’s involvement in accelerating the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030 by the adoption of the National Strategy for Sustainable Development, for which a participatory approach was used to integrate socioeconomic and environmental dimensions based on a clear constitutional and legal frame of reference.
As part of this strategy, His Majesty asserts, a framework for governance and a set of sectoral plans for sustainable development have been established with a view to promoting the transition to a green economy by 2030.
His Majesty announced the creation of a competence center on climate change as a means to accompany and support national actors and promote South-South cooperation, particularly with Muslim and African countries.
Moreover, His Majesty announced that his country had set for itself the goal of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 42% and that this objective would be achieved mostly through the implementation of the National Energy Strategy under which Morocco seeks to increase the share of electricity generation from renewable energy sources through several major pilot projects that concern solar, wind and hydro power.
His Majesty also stressed the importance of collective environmental action and its role in strengthening joint Islamic cooperation through complementarity, coordination and the exchange of know-how and experiences between Muslim countries.
At the close of his message, His Majesty expressed confidence that the constructive academic debate and the appropriate proposals and recommendations that will be made at this important conference will have a positive impact on the promotion of environmental and sustainable development issues in the Islamic world.
Today morning, at the headquarters of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) in Rabat, the Eighth Islamic Conference of Environment Ministers (ICEM), kicked off under the high patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco. the Conference is held by ISESCO, in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the General Authority of Meteorology and Environmental Protection in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, under the theme “The Role of Cultural and Religious Factors in the Protection of the Environment and Sustainable Development”.
During the opening session, Mr. Mohamed Laaraj, Minister of Culture and Communication of the Kingdom of Morocco, read out the royal message addressed by King Mohammed VI to the Conference. Afterwards, addresses were given by Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ISESCO Director General; Mr. Aziz Rabbah, Vice-President of the Eighth ICEM session, Minister of Energy, Mines and Sustainable Development of Morocco; Dr. Yousef Al-Othaimeen, Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC); and Her Royal Highness Princess Soumaya bint Al-Hassan, President of the Royal Scientific Society (RSS) of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
This session also featured the award ceremony of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Award for Environmental Management in the Islamic World (KSAAEM – 2018/2019), during which Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Tariki, President of KSAAEM Higher Committee, General President of the General Authority of Meteorology and Environmental Protection in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia gave his address. 17 winners from 13 Islamic countries received the Award, divided into the Award’s five categories: best research works in the field of environmental management, best practices in the field of environmental management in the public sector in Member States, best practices in the field of environmental management in the private sector in Member States, best leading practices in the field of environmental management in NGOs that can be replicated in Member States, and best environmentally-friendly Muslim cities.
The opening session brought together a number of ministers from of the Moroccan Government, Environment Ministers from OIC Member States or their delegates, Chairman of ISESCO Executive Council, Director General of the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO), members of the diplomatic corps accredited to Rabat, representatives of many regional and international organizations, political and academic figures, and representatives of the local, Islamic and international media outlets.
It is worth noting that the Conference will discuss a number of reports and draft documents pertaining to the issues of the environment and sustainable development in the Islamic world, namely the Report of the 5th Meeting of the Islamic Executive Bureau for the Environment; Report on ISESCO’s Efforts in the Fields of Environment and Sustainable Development between the 7th and 8th Sessions of the Islamic Conference of Environment Ministers; and the Progress Report on the Creation of the Islamic Academy for the Environment and Sustainable Development. The Conference will also discuss the Report on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Award for Environmental Management in the Islamic World (KSAAEM); the Report on the Programme of the Celebration of the Islamic World Environmentally-Friendly Capitals; and the Report on the Executive Action Plan for Natural Disaster Risk Reduction and Management in Member States.
Likewise, the Conference will also review the following projects and documents: the Project of the Establishment of the Islamic Network for Environmental Action and Sustainable Development; Draft Strategy for the Promotion of the Role of Cultural and Religious Factors in Protecting the Environment and Achieving Sustainable Development in the Islamic World; and the Draft Guidance Document on Strengthening the Role of Youth and Civil Society in the Protection of the Environment and Achievement of Sustainable Development.
The statements and reports of the heads of delegation of Member States and international organizations will be also presented, the members of the Islamic Executive Bureau for the Environment elected; and the date and venue of the 9th Conference session set.
The Islamic Conference of Environment Ministers holds its 8th session 17 years after its first, held in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in June 2002, which laid the ground for joint Islamic action in the field of environment by adopting the founding document entitled “Jeddah Commitments for Sustainable Development”.
The Islamic Conference of Environment Ministers will hold its eighth session on 2-3 October 2019 at the headquarters of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) in Rabat, under the theme “the Role of Cultural and Religious Factors in the Protection of the Environment and Sustainable Development”, under the high patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco, and the effective presidency of H.R.H Princess Lalla Hasnaa, President of the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection.
ISESCO supervises the organization of the Conference, in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture and the General Authority of Meteorology and Environmental Protection in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The Conference will bring together environment ministers from OIC Member States and representatives of relevant international and regional organizations.
At the end of the closing session, the KSA Award for Environmental Management in the Islamic World (Edition 2018-2019) will be presented to 17 candidates from 13 Islamic countries, in these five categories: “Best research in the field of environmental management”, “Best applications of environmental management in government bodies in Islamic countries, “Best applications of environmental management in the Public sector in Islamic countries”, “Best leading practices in the field of environmental management for public utility and private associations that can be replicated in the Islamic world”, and “Best environment-friendly Islamic city”.
The Conference agenda features the examination of a number of reports and draft documents relevant to the issues of the environment and sustainable development in the Islamic world. They include the Report of the Fifth Meeting of the Islamic Executive Bureau for the Environment; the Report on ISESCO’s Efforts in the Fields of the Environment and Sustainable Development between the Seventh and Eighth Sessions of Islamic Conference of Environment Ministers; the Progress Report on the Creation of the Islamic Academy for the Environment and Sustainable Development; the Report on the KSA Award for Environmental Management in the Islamic World; the Report on the Celebration of the Environment-Friendly Islamic Capitals; and ISESCO’s Report on the Executive Action Plan for Natural Disaster and Risk Reduction and Management in Member States.
As for the projects, the Conference will examine the establishment of a joint OIC Committee for Sustainable Development; the Draft Strategy for the Activation of the Role of Cultural and Religious Factors in Protecting the Environment and Achieving Sustainable Development in the Islamic World; and the Draft Guidance Document on Strengthening the Role of Youth and Civil Society in the Protection of the Environment and Achievement of Sustainable Development in the Islamic World.
The Conference will also witness the delivery of the statements and reports of heads of delegations, the election members of the Islamic Executive Bureau for the Environment and the fixing of the date and venue for the Ninth session.
The eighth session of the Conference is held seventeen years after the first session in 2002 in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which laid the foundations for joint Islamic action in the field of the environment by adopting a founding document titled “Jeddah Commitments for Sustainable Development”.
