"Amid the countless immediate political challenges confronting Libya’s fractious leaders, longer-term objectives like environmental protection and ocean conservation rarely receive priority. Libya's environmental catastropheAbdelbasset al-Miri, a local official, described the episode as “catastrophic” at the time even as it represented just one instance of the environmental issues that have battered the Libyan coast in recent years. Amid the countless immediate political challenges confronting Libya’s fractious leaders, longer-term objectives like environmental protection and ocean conservation rarely receive priority. In 2022, a Libyan environmental organisation raised the alarm that 500 varieties of fish had migrated away from Libya’s coast because of pollution. The international community can play a central role by integrating marine conservation into the sputtering campaign to forge a Libyan political consensus.

Source: Libya Today February 13, 2024 13:13 UTC