Introduction
The developing countries all over the world are facing various challenges in the social, economical as well as environmental sectors. The invasions on the diversities of a nation are of much importance in the contemporary world. The different types of biological life on the earth are often referred to as biodiversity. The conservation of environmental properties in the secure form is essential for the future support of all the sectors of trade and life. Only a healthy environment helps in a healthy life on earth.
The environmental factors include the flora, fauna, ecosystem, climate etc. which are being utilized by the individuals for their living. This research is made on the matter of the United Arab Emirates specifically. The impact on the environmental issues of a developing nation like UAE is better noticed. The analysis of each environmental issue accompanied by the identification of actions to be adopted by UAE companies for the well being of those is performed in steps through this paper.
What is the situation?
The environmental issues of the UAE are of great importance due to the current developing phase of the nation. The issues are similar to that of other developing countries of the world. The matter becomes important in the field of business because UAE is an industrialized country depending on business for major revenues of the government. The people from all over the world are migrating to UAE to fetch of their fortune. Thus, the mingling of the people from different nations of the world with the UAE environment becomes a complex one. So, the study on the environmental issues gains attention as well as gives the focus on the truth of the involvement required from the part of industrial sectors on those matters.
The preservation of environmental wealth has been an important part of the agenda of the UAE government itself. “Recognition of the high standards being achieved in a number of sectors within the general field of environment is important to the UAE in its strategy to become a leader in this field and in setting standards that will ensure a healthy environment for its citizens.” (Environment).
The investigations have dug out the fact that human activities are the main reason for the environmental degradation world wide. The species of flora and fauna are being invaded by necessary as well as unnecessary steps of human beings along with pollution of ecosystems. But, the losses due to the environmental issues are not replaceable by any artificial aspects of human beings. Only consistent improvement and conservation steps can turn away from the problems due to the various environmental challenges.
Environmental Issues of UAE
The environmental issues of the United Arab Emirates can be identified as climate, flora, fauna, ecosystem, water etc. The extremities in the climate, the exploitation of plants and animals along with the suppression of various ecosystems and scarcity of water are the problems related to the environmental issues. “Habitat for wildlife has been lost due to urbanisation and industrial development, over fishing and overgrazing are affecting the environment.” (WWF and the UAE: Environmental Issues in the UAE).
Exploitation of the humans for their living needs has led to extensive deterioration of the environmental resources in the UAE. The continuous exploitation may lead to the depletion of those resources; so requirement for limiting it becomes essential. The government is being cautious about the matter that they are attempting for various eco friendly steps in the recent years. One among those is the development of action plan for the launch of extensive research on the possibilities of renewable energy in the UAE. Various organizations and awareness programmes are initiated effectively by the governmental authorities so that the environmental issues of UAE get their importance among the companies of UAE and the natives.
The green signal of environmental security is seen as a proof to show that the government is much concerned about the matter. The industries in the nation have been given their own identity and importance in the case of the consistent struggle for protecting the environment for a healthy living. The analysis of the different issues separately and identifying the actions essential for the sustenance of each is done through the following investigation.
Climate
The typical weather in UAE is subtropical with considerable aridity. Summer season exhibits extreme hot temperatures and winters give extreme cold temperatures. The months from April till September are extremely hot temperature around 50 ͦ C with high humidity. Occasional rainfall is received in the months from November to March with about 152 mm rainfalls recorded. Rest of the months show low humid atmosphere with an average temperature ranging form 20 ͦ to 35 ͦ C. the temperature during night time is measured to about – 15 ͦ C.
The extremely hot and cold temperatures are always influenced by the phenomenon called global warming. The researches on the effect of industrialization on the climatic changes are being carried out across the world and all those have identified and reported the influence of industrialization on climate. So, the same is the case for UAE under the industrialization scenario. The main reason for the global warming is the pollutants emitted by the companies to the environment. The emission of chemicals and radiations to the atmosphere normally heats up the climate and the aerosol actions damage the ozone layer of the atmosphere. The chemicals increase the catalytic reactions in the atmosphere while the radiations cause mutations resulting in various hazardous situations. Another important cause for global warming is combustion. The vehicles with the emission of pollutants are responsible for the increase of environmental temperature.
The role of companies in UAE comes into picture by their actions on controlling these to a certain limit. The industrial wastes should be eliminated in such a way that they are not harmful to the environment resulting in problems on the climatic alterations. A method of converting the chemical and harmful wastes to non-reactive and harmless materials has to be adopted widely by the UAE companies. The companies having the radioactive wastes should dispose them off by making use of the lead shielding disposal methods. The vehicle companies should propose newer techniques in their cars for eliminating the emission of bye products which are harmful to the environment and climate. The steps are taken by the UAE companies effectively towards this and the company named Al Futtaim is the best example in this regard. The company is appreciated for “its efforts to reduce its use of air freight by 41% and launch 100% organic reusable bags in its stores and Barclays, which will purchase carbon credits to offset emissions from its global banking operations by the end of 2009.” (UAE Companies Showing Progress in their Environmental Performance). Similar is the case of many other companies in UAE, giving a good response to the awareness of their importance in saving the environmental well being nation.
Flora & Fauna
The flora and fauna of nation is the real asset to its ecosystem and biodiversity. UAE is not blessed with very extensive range of flora and fauna but a bit of variety is seen in the country. Many species of flora and fauna are adjusted to the climatic conditions of the country and made their hideouts over there.
The situation in UAE is not kept as it is; the sight of greenery despite all the prevailing conditions is a real hope and pride of UAE. The efforts of the country on the matter of flora are seen in the form of green parks and meadows across the country in spite of its unfavourable geography. The government of UAE has given importance for this countrywide, whose result is seen as greenery in UAE. The plants are grown by the sides of roads and pavements taking away the look of the country as a desert. The main species of flora found in UAE is date palms. There are acacia plants as well at hilly areas of the country. The effective steps turned out to be a wonderