Series # 8 Environmental Jalsa

Amid ongoing conflicts and wars that shape daily life across West Asia and North Africa, how can we speak of reform and the environment in a way that reflects people’s realities—without falling into the trap of “green” colonialism? 

Environmental Jalsa, the eighth season of the Jalsa podcast, takes up this challenge in a seven-episode series hosted by Lebanese journalist Chrystine Mhanna. Together with voices from across the region, the series examines water and food security, threatened and seized lands, and the struggles of farmers and communities facing failing policies and environmental disasters. 

The conversations move from global environmental accords and their ability to capture local realities to the villages and towns of Lebanon, Tunisia, Syria, Morocco, and beyond. They ask how resources can be shared fairly, how local communities can shape sustainable solutions, and how war and occupation transform the land itself—while exploring the possibilities of cross-border solidarity and a more just future. 

Environmental Jalsa offers a thoughtful Arabic perspective on water justice, food sovereignty, and a fair energy transition, insisting that the environment is a lived political issue and that environmental justice begins with people and their power to imagine and build a better tomorrow.