Category: opinion

Monastir is Tunisia’s first municipality to set a 1,000-dinar fine in an attempt to protect sea turtles, which are an endangered species in the Mediterranean. ”Anyone who captures, sells, or transports a sea turtle in the territory of the City of Monastir will be punished with a fine of 1,000 dinars,” the regulation states. The news was reported in a statement by the environmental association Notre Grand Bleu, which welcomed the decision and noted that that this was the first decision by a local Tunisian authority to protect biodiversity. Despite…

Tunisia’s traditional Ramli agricultural systems in the lagoons of Ghar El Melh (above) and its hanging gardens from Djebba El Olia, have been recognized as Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS), a designation managed by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). It is the second time Tunisian sites have won the GIAHS recognition, after Gafsa Oases in 2011. Both sites reflect profound bonds between the cultivated crops and the natural ecosystem, local fauna and flora, while promoting the preservation of traditional knowledge and biodiversity conservation. Their recognition as GIAHS sites will encourage…

Amid the upheaval, there might be a silver lining – an opportunity for Europe to come closer to achieving global sustainability goals.Since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, good news has been in short supply. The enormous social and economic consequences of the pandemic are becoming clearer by the day, and we’ll be feeling the effects on our lives and livelihoods for decades to come. Yet amid the immense human and economic toll, something else is also becoming clearer: our skies. Life without car or air travel has allowed nature…

One of the unavoidable consequences of the current pandemic will be the repatriation of part of the value chains of international European and North American companies home or closer to home. How important this turns out to be and what sectors it will impact most is yet not clear, but public opinion will no longer allow certain key necessities to be sourced essentially in China. As European leaders consider which products need to be manufactured closer to home, they could do worse than spare a thought for Algeria, Morocco and…

The new Coronavirus appeared in China, specifically in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, in late December 2019 and up to April 2, 2020. The infection transmitted to about one million people and resulted in more than 50 thousand deaths, with half of the world’s population isolated in their homes with the rise in various proportions (catching the virus, death and recovery) is still jumping. Epidemics have had a role in the rise of deaths and the fall of empires throughout history: Human history witnessed many epidemics that invaded societies,…

Air quality is improving in countries under coronavirus quarantines, experts say, but it is far too early to speak of long-term change. Images by the U.S. space agency NASA are clear, in February the concentration of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) fell dramatically in Wuhan, China, the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic, passing from an indicator that was red/orange to blue. NO2 is mainly produced by vehicles, industrial sites and thermal power stations. As China moves past the peak of its crisis, however, recent images by the European Space Agency (ESA) show…