The circular economy and the climate change challenges facing the Maghreb region is the theme of a regional workshop that began on Monday in Tunis and will run until December 5, bringing together some twenty journalists from Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria, as well as experts and representatives of the organizations involved.
Organized on the initiative of Africa 21, a network of African journalists specializing in sustainable development and climate change, the workshop will focus on the adaptation of regional economies, production and consumption to the effects of climate change, desertification and aridification.
Journalists from various media will be introduced to the principles and concepts of the circular economy, a vector for ecological transition and reducing pressure on natural resources, particularly in the Maghreb region, one of the most vulnerable in the world to the threat of climate change.
Indeed, the Maghreb is not the only region that would benefit from the development of this circular economy niche, as most of the world’s current economic system is based on the excessive linear use of raw materials.
This model is no longer sustainable in the long term, given the environmental and climate challenges facing a planet with limited resources, according to the workshop organizers.
The circular economy is therefore presented as an alternative that will help to preserve resources, the environment and human health. It will also enable the economic and industrial development of territories and reduce losses and waste in an increasingly complicated context linked to the effects of climate change.
At the African level, the African Union and the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment have recognized circularity as an area of interest in their respective post-pandemic recovery programs (the continental recovery plan known as the ‘green stimulus’).
Several African countries have also included the circular economy in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and some, including Tunisia, are in the process of developing national circular economy action plans.
However, the pace of transition to greener models is very slow. According to the latest Circularity Gap report, which highlights the need to restructure our economic models, in just six years (from 2018 to 2023), humanity has used more than half a trillion tons of materials. This is equivalent to 28% of all materials consumed by humanity since the beginning of the 20th century.
According to the same report, this excessive consumption is mainly due to four global systems: food, the built environment, manufactured goods and mobility.
For the organizers of this workshop (Réseau Afrique 21, the Ministry of the Environment, the European Union (Media Support Program in Tunisia – PAMT), GIZ (project to support environmental and climate governance for an ecological transition in Tunisia), the National Forum for Adaptation to Climate Change (FNAC) and the Swiss Embassy in Tunis), introducing the concepts of the circular economy to the media would help popularize and raise public awareness of the need to rationalize consumption and move towards greener practices.
The aim is also to draw the attention of public authorities and private initiatives to this circular alternative, which is doubly beneficial in economic and environmental terms.
At the opening of the workshop, Julien Chambolle, Secretary General of the Africa21 association, said: ‘Our program, which now has more than 850 beneficiary journalists in 43 African countries, aims to help journalists develop basic expertise on sustainable development issues by giving them access to high-quality primary sources of information, international experts and organizations involved in the implementation of the SDGs, in particular international organizations.
It also means providing them with opportunities, such as organizing delegations to cover major international events, as was the case last year at COP 28, thanks to the support of the African Development Bank.
In addition to expert presentations, visits to circular economy projects in Tunisia are planned as part of the training.
