Sustainable development and environmental challenges in the MENA region: accounting for the environment in the 21st century

Although many of MENA’s economic challenges have been widely analysed, environmental challenges are rarely taken into consideration in the process of formulating economic policies in the region. This paper addresses the major gaps in knowledge about the economics of environment in the MENA, and analyses the most current trends regarding MENA’s sustainable resource management.

The paper proposes a framework for the discussion of the economic ramification of various environmental issues facing MENA countries. Furthermore, it highlights the importance of establishing environmental accounts for MENA as set forth under the System of Environmental Economic Accounting (SEEA).

The document then proposes the Ecological Footprint as an additional tool for resource and ecosystem service accounting. The study clarifies that the Ecological Footprint is a resource accounting tool that measures how much productive area it takes to produce what a population consumes and absorb its waste, using prevailing technology.

The authors conclude by recognising that given the complexity of the concept of sustainable development, it is evident that robust accounting tools and indicators are needed for the 21st century. Yet, while many of these tools already exist and can be found in the SEEA and Ecological Footprint, more analysis is needed on the areas of overlap and potential integration of these two systems.