Dubai: Over the years, the UAE government has been striving to ensure a healthy environment.
Therefore, a number of government organisations have been established with the aim of preserving the environment. The sense of responsibility, however, has extended to include individuals and so non-governmental organisations have been founded.
The UAE has one of the world's highest levels of domestic waste — per capita household waste is at an annual average of 730 kilograms in Abu Dhabi and 725 kilograms in Dubai.
Meanwhile, a new law will ensure supervision and inspection of all activities involving the use of radioactive elements or equipment.
The polluting effect of noise is also of serious concern to UAE authorities. Noise caused by construction or demolition work at construction sites should not disturb people living in the neighbourhood.
Abu Dhabi is building Masdar City, which relies entirely on solar energy and other renewable energy sources with a sustainable zero-carbon, zero-waste ecology. The city hosts the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
International award
The Dubai International Award for Best Practices (DIABP) recognises outstanding contributions to develop the living environment.
It was established under the direction of Shaikh Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to recognise best practices with a positive impact on improving the environment.
The Award reflects the commitment of the Dubai Government and the UAE towards the sustainable development of protection of the environment on the basis of mutual global cooperation.
Last year, Abu Dhabi instructed 50 schools to work towards reducing their ecological footprint under an initiative designed by the Environment Agency. ‘The Al Madaris Al Mustadama initiative' which means sustainable schools, assists schools in the emirate carry out ‘green audits' and take effective steps to reduce their ecological footprint.
Tree-planting
The Emirates Environmental Group (EEG) pledged to plant 1 million trees in support of the United Nations Environment Programme (Billion Tree Campaign) throughout the UAE, starting in 2007. It is aimed at combating global warming and mitigating the impact of human actions on the environment.
In 2002 the (EEG) launched an annual one day ‘Clean up UAE' campaign for people of all backgrounds. The objectives include reducing the amount of waste at each designated site and promoting civic responsibility in the youth.
Gulf News did not just cover environmental issues but took part and launched its ‘No to Plastic Bags campaign' in 2008 and also launched the ‘Go Green campaign' which focuses on creating awareness, publicise best practices, launch clean-ups and recognise individual efforts.
