Environmental Successes and Challenges in the United Arab Emirates

Environmental Successes and Challenges in the United Arab Emirates PDF

Author: Terrence K. Pierson

Publisher: Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research

Published:

Total Pages: 12

ISBN-13: 9948148460

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The beauty and environmental wealth of the UAE benefit citizens of the country. Although there are ongoing environmental challenges in the Emirate, there are also opportunities to protect and preserve the UAE’s rich natural heritage and safeguard the health and well-being of its citizens. The agencies and businesses working in the UAE have the best of intentions regarding environmental protection and have set up successful environmental programs to address many of the challenges. Emiratis are committed to their work and the missions of their organizations. This paper suggests a number of ways UAE can act to enhance its ability to protect its people and natural assets to ensure a more sustainable future. Strengthening communication about the state of the environment and impacts on the environment is a key principle, as is enhancing the legal and regulatory framework for environmental protection. UAE can also make commitments to support compliance and enforcement functions of the oversight agencies who work with the environment. In addition, UAE can upgrade the research function to support science-based decision making. Although many protected areas previously existed, Wadi Wurayah (in Fujairah Emirate) was declared in 2009 as the UAE’s first protected mountain area. In addition to deserts, forests, mountains and wetlands, the UAE is endowed with a long coastline featuring picturesque beaches and pristine mangroves. There are hundreds of islands along the coast, and shallow areas where seagrass and corals grow. Migratory and non-migratory birds flourish in the islands and shallow coastal areas. The environmental and natural resources of the UAE offer a tremendous benefit to society. The marine ecosystems and mangroves support the fishing trade and individuals who enjoy participating in recreational fishing, boating and water sports. The terrestrial ecosystems, oases and wadis support traditional pastimes such as falconry, as well as the livelihood of farmers. Residents and tourists enjoy kayaking in the mangroves and fishing, kite surfing, desert sports, hiking and other outdoor activities in natural areas. Many local citizens enjoy spending time outside because of their Emirati Bedouin heritage and their traditions of date and camel farming. His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nayhan, the founder of the UAE, was a remarkable champion of the environment.

Sustainable Development Challenges in the Arab States of the Gulf

Sustainable Development Challenges in the Arab States of the Gulf PDF

Author: David Bryde

Publisher:

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9783940924629

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The Arab Gulf states all face increasing challenges in terms of sustainable consumption and production. These include: - Environmental sustainability issues such as waste, recycling, water usage, energy, including the use of renewables, and pollution - Economic sustainability issues including employment opportunities for local people, education and training and engagement of business and individuals that make up the supply chains - Social sustainability issues such as safety at work, working hours, equality and diversity, noise, dust and pollution, traffic congestion, stakeholder engagement and community involvement in decision-making While much of the previous research on this subject has been Western-centric, the present book includes contributions on these topics from specialists from the UAE, Bahrain, Lebanon, Egypt, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Qatar as well as from the US and the UK.

Environmental Challenges in the MENA Region

Environmental Challenges in the MENA Region PDF

Author: Hamid Pouran

Publisher: Gingko Library

Published: 2019-09-15

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781909942219

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The Middle East and North Africa region is well-known for its abundant natural resources and important geostrategic position. This position is often overshadowed by continued sectarian violence and trans-boundary conflicts that threaten the stability of the entire region with serious global implications. This preoccupation with conflict has come at the expense of addressing the region’s other challenges. Although the region’s fragile environmental state has increasingly preoccupied policymakers in individual countries, there is currently insufficient attention paid to coordinating collaborative action to recognise and address problems relating to its environmental sustainability and climatic change. In the absence of a positive agenda for tackling these issues, recurrent environmental setbacks and rapid depletion of the region’s natural resources continue to pose a major threat to the long-term economic, political, and social stability of the region. Despite the urgency of these challenges, there is little research dedicated to studying MENA’s environmental sustainability. Environmental Challenges in the MENA Region: The Long Road from Conflict to Cooperation draws from the proceedings of a seminal international conference on the subject at SOAS in October 2016, which was held as a celebration of the SOAS Centenary. This led to a collective contribution by experts and policy-makers concerned with the state of the MENA region’s environmental predicament with the aim of addressing these problems in a constructive and forward-looking approach. The chapters in this book are predicated upon two critical premises. First, expertise and awareness from a wide range of disciplines is required to understand and address environmental challenges. And, second, to have a real chance of success, MENA countries need to confront these problems as their common threats and to see them as an opportunity for regional cooperation and policy coordination. This book provides the results of an interdisciplinary effort to address the various dimensions of the region’s environmental challenges from across the region and disciplines.

Ecological Modernization in the United Arab Emirates?

Ecological Modernization in the United Arab Emirates? PDF

Author: Helena Rietmann

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2021-07-19

Total Pages: 111

ISBN-13: 3110749327

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In 2006, the United Arab Emirates initiated the Masdar City project, which was a pre-planned eco-city concentrating on the development and promotion of renewable energy, water and waste management, sustainable building, transportation, and material efficiency. It was the flagship project of what the government considered to be a widespread environmental reform process. This study examines the Masdar City project applying the analytical framework of "ecological modernization" with the help of five "factors", which help to investigate the ongoing reform process. The study finds that Masdar City is more accurately described as an outcome of the Abu Dhabi government’s economic diversification strategy. The project is subject to the political and economic interests of the emirate’s ruling family. Environmental groups operating within the emirate are connected to the government and pursue policy targets determined by the government.

