UAE | General
Water consumption to be cut by half
The UAE plans to cut by half the water consumption rate among other measures to move to a resource-conscious society, a senior official said yesterday.
- By Samir Salama, Bureau Chief
- Published: 23:32 October 18, 2007
- Al Kindi (second left) launches Al Basama Al Beeiya or National Ecological Footprint Initiative yesterday. Al Mansouri (second right), Razan and Al Jawdar are also seen.
- Image Credit: Abdul Rahman/Gulf News
Abu Dhabi: The UAE plans to cut by half the water consumption rate among other measures to move to a resource-conscious society, a senior official said yesterday.
Dr Mohammad Saeed Al Kindi, Minister of Environment and Water, said the rapid economic growth in the UAE has exerted increasing pressure on the country's energy and water resources and that rational usage of these resources has become one of the most important issues in our national policy.
Launching the National Ecological Footprint Initiative, Al Kindi said specific policy options to reduce any negative impact caused by people, government and industries, will be initiated to improve the quality of life and achieve a genuinely sustainable community.
The UAE has the highest ecological footprint in the world, an index of global area per head from which a person consumes natural resources.
While ruling out the imposition of penalties on individuals and businesses which fail to meet targets, Al Kindi said: "From individuals through to businesses and government, every one of us has an impact on the ecosystem. The lifestyle choices one makes each day affects the quality of our environment."
Majid Al Mansouri, Secretary general of the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi, said Abu Dhabi Government will reduce water consumption rate from 550 galons per head per day to 250 gallons per head over the next five years. Al Kindi said the water consumption rate across the UAE is almost the same as Abu Dhabi and "measures will be taken to reduce it by half." Al Mansouri explained that real estate companies, businesses and individuals will have to meet criteria of optimisation of water consumption and wastewater. "A person's footprint accounts for the energy used to produce all the products and services consumed, as well as all other activities."
Al Mansouri said the government is also studying offering incentives to businesses using renewable energy and water treatment technologies.
Razan Al Mubarak, Managing director of the Emirates Wildlife Society, said the Ecological Footprint is of utmost importance because it will provide reliable, verifiable data on the environment and consumption patterns in the UAE. "It will also ensure that the data will be transparently collected, analysed and provided to decision-makers in the country."
Dr Mathis Wackernagel, executive director of the global Footprint Network, the international partner of the initiative, made his statement in a pre-recorded video message. Wakernagel said that the UAE is only the third country in the world to embark on such an in-depth research collaboration after Switzerland and Japan.
Comparing the footprint calculation to financial accounting, Wakernagel said that the Ecological Footprint is about securing people's quality of life, while recognising the ecological budget constraints.
Mohammad Jawdar, general coordinator at Abu Dhabi Global Environmental Data Initiative, said it is important to use the ecological footprint as a tool to raise national awareness on consumption patterns and resource availability.
Country has highest ecological footprint
The ecological footprint is a sustainability indicator that measures the use of natural resources by the population of a country. According to the Living Planet Report 2006, the UAE has the highest ecological footprint, an index of global area per head from which a person consumes natural resources.
However, an analysis of sources of data used to calculate the UAE's ecological footprint 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 organisations.
Have your say
Are you conscious about your water consumption? Do you take any specific steps to conserve usage? Tell us at letter2editor@gulfnews.com or fill in the comments form below.
Your comments
All employees must pay their own utility bills. The burden of having a "direct cost" will make people take uick showers or make them watchful of using less hot water while doing the dishes. High abusers like hotels must be targeted to take innovative measures to conserve water and electricity.
Vayani
London,UK
Posted: October 19, 2007, 12:37
I fully agree with this report. It pains me to see hotels and villa owners hosing down parking lots and entrances with water for cleaning. Such a waste of precious resources!
Mel
Dubai,UAE
Posted: October 19, 2007, 08:57
We must be conscious about water consumption. Too many people waste clean water in the UAE. Everyone should practice water conservation in their everyday chores.
Ruan
Yogyakarta,Indonesia
Posted: October 19, 2007, 08:53
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