APN | Amman

19 September 2022

 

The 8Log Blog - Umniah hosted a discussion session under the heading “Environmental and Social Sustainability: A National Priority, and an Individual and Collective Responsibility” in which the chairperson of the board of APN Razan Zuayter spoke, in addition to a group of experts and specialists in the topic.

Zuayter elucidated in her intervention the opaque concept of sustainability, notwithstanding the fact that the term is presented globally in an open ended manner which confers an interpretation that is different from our own particular interpretation at the local and regional Arab level, particularly given that the priorities of the countries of the north differ from the priorities of the Arab countries, especially since the wars and artificial internecine conflicts in our countries represent a substantial hindrance to the laying down of the foundations of sustainability.

Zuayter alluded to a crisis in the application of sustainability which she attributed to the elitism of the segment which deals with it, in addition to the weak participation of the stakeholders who must stand in solidarity to make it a success, as well as the fact that the sound application of the concept of sustainability requires accountability, oversight and monitoring which are almost absent.

In the context of practical solutions for achieving and applying sustainability, Zuayter explained the importance of the confluence of the efforts of 5 partners, namely the unified, strong and free national civil society, alongside the local community with its collective representation, the public sector which possesses political decision-making making capability and enacts laws, the private sector along with its social responsibility, and finally the academic sector and the role of science in applying sustainability.

The chairperson of the board emphasized that the vision of APN entails the necessity for embedding political development with the aspects and bases of sustainability which includes the environmental, social and economic plains.