TL: GREENPEACE FACTSHEET: THE MEDITERRANEAN NEW ORDER IGNORES ECOLOGY SO: Greenpeace Mediterranean DT: October 1995 Keywords: terrec Mediterranean middle east north Africa development/ GREENPEACE FACTSHEET THE MEDITERRANEAN NEW ORDER IGNORES ECOLOGY THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA ECONOMIC SUMMIT (Amman, Jordan, 29-31 October 1995) I. INTRODUCTION: The Mediterranean region is heading at full speed into a new order. Future privatisation schemes and multi- billion dollar investments will then dictate development rules. This trend has been carried out in international meetings like the Amman Summit in Jordan and the Euro- Med Conference in Barcelona last fall. In Amman, the focus was on financial investments binding the Middle East and Northern Africa to a lasting peace. In Barcelona, delegates discussed setting up a Mediterranean free-trade zone. These economic visions could mean more environmental destruction in the region. Many plans included the construction of highways, boosting the tourism sector and expanding or building new dirty industries. This would mean higher levels of air pollution in urban centres like Beirut, Damascus, Amman, Tel Aviv and Alexandria. An uncontrolled tourism boom would lead to the destruction of coastline areas, to sea pollution and to wasting water needed in the vital agricultural sector. As a follow up to the Casablanca economic meeting in October 1994, Jordan hosted from October 29-31, 1995, the Middle East and North Africa Economic Summit. Most of the 1,600 delegates from 63 countries were representatives of the international private sector - all eager to profit from multi-million-dollar projects in a region that could boom economically in the wake of an overall peace between the Arab states and Israel. But sadly, the issue of environmental protection was not seriously discussed in Amman. The "Mediterranean New Order" means a growing economic competition between the United States and the European Union, which will replace the political competition of the Cold War period. It could transform Mediterranean countries into waste bins for uncontrolled consumption. II. THE MAIN TOPICS IN AMMAN: The Conference held three working sessions which focused on the following subjects: 1st session: It focused on the necessity to elaborate a strategy for regional co-operation between the governments and the private sector. Future relations between official bodies and international financial institutions as well as the role to be played by the regional capital market in this respect were also discussed. Delegates debated means to harmonise economic policies and laws in the Middle East. Working documents presented during this session dealt with environment and sustainable development, the possibilities to create a trading block in the region and the comparative advantages of each country. 2nd Session: It dealt with economic strategies in the Middle East and regional projects of the River Jordan rift as well as those examined at the multilateral negotiations such as the regional Councils for Business and Tourism and the means to finance trade and foster co-operation mechanisms in the Middle East and North Africa. 3rd Session: It focused on the economic sectors that are particularly promising and which are of common interest for the region such as tourism, transport and telecommunications. Japan and the European Union (EU) promised to finance projects like the electricity grid network between Egypt, Jordan, Palestine and Israel. Japan also agreed to fund transport-related projects as well as the building of bridges on the River Jordan. III. RESULTS: During the Conference, delegates presented long lists of projects worth billions of US dollars. The final declaration of the meeting announced the following results: 1. The objective of the Summit was to provide the necessary facilities to promote private investment by fostering partnership between the private and the public sector, and to reinforce co-operation and development in the region. Many businessmen therefore signed contracts to carry out projects in the fields of trade, tourism, transport and telecommunications. Some of these projects will benefit from public guarantees and from technical and other forms of international aid. 2. A bank for economic co-operation and development in the Middle East and North Africa is to be created and will be based in Egypt. The bank is meant to promote private sector and regional infrastructure projects and provide a frame for economic co-operation in the area. 3. In order to promote tourism, delegates agreed to set up a regional council for tourism and an association for travel and tourism agents in the Middle East and the Mediterranean countries. These two new institutions would include representatives of both the private and the public sectors. 4. An executive general secretariat of the Economic Summit is to be formed and based in Rabat, Morocco. The role of the secretariat is to enhance partnership between the private and public sector and facilitate consultations between the parties. 5. It is also worth mentioning that among the projects presented by the various delegations, those of Jordan, Palestine and Israel were the most extensive and costly. The Jordanian projects included the development of touristic activity on the shores of the Dead Sea and Aqaba and the building of high standard hotels. Jordan also presented important infrastructure projects like roads and bridges. It also proposed a plan for regional management of toxic waste. The mining and metal sectors were also the most attractive projects, and co-operation agreements were reached in this field by Jordan and Israeli companies to produce methyl bromide. Other joint ventures and co-operation agreements were also signed in the fields of agriculture and telecommunications. The outcome can be summed up in a list of private sector projects mainly in tourism, infrastructure and minerals all of which bring more water shortages, sea shore pollution and ozone depletion to the region and the world. The legislation gaps, namely in Palestine, may leave scope for environmental abuses by private investors who are the main beneficiaries from the shrinking of public investment. IV. JORDAN TO IMPORT DIRTY TECHNOLOGIES: One negative result of regional economic co-operation is a joint-venture between Jordan and Israel involving the export of dirty technology from the Israeli-based "Dead Sea Company", which is the world's second largest methyl bromide producer. This raw material for the production of pesticides is responsible for severely depleting the Earth's protecting ozone layer. This deal and others, be they private or public, will form the "Mediterranean New Order" in line with ongoing trend towards privatisation. Investments are then to be decided simply on what will give the biggest profit to the country or company involved - no matter how polluting and damaging the consequences are. IV. GREENPEACE DEMANDS: The spirit of privatisation and reinforcement of the private investment is a trend which was carried on from the Amman Summit through the Euro-Mediterranean Economic Conference in Barcelona. This could lead to the transfer of dirty technology and to intransparency of private deals in investment and trade. These risks have to be minimised by providing safeguards within the countries themselves, especially by enacting regulations and reinforcing control and environmental assessment measures. As the Euro-Mediterranean Conference is a prelude to the much cherished project of a Conference for Security and Co-operation in the Mediterranean area, an "environmental security" mobilising theme has to be put forward as a pillar for economic sustainable development in the region and as an ultimate goal of co-operation between the countries of the Mediterranean Basin. Whatever the true intentions of conferences like those of Amman and Barcelona are, they should not forget environmental protection. Conditioning financial investments to the observance of human rights, peace and democracy is not enough. In addition, governments and economists should emphasize environmental protection when planning investments because sustainable development is the only guarantee for future security and lasting peace in the region. Greenpeace believes that any future development in the Mediterranean region should take full advantage of the bitter lessons learnt in industrialised countries, and strive towards making a quantum leap over environmental destruction and degradation. The role of Greenpeace in the coming years will be that of a keen watchdog lobbying to insert environmental protection conditions into all accords to be signed. We will also monitor major projects and ring the alarm bells, both locally and in the investing country, whenever such conditions are not observed. ANNEX: LIST OF PROJECTS PRESENTED IN AMMAN: 1. JORDAN: Total cost: USD 3.5 billion Tourism: Public and private sector (about USD 1 billion) Building of a number of hotels on the shores of the Dead Sea and in Aqaba (USD 800 million) Transport: Modernisation of the Aqaba Airport (USD 36 million) Building of bridges between Jordan, Israel and Palestinian territories (USD 48 million) Linking of the South and North of Jordan by roads (USD 150 million) Water: Supplying Amman with water from the basin of the River Deisi, 150 km south of Amman (USD 500 million) A project for management of toxic and dangerous waste (USD 25 million). This could lead to the construction of incinerators. Minerals: The private sector proposed projects to produce: Potassium Sulphate and Calcium biphosphate (USD 79 million) Sulphuric Acid (USD 350 million) Phosphoric Acid (USD 69 million) Jordan included economic and financial feasibility studies for these mineral-related projects which are expected to be the most attractive for private investors (much like the touristic projects). Agriculture: In co-ordination with the private sector, twelve projects were presented in the various fields of agriculture (USD 250 million) Jordan and Israel signed a co-operation agreement in the agricultural sector. The private sector presented 17 projects with a total cost of USD 100 million. The main ones being as follows: - creation of a data base and information network between national and International banks - a reinsurance company for a regional training office for bankers 2. ISRAELI PROJECTS: A total of 118 projects (USD 17 billion). Amongst these are: - 63 for regional development: Water, electricity and tourism, mainly on River Jordan, the Gulf of Aqaba and North Sinai. This includes economic co-operation between Israel, Jordan, Egypt, the Palestinian Authority and Saudi Arabia as well as projects for future co-operation with Syria and Lebanon. - Some proposals for co-operation in the fields of oil exploitation and water desalination with Gulf countries. In this respect, a memorandum of intentions was signed between Israeli Minister for Energy and Infrastructure and the executive manager of Enron-Qatar Trading Company LTD, whereby the latter would be exporting annually about two million tons of natural gas to Israel by the year 2000. The total cost of this project is estimated to USD 4.3 billion where USD 4 billion would be paid by Qatar and USD 300 million by Israel. According to some observers, this memorandum may not be implemented given the high costs it involves. The alternative could be importing gas at a lower cost from Egypt or from other Gulf countries. Observers qualified this declaration of intentions as a mere political gesture rather than an economic deal. 3. PALESTINIAN PROJECTS: - transport and communications USD 1358 million - energy USD 510.3 million - water USD 1930 million - environment USD 818.6 million - tourism USD 438.70 million - agriculture USD 50.3 million - export and industry USD 621.383 million - other projects USD 690.75 million T O T A L USD 6418.03 million 4. PERCENTAGE OF SHARE OF PROJECTS PER REGION: 31.36 per cent - West Bank 25.74 per cent - Gaza Strip 42.9 per cent - mixed ??