6th Annual Environmental Politics in MENA Conference: Rethinking Justice in Environmental Transition during Times of Conflict and Crisis

May 12, 2025 - May 13, 2025 | Arab Reform Initiative
Beirut, Lebanon and online
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This conference will provide a platform for critical discussions on the structural barriers that hinder equitable access to and sharing of resources in the MENA region while highlighting policy strategies and grassroots responses that promote environmental justice.

Over the years, the Annual Conference on Environmental Politics has facilitated meaningful exchanges among diverse stakeholders, creating opportunities for in-depth discussions on environmental governance, equitable resource management, policy reforms and grassroots mobilization: the inaugural conference in 2021 laid the foundation for the approach we have taken since, and in subsequent conferences (in 2022, in January 2023, in May 2023, and March 2024) we further explored how concepts and notions of just environmental transition resonated in our particular contexts and societies. The 2025 edition will focus in particular on food and water justice, two of the most critical challenges influencing sustainability and equity in the MENA region.  This year’s discussions will bridge perspectives from North African countries which are navigating complex transitions in water governance, food sovereignty and agricultural sustainability, with other parts of the region that are reeling from the impact of years of conflict, economic crisis, occupation and instability.

By placing food and water justice at the core of this conference, the discussions will highlight policy frameworks, governance models, and grassroots initiatives that can drive a just environmental transition in a range of challenging contexts. The goal is to ensure that sustainability strategies are not only environmentally sound but also socially just, particularly for communities most affected by resource inequalities and climate impacts.