Julia Choucair Vizoso (Madrid, 42 years old), begins the interview with this newspaper by denouncing the “ecocide” taking place in the Gaza Strip and recalling that, according to the UN, almost 100% of the agricultural land in this Palestinian territory is now completely unusable. “This means that only 1.5% of arable agricultural land remains for two million people,” points out Choucair, a non-resident senior researcher at the Arab Reform Initiative (ARI) and a specialist in comparative politics in the Arab world. According to her, an ecocide represents the deepest level of destruction of a place. And what is happening in Gaza is not an isolated case, explains the academic. “For other populations in the Arab region such as Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen, ecosystem loss has become normal.”
Ask. Why do you consider Gaza the starting point of any conversation about the environment in the Arab world?
Answer. Because in addition to genocide, the population is faced with ecocide. In Gaza, not only the social fabric is being eliminated, but also the ecological one. A few weeks ago, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) warned that 98.5% of agricultural land in the Strip is completely unusable. The rest is contaminated with hazardous materials, debris and human remains.
Q. Do Europe and the United States view this problem with genuine concern or because it could affect their own security?
R. In Europe there is talk about how climate change will affect migration to the continent, or how it could make people more violent. This makes people start to question everything: why are these areas so vulnerable? What is happening in those countries? Why do they risk crossing the Mediterranean? Or because there isn’t enough water and food in those places?
In Europe there is talk about how climate change will affect migration to the continent, or how it will make people more violent.
Q. What role did civil society play and play in the struggle?TO climate of the Arab world?
R. In the Arab Spring protests (2011) environmental issues were fundamental. People wanted social justice and political reform, but ultimately they were also ecological rebellions because they demanded access to water, solutions to survive summer temperatures and waste-free communities. I think we owe the change in the climate change narrative to people who aren’t even aware of standing up for their rights. If you asked, for example, the inhabitants of the Moroccan oasis – where there is now an open battle – they would never tell you that they are environmentalists, but rather that they are protecting water, managed communally and with indigenous wisdom for generations, by a government that wants to privatize it.
Q. Continuing with what is happening in Morocco, what does so-called green colonialism mean to you?
R. They are the solutions to combat climate change and the concepts of just energy transition created in Europe and North America. And an example is precisely what is happening in Morocco. Europe needs new renewable energy sources that require lots and lots of land and has agreed with the Moroccan government to build them, under the excuse that these are good projects for the countryside and for renewable energy. All this happens without consulting the inhabitants of those areas. Academics studying this topic have noted that to achieve this goal, discourses similar to those used by settlers in North Africa and by Israelis in settlements in Palestine are used: “That land is empty, we must take advantage of the desert.”
In the Arab Spring protests, environmental issues were paramount. People wanted social justice and political reform, but deep down they also wanted access to water
Q. Is it still complicated to separate international cooperation from the colonialist aftertaste?
R. Everything is connected: colonialism, war and climate change. You have to start by accepting it in order to really change something. The key is international solidarity, which already exists among social and civil movements in Europe, North America and Latin America. The difference is that these initiatives strengthen ties to devise joint solutions. An example of this type of cooperation, which I find very beautiful, is the exchange of seeds. It is done between different peoples who know that conserving them is a form of resistance and fight against climate change, because they are very ancient species that have been among us for generations. It is very important to protect them because all food is based on seeds and they are seriously threatened because the food systems we have are destroying biodiversity. This is also the meaning of international cooperation.
Q. Are there any projects like these in Spain?
R. There is an initiative called Basta Land. It is simply a collaboration between the Spanish organization Campo Adentro with a Palestinian organization called BastaTheatre and they are bringing seeds to plant in areas of Madrid. It’s a very small project, but it allows you to imagine what the future could be like. These are shocking and radical initiatives. I think his ambition is gigantic.
