Blue Skies, Blue Seas: Air Pollution, Marine Plastics, and Coastal Erosion in the Middle East and North Africa

Blue Economy in MENA

The World Bank Event, Blue Skies, Blue Seas in MENA, was livestreamed on February 7, 2022, to launch the latest publication of a flagship World Bank report, "Blue Skies, Blue Seas: Air Pollution, Marine Plastics and Coastal Erosion in the Middle East and North Africa." KGGTF Year 6 Grant supported specific activities for this report, such as adaptation to coastal erosion in Tunisia and Morocco. Martin Heger, Senior Environmental Economist, presented the overview of the report, focusing on three "blue" priorities: 1) air pollution, 2) marine plastics, and 3) coastal erosion. He elaborated economic damages from the three areas and policy recommendations on how to switch from brown growth path to a sustainable "blue" growth, increase green investment, and bring more economic benefits. 

Ferid Belhaj, Vice-President for Middle East and North Africa, World Bank, Fouzi Lekjaa, Minister Delegate for Economy and Finance of Morocco, Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment of Egypt, and Ahmed Yassin, Co-founder and Marketing Strategist of Egypt, shared their visions to build resilience to climate change and move toward a healthier future.

 

Book: Blue Economy in MENAThis book, Blue Skies, Blue Seas: Air Pollution, Marine Plastics and Coastal Erosion in the Middle East and North Africa, shows the detrimental effects of air pollution, marine plastics, and coastal erosion for the ecosystem, human health, and livelihoods such as the tourism and the fisheries sectors. The book suggests policy recommendations on 1) monitoring the degradation and providing information, 2) market-based incentives for sustainable blue resources, 3) regulatory reforms, and 4) green investments.

KGGTF Year 6 Grant supported activities such as innovation in coastal modeling and sustainable financing in Tunisia and Morocco. The activities aimed to strengthen the national capacity to integrate climate resilience into development planning and scale up climate resilience investments. 

TTL: Marin Heger, Senior Environmental Economist, Environment, Natural Resources and Blue Economy GP