The founding father of the UAE was a man ahead of his times. At a time when sustainability wasn’t quite the buzzword it is today, the concept of environmental conservation was already espoused by Sheik Zayed Bin Al Nahyan. In this, the Year of Zayed, the Zayed International Foundation for Environment has announced many initiatives towards strengthening sustainability and ecological conservation. We look at some green initiatives in the UAE that raise awareness and reward sustainable habits.
As part of the Year of Zayed celebrations, there was a seminar held in New Delhi where the efforts of Sheik Zayed were praised. Indian environmentalist Dr Ashok Khosla called him one of the "greatest heroes" of the 20th century because of his vision and his generosity in promoting causes for humanity.
To conserve marine diversity and prevent pollution UAE laws prohibit any intentional disposal of wastes or pollutants from ships, industrial installations, or aircrafts into the marine environment.
Working with the UAE University, the UAE ministry for climate change and environment, a project for date palm tree identification using DNA profiling has been initiated. Another conservation project collects and tabulates native plant species for cultivation so as to obviate extinction.
Plans are formulated for each of the Emirates to tackle climate change and meet the challenges of depleting energy sources. These dovetail with the UN's sustainable energy goals for 2030. About AED 3 billion is pledged for renewable energy spends.
Preservation and sustainability are difficult to achieve without involving the citizens. Hence programs aimed at raising awareness, changing behaviours, proper resource management and conservation have been put into place. Even school curricula and textbooks now include content that helps raise awareness and create sustainable habits.
Several futuristic initiatives are in place to help attain sustainability goals: the desalination pilot project is an attempt at desalination of seawater using renewable energy. The push for using alternative fuel sources aims to generate 5% of Dubai’s power from renewable sources by 2030 and up to 75% by 2050.
Recently, there has been yet another green initiative meant to lower carbon emissions and encourage people to use green cars was announced. As many as 40 paid parking areas at locations such as Burj Khalifa, World Trade Centre, Jumerian Street, Dubai Marina, Zayed Road and others will offer free parking slots for green cars.
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