PETROFICTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL COLLAPSE: AN ECOCRITICAL STUDY OF ABDULRAHMAN MUNIF'S 'CITIES OF SALT' AND THE FUTURE OF ARAB ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

This paper will give an ecocritical reading of the Cities of Salt by Abdulrahman Munif focusing on how the novel challenges oil-based development and brings out the environmental impacts of the development process. Thematically discussing the issue of land exploitation, water scarcity, and biodiversity loss, the research proves that the narrative by Munif is the reflection of the ecological degradation of the Arab Gulf region during the rapid industrialization and oil mining. The novel describes the breakage of the old desert communities, which has always preserved the harmonious relationship with the surrounding nature, which is the ecological harmony and the devastating effects of oil imperialism and unrestrained urbanization. The paper underlines the need to incorporate the literature into the discourse on the issue of environmental sustainability, demonstrating how Cities of Salt can help to make the population more aware and encourage the right approach to the use of resources. The research connects the concept of literature critique and the aims at sustainability in the real world to show that literature can be used as an informational source in education and policy programs regarding the environment. The research has also provided suggestions on future research proposing that more work is done to investigate other Arabic literary texts, interdisciplinary strategies of sustainability and how literature is influencing the development of environmental policies.