Sustainability in the Gulf

Sustainability in the Gulf PDF

Author: Elie Azar

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-07-31

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 1351705105

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Sustainability is a topic of great interest today, particularly for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, which have witnessed very rapid economic and demographic growth over the past decade. The observed growth has led to unsustainable consumption patterns of vital resources such as water, energy, and food, highlighting the need for an urgent shift towards green growth and sustainable development strategies. Sustainability in the Gulf covers the region’s contemporary development challenges through the lens of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which place sustainability at the centre of the solution to the current environmental, economic, and social imbalances facing GCC countries. The book presents multiple analyses of Gulf-specific sustainability topics, examining the current status, challenges, and opportunities, as well as identifying key lessons learned. Innovative and practical policy recommendations are provided, as well as new conceptual angles to the evolving academic debates on the post-oil era in the Gulf. Through chapters covering sector-related studies, as well as the socio-economic dimensions of the sustainability paradigm, this volume offers valuable insights into current research efforts made by the GCC states, proposing a way forward based on lessons learned. This is a valuable resource for students, academics, and researchers in the areas of Environmental Studies, Political Economy, and Economics of the GCC states.

United Arab Emirates Society in the Twenty-first Century

United Arab Emirates Society in the Twenty-first Century PDF

Author: Prof. Jamal Sanad Al-Suwaidi

Publisher: ZAWYAT ALMAARFEH

Published: 2018-01-01

Total Pages: 166

ISBN-13: 9948398017

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In light of the radical transformations and changes that the world witnesses on all levels, research in the field of social issues is gaining increased prominence, particularly amid different sources of danger that threaten social security in countries, primarily due changes in the nature of warfare and conflicts, the spread of extremism and terrorism, and the emergence of religious, sectarian, doctrinal, and racial tensions. Moreover, the unprecedented technological transformations in light of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) with its social effects can compromise the stability and security of societies. Therefore, in this book I focus on studying UAE society in an ever-changing world from a comprehensive perspective that encompasses political, security, economic, social, cultural, and technological aspects. From an early stage in my academic career, I have given special attention – in my books, research papers, and studies – to issues of national security, at the forefront of which is social security. This stems from my belief that social security is one of the most important and critical aspects of national security in its comprehensive sense. Furthermore, social security is also closely associated with all other political, economic, cultural, and stability aspects of national security. This book includes seven chapters along with an introduction and a conclusion. Chapter One deals with the experience of the Union of the UAE and how it has affected UAE society. Chapter Two deals with UAE society in a changing regional and international environment. Chapter Three examines the UAE’s economic vision to prepare for the post-oil era, which is based primarily on knowledge and innovation. Chapter Four addresses education and its importance in building national human capacities and resources. Chapter Five discusses national identity, its significance, and sources of threat. Chapter Six examines balanced political development and the guarantee it gives to enable political stability in the UAE. The last chapter, Chapter Seven, discusses UAE society and global technological changes in terms of challenges and opportunities. The book ends with a conclusion in which I call for more attention to studies pertaining to UAE society in the coming years because the current changes in the local, regional, and global environments have several implications for this society. Therefore, it is important to study these implications and anticipate their future trajectories.

Environmental Issues for the Gulf

Environmental Issues for the Gulf PDF

Author: Peter Kassler

Publisher: Chatham House (Formerly Riia)

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 152

ISBN-13:

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This book lays the groundwork for a strategy of sustainable development for the United Arab Emirates and its neighbors into the twenty-first century.

The Future of Political Religious Groups

The Future of Political Religious Groups PDF

Author: Jamal Sanad Al-Suwaidi

Publisher: Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research

Published: 2016-05-17

Total Pages: 16

ISBN-13: 9948026187

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In a supplemental analysis to The Mirage, the comprehensive scholarly review of political religious groups in the Arab world, this paper sheds light upon the illusory tactics of political religious groups following the so-called “Arab Spring” in 2011. With particular emphasis on the Muslim Brotherhood, the methodologies of these political groups are laid bare and their true intentions exposed.

Filling the Empty Quarter: Declaring a Green Jihad On the Desert

Filling the Empty Quarter: Declaring a Green Jihad On the Desert PDF

Author: Abdulla Alshehi

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2015-07

Total Pages: 166

ISBN-13: 1483434486

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This Book offers out of the box ideas and the most innovative techniques in Water Harvesting & Saving technologies to help transform the Empty Quarter Desert into blooming Gardens. Chief Executive Officer to a leading environmental company in the UAE. A strong advocate of Environment issues. Received many awards related to his environmental achievements. Saved over 500 Million Liters of Water wasted in the car wash business. Inventor of "AL-Maa" concept which shall revolutionize the water harvesting science.