UAE | Environment
Data in report on footprint 'was wrong'
The Living Planet Report 2006, which found the UAE had the highest ecological footprint in the world, used incorrect data related to the country's population and energy.
- By Rayeesa Absal, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:10 March 19, 2008
Abu Dhabi: The Living Planet Report 2006, which said that the UAE has the highest ecological footprint in the world, used incorrect data related to UAE's population and energy. This was revealed in an interim report presented by the Al Basama Al Beeiya (Ecological Footprint) Initiative to the Global Footprint Network (GFN).
The Ecological Footprint is a sustainability indicator that measures the use of natural resources by the population of a country and is expressed by a unit of bio-productive land called 'global hectare' (gha).
According to the Living Planet Report 2006, the UAE has the highest ecological footprint in the world with UAE residents averaging 11.9 gha (global hectares) per person. This translates to each UAE resident requiring 7 planets to support his/her current lifestyle. However, research effort on population and energy, has shed light on reasons behind the high footprint. UAE launched a national project called the Al Basama Al Beeiya Initiative last October to chart the ecological challenges facing the nation.
A review and analysis of the sources of the data used has indicated that there is a considerable gap between the knowledge and data that existed in the international records and the ground data collected by local organizations.
"There is much disparity in the population figures because the number of illegal residents, tourists etc where not taken into account while the previous report was prepared. The EF initiative cooperated with government bodies in all the emirates to gather the data and present a clear version," said a spokesperson of the initiative.
"Another major issue concerning data related to energy sector is that goods which are imported into UAE are recorded and those exported are recorded but the re-export to the GCC countries are not recorded. This is because, as per existing trade laws between the GCC nations, this re-export is considered as movement of goods within the country. But in reality, UAE is a major re-export hub which means the energy and the footprint associated to this is very high," she noted. "Though we have collected data on population and energy, these need to be fine tuned to fit in all these unique aspects."
It is still not clear if the UAE's position would change in this year's Living Planet report that is expected later this year.
"The presentation of locally gathered and verified data was urgent and critical because we wanted them incorporated in the calculation of the UAE's Ecological Footprint for the 2008 Living Planet Report, which will be published later this year," said Razan Al Mubarak, who heads the Emirates Wildlife Society – World Wide Fund for Nature (EWS-WWF).
The partners in the UAE project are the UAE Ministry of Environment and Water, the Abu Dhabi Global Environmental Data Initiative, GFN and EWS-WWF. GFN, an international non-profit organization, compiles the Ecological Footprint data of over 150 nations for the Living Planet Report published biennially in cooperation with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
"This is a significant milestone in the progress of the Al Basama Al Beeiya Initiative," said Mohammad Al Jawdar, General Coordinator at AGEDI. "The research we have undertaken has yielded a number of long-term benefits, including the creation of a network of data sources, a data repository and the urgent need of a focal point for data communication internationally. We have also been able to identify interesting research areas that would need further focus if we look to establishing an accounting system for our resources and their consumption," he said.
Dr Mathis Wackernagel, Executive Director of GFN, said: "This has allowed us to bring clarity to the various contradictory numbers that were quoted in a number of international statistics. The energy report is very valuable as well and moves us in the right direction… We are looking forward to seeing the complete report shortly."
The UAE is the third country – after Switzerland and Japan – in the world to enter into a partnership with GFN to conduct in-depth research and refine the methodology of national footprint calculation.
The Al Basama Al Beeiya team expects to complete the full report comprising further refinements to Energy and Population data as well as data on other components of the Footprint such as Food, Timber and Built Land, by June this year.
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