Tunisia’s mounting environmental challenges have yet to become a top priority for political elites, who remain blinded by the dogmas of the capitalist development model—ironically, the very cause of these issues.
In an effort to address this, MP Issam Bahri Jabri, a member of the Industry, Trade, Natural Resources, Energy, and Environment Committee in the Assembly of People’s Representatives (ARP), announced that the committee held a hearing on Tuesday with representatives from the Ministry of Environment regarding Proposal Law No. 54 of 2024, aimed at combating environmental crimes.
Speaking on Express FM on Wednesday, February 12, Jabri explained that the proposal was initiated by a group of MPs as part of efforts to address environmental violations.
He emphasized that the law would be framed under the slogan, “Preserving the Rights of Future Generations to a Healthy Environment,” and noted that the initiative was prompted by delays in enacting the Environmental Code, which has yet to be submitted to the ARP for discussion.
Jabri stressed the need to consolidate environmental legislation into a single unified text, given the unique nature of the environmental sector. He pointed out that the current fragmentation of legal texts has hindered environmental protection efforts, despite Tunisia’s pioneering role in environmental legislation.
Awaiting the Environmental Code…
Jabri stated that MPs “will take responsibility by adopting a comprehensive and unified law, while awaiting the enactment of the Environmental Code.” He highlighted the importance of this initiative and the need to refine its content, address gaps, and expedite its adoption, especially given the worsening environmental violations and the lack of legal frameworks to penalize such repeated offenses.
He also called on ministry representatives to present concrete proposals to help the committee improve the draft law, particularly regarding detailed descriptions of criminal penalties.
Jabri assured that, “given the environmental urgency, the proposal will continue to be reviewed for parliamentary adoption without waiting for the Environmental Code, which has been pending for 12 years.”
Environmental degradation: A growing crisis
In Tunisia, as elsewhere, the consequences of environmental degradation, climate change, resource extraction, and depletion are catastrophic and threaten the planet’s habitability for humans. Despite affecting all regions to varying degrees, these issues rarely take center stage in political or media discourse.
While waste management has occasionally broken into the media and political arena, problems such as industrial pollution, deteriorating air and water quality, and resource depletion remain largely overlooked.
The proposed law represents a critical step toward addressing these pressing challenges, but its success will depend on political will and public awareness to prioritize environmental protection as a fundamental issue for Tunisia’s future.
