Focus on environment protection

A two-day symposium on environmental protection techniques will be organised in Sharjah on January 19 and 20, with the cooperation of the Sharjah Govern-ment and the Government of Brandenburg in Germany.

According to Dr Shubbar Al Wadae, Head of the Education and Awareness Section at the Sharjah Environment and Protected Areas Authority (SEPAA), the symposium is part of a cooperation programme between the UAE and Germany in the field of environmental protection.

He said that the function will be held under the patronage of Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah.

"A number of experts and specialists on environmental issues will take part in the symposium.

"They will tackle various important environmental issues, including drawing up a strategy for municipal waste management, rehabilitation of the areas polluted by industrial materials, the techniques of rehabilitating polluted soil, developing water resources in the UAE, enhancing water purity through establishing consultative laboratories, and ridding historical and heritage sites of humidity and salinity," noted Dr Al Wadae.

He added that the symposium was part of the Authority's strategy to develop environmental administrative methods.

Dr Al Wadae said Sheikh Tariq bin Faisal Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Economic Development Dep-artment, Commerce and Tourism Development Authority, and Free Zones Authority in Sharjah; Wolf-gang Furniss, Minister of Economic Affairs at Brandenburg; and Abdul Aziz Abdullah Al Madfa, Director General of the Authority, will speak at the opening ceremony.