Ibrahim Ali El , Foundation President Bluegreen: "The South should cease to be a wait"
Ibrahim Ali El is a Lebanese born in Senegal and living in France. Four years ago, he left his company Import / export to devote himself to the preservation of nature in Africa and the Mediterranean. Global citizen, he is often invited by international organizations and media to deliver his next man field.
(Work session to prepare for the Millennium Development the Minister of Foreign Affairs and European)
Sesame Seed : What prompted you to abandon your career as a businessman to devote yourself environmental causes?
Ibrahim Ali El : Before I devote myself to my associations, I was in the import / export of food products at Rungis. I became interested in ecology when I was visiting my older brother, Haidar El Ali, Senegal. At his side, I participated in actions to protect African biodiversity. Once back in France, I found my habits. Then there was the death of my mother. I went to Lebanon to bury it and I rediscovered my country. Lebanon is a country rich in biodiversity threatened by conflict, its urban and intensive agriculture. I had to respond in my own way. I created my first association Mawassen Khair (harvest of the charity). With little means, I shall carry out nature protection.
Sesame Seed: What were the financial, human you have for your projects?
Ibrahim Ali El : NGO Mawassen Khair proves that environmental protection is a matter of faith, rather than means. Mawassen Khair consists of a small team of twenty people. After the conflict in July 2006, we participated with UNIFIL demining of 4000 bombs in seven months. The process was simple. We have involved religious leaders, municipalities, so they are asking residents of the southern cities to warn us if they saw a shell to defuse it.
Then we reforested areas to restore an ecosystem. That cost us some money because we involved all actors of society. Environmental actions must conform to the movement from top to bottom and from bottom to top. This means that the actions or initiatives must be from public bodies and citizens.
Sesame Seed: So how do you manage to mobilize as many people to your actions?
Ibrahim Ali El : Social networks on the Internet create synergies to boost the projects with more limited means. This prompted me to create my foundation Bluegreen. This foundation aims to be a platform bringing together environmental experts from Europe, Africa and the Middle East to develop joint projects.
Diversity 2010 Conference Web
Sesame Seed: There are already platforms for researchers, What can be the real purpose of your foundation?
Ibrahim Ali El : Bluegreen Foundation announces its finding that environmental initiatives in the South were often set in a program of cooperation with Western countries. We must get out of this logic. Southern countries must cease to be a wait and wait and see what their offer the international institutions Northern countries. They must become more involved in projects, to gain autonomy and a certain expertise on various aspects of sustainable development. What was the involvement of countries of the south shore of the Mediterranean in the project DESERTEC, except to make available their land for solar farms? The foundation wants
Bluegreen up environmental projects entering a cooperative approach between countries. Addressing environmental problems exceeds all possible disparities between neighboring states and forced them to decentralize powers.
Sesame Seed: Why do you think that decentralization is necessary to protect the environment?
Ibrahim Ali El : To bring good results, decentralization of environmental management is imperative. It must come from citizens and the municipality. When I led my afforestation, I gave myself directly with the resident and the city. Which public entity knows both the needs of citizens and the state of nature? The city is closer to reality and we must give more resources to act.
I find that decentralized cooperation bears fruit quickly. The PACA region (Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur) and the Federation of common Jezzine work together to develop eco-tourism around the pine forests of Jezzine.
Sesame Seed: So do you think the idea of global or regional governance'une environment is outdated?
Ibrahim Ali El : No, we must think globally and act locally. The environment knows no borders He therefore reflect together on solutions. The Union for the Mediterranean (UPM) is the perfect illustration of my remarks. The Mediterranean represents 1% of global maritime waters and concentrates alone, 30% of world seaborne trade. The countries bordering the Mediterranean to participate in its degradation by rejecting waste and sewage. The development of common instrument can provide solutions against pollution of the Mare Nostrum. The Union for the Mediterranean is an excellent project. Unfortunately, the UPM is experiencing difficulties because of the funding issue. As long as we think that wealth comes currency and not a tree, we take a wrong road.
• Myriam Bounoure,
mbounouri@sesame-ouvre-toi.com
tel: 01 42 47 14 14
0 comments:
Post a Comment