In between the rising sea and the encroaching desert, the people of North Africa find themselves in a precarious situation. We went to the World Social Forum in Tunisia and talked with young activists from across the region about how they are fighting for their homes and communities.
How did the Arab Spring lead to greater climate action? Why should we think twice before covering the Sahara in solar panels? Why is Algeria the home of one of the longest-running fracking battles?
Listen to our digital panel and find out.
Radhouane Addala
He is a freelance correspondent and producer based in Tunis. His documentary “A Siege of Salt and Sand” documents climate change issues in Tunisia.
“When you look at the Tunisian people before and after the revolution, you can feel there was a big change. For the first time people felt that they owned the country. So that brought climate change and climate chaos discussion to the table. Which later pushed the representatives of the nation and constituent assembly to make Tunisia the 3rd country that admit the existence of climate change in it’s own constitution.”
Fadoua Brour
She is the founder and president of the Moroccan Youth Climate movement. She wants a better future for Morocco, but she also wants a just transition. Before you applaud Morocco building the largest solar park in the world, think about how it’s impacting communities.
Follow Moroccan Youth Climate Movement
Sarah Rifaat
She is the Arab World and Middle East Coordinator for 350.org. As an Egyptian, protecting the Nile from encroaching salt water is a massive priority. She’s concerned about climate adaptions, and protecting communities in the changing world and not large industries.
Follow 350 Arab World on Facebook and Twitter
“It’s scary to think that when it becomes so extreme, and everyone feels it, will it mean it’s too late?”
Salah Eldin Aber
He is a Moroccan journalist and a member of Attac Morocco, part of an international movement working towards social, environmental and democratic alternatives to neo-liberal globalisation.
“Environmental justice means working to create an ecological alternative model, which requires a fertile basis to build from, but to succeed we need to break from structural impediments in the form of major international organisations such as the World Bank and other financial organisations.”
Mohad Qassimy
He is a member of the Popular Committee against shale gas in Algeria’s region of Ain Saleh.
“The underground water in the Algerian Sahara is enough to meet needs for another 600 years if current levels of use prevail, so there is a real concern in terms of this water being polluted by oil companies as we have seen before in Algeria and the whole world.”
Produced by 350.org — Thelma Young, Hoda Baraka, Sarah Rifaat
