Strict Rules to Protect Environment

Khaleej Times,02/12/2003.

Awareness campaigns and cleanliness drives are part of the efforts to keep the environment free from pollution

THE UAE gives special attention to the conservation and development of the environment. Thanks to the personal care lent by the President, His Highness Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. Over the course of the last year, a number of important steps have been taken, both at a federal and a local level, which will help to promote the country's environmental agenda.

Shaikh Zayed has developed an understanding of the relationship between man and his environment and, in particular, the need to ensure that sustainable use was made of natural resources. The President believes the strength of character of the Emirati people derives, in part, from the struggle that they were obliged to wage in order to survive in the harsh and arid local environment.

The Federal Environmental Agency (FEA) is set to implement the rules on the protection and development of environment. The rules give particularly strong protection to the marine life, with over 40 articles concerning marine transportation and pollution and the respective penalties applicable to a vessel found in breach of any specified offence.

The FEA has drafted regulations for management of medical and hazardous wastes in the country. In cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, the FEA has also prepared legislation on the use, import and production of pesticides and fertilizers in the country. The legislation also specifies a number of banned pesticides. The FEA has also continued work on a programme to assess the impact of development projects on environment. This programme will be carried out in association with designated local authorities, such as Abu Dhabi's Environmental Research and Wildlife Development Agency (ERWDA).

The federal agency is also engaged in preparation of a series of laws on air pollution, protection of nature reserves, general environmental specifications and standards. The FEA has already prepared a national environmental strategy and the environment action plan, which have been designed as part of plans to implement the decisions of the UN conference on environment and development held in Brazil in 1992. The strategy is based on the UAE's commitment to conservation of the environment and sustainable development by application of environmental factors in planning of national development projects. The strategy also reflects the UAE's environmental agenda for the 21st century.

The FEA has also carried out several studies as part of plans to create a national environmental database that will help decision-making and policy-making. The study surveyed 333 industrial firms across the country to assess environmental factors and found that chemical and physical pollutants in these firms were within the permitted limits. The federal agency has also prepared the UAE national report on implementing the UN agreement on combating desertification, using data supplied by local agencies and other bodies. The UAE laws to combat desertification, national strategies, and work plans have also been prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries in co-operation with international organisations. The FEA has recruited a team of inspectors to ensure the enforcement of the new legislation.

In Abu Dhabi, an environment monitoring network has been installed which has proved that harmful pollutants and radiation in the emirate were far lower than approved international levels. The network includes three monitoring stations which focused on assessing radiation and pollution in the region, particularly ozone-depleting gases. On the directives of Shaikh Zayed, Abu Dhabi authorities have also offered financial and technical support for industrial areas to help factories in recycling efforts of industrial wastes to minimize the amount of chemical waste being deposited in landfills. During 2001, the ERWDA has made major steps forward in implementing the mandate assigned to it by the government. The agency is chaired by Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

One major achievement was the completion of the five-year environmental strategy for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi (2000-2004) which was developed after discussions with all concerned parties in the emirate. Another important achievement was the leading role played by ERWDA in the organization of the "Environment 2001 Conference and Exhibition," in collaboration with the General Exhibition Cooperation (GEC), Federal Environmental Agency, and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The ERWDA has published the first Abu Dhabi Coastline Oil Spill Protection Priorities Atlas, compiled in association with a number of other bodies, including the ADNOC Group and the Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey. This atlas is part of ERWDA’s initiative to establish an Environmental Database (EDB) for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi through developing a sophisticated Geographic Information Systems and Relational Database Management System.

The EDB will be a major scientific and management asset for other organs of the government as well as ERWDA. In the field of wildlife, the agency's National Avian Research Centre (NARC) expanded its activities recently to play a bigger role in preserving and developing wildlife, especially houbara and falcons. NARC has developed a comprehensive conservation strategy for the Asian Houbara in 2001. This strategy urges that concerted conservation measures between all stakeholders must be taken immediately to reduce the pressure on these birds if the art of Arab falconry is to be continued. Other activities by NARC included a continuation of its satellite tracking programme for houbara. It also participated in Shaikh Zayed's Falcon Release Programme. More than 500 falcons have been released since the project began in 1995. The Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital, operated by ERWDA, expanded its services to cover AGCC countries in addition to the UAE.

Shaikh Zayed's programme on the island of Sir Bani Yas for the captive breeding of endangered native animals such as the Arabian Oryx and the Arabian gazelle has achieved impressive results.

In the marine wildlife a fish data collection programme, initiated in May 2000, has continued. Eight species are now being studied, including popular species such as hamour, zubaydi and kana'ad. The programme will help to evaluate status of the fish stocks, monitor changes in the abundance of these stocks and predictions on future trends. The agency has continued to collect information about habitats, geographical distribution, population, and the biology of marine turtles and dugongs, both of which are endangered.