Research & Commentary Results

Over the coming decades, the worsening effects of climate change will increasingly displace many millions of vulnerable people in the Middle East and North Africa, and many of these refugees will attempt to relocate to the Global North. To avert such a monumental looming problem requires pragmatic solutions and their swift implementation.

Egyptian fish farmers are facing mounting pressures: Year after year, their fish are getting smaller and less healthy, their production decreases, and they are forced to take out loans they are later unable to pay back. The Egyptian government’s recent efforts to invest heavily in aquaculture, though intended to address future food shortages, may only worsen the position of local fish farmers in the Nile Delta by exacerbating the effects of urbanization and climate change while undercutting prices.

April 22 marks the annual observation of Earth Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness on issues of environmental conservation and protection. Mohammed Mahmoud, director of MEI’s Climate and Water Program is joined by Alicia Dauth to discuss recent global and regional developments regarding the current climate crisis and their implications towards preserving the earth’s environment, with a special focus on opportunities and challenges for the Middle East.

Composing this bricolage of most frequented places is to identify with the environment. Each of the works in this exhibition strives to enliven such connections by looking anew and afresh. Whether considering the lives lived in the temporal or spatial shadows cast by unrest, migration, and industry, or taking a long view of history or an attentive approach to an immediate setting, new relations are found.

Lyne Sneige, Director of the Arts & Culture Program at the Middle East Institute, speaks with artists Moza Al Matrooshi and Christian Sleiman about their works that are featured in MEI’s current exhibition, Perceptible Rhythms/Alternative Temporalities. The conversation provides greater detail on the relationship between each artist’s works and the themes of food and sustainability.

Mohammed Mahmoud, Director of the Climate and Water Program at MEI, hosts a discussion on a variety of water resource challenges across the MENA region with Malak Altaeb, Megan Ferrando, Orestes Morfin, Youssef Wehbe, Zena Agha, and Andrei Covatariu. Questions on water availability, the relationship between water and conflict, future technologies, and more are addressed in the conversation.

Water resources are a key component of global sustainability, especially in light of the mounting environmental challenges posed by climate change. We asked some of MEI’s Climate and Water Program scholars to share their perspective on strategies and opportunities that could most readily alleviate the region’s water security concerns.

As a major center for fossil-based energy production, the Middle East is key to global ESG developments. The region is currently at an early stage of ESG adoption, although holding COP27 and COP28 has provided some initial movement towards mainstreaming climate finance regulations.

There is an emerging solar technology that is more efficient than the current photovoltaic solar farms and which also helps to save water by reducing evaporation. Floating solar farms can play a significant role in addressing the Middle East’s clean energy needs as well as mitigating its water shortages. 

Art Dubai is so much more than an art fair. In this, its most ambitious iteration and 16th year, it promises to be both a cultural emporium and a litmus test for the global economy.

The Gulf Arab states, while major oil and gas producers, can play a significant role in supporting global efforts to achieve net-zero goals. They are not only endowed with great potential for renewable energy resources as well as some of the world’s lowest carbon content fuels, but also with, to varying extents, sizable financial resources. Yet, to unlock such huge potential, the Gulf Arab states will need to systematically identify and address the various challenges in their path to net zero.

Atmospheric rivers play an important role in the movement of water through the atmosphere and can release that water at magnitudes capable of producing extreme weather and flooding. But what are atmospheric rivers exactly? And how do they behave in relation to current climate change in the MENA region? MEI’s Mohammed Mahmoud and Raha Hakimdavar are joined by Dr. Amin Dezfuli to discuss these questions and more.

Given the risks associated with climate change in the MENA region, there is a pressing need to provide sustainable financing resources for climate adaptation and mitigation

MEI’s Arts and Culture Center joins DesignEast at Alserkal Avenue in Dubai

DesignEast is a new platform launching in Dubai during Alserkal Art Week from 26 February to 5 March, 2023 focused on providing opportunities for emerging designers from the Middle East, South East Asia and China. MEI’s Arts and Culture Center director Lyne Sneige speaks to founder and creative director Rue Kotharie about their opening show ‘(Un)common Threads’ and two of the participating artists Ghizlane Sahli (Morocco) and Nour Hage (UAE/UK).

In partnership with @alserkalavenue

In the Middle East and North Africa, water is a scarce resource with uneven distribution, resulting in geo-environmental problems at the national level and conflicts between countries that share access to key rivers and water resources that straddle state borders. The stress on the region’s limited water resources is exacerbated by an increasing reliance on groundwater. In such context, monitoring precipitation — the sole renewable water source — is essential yet also challenging. But space-based monitoring can provide a promising technological solution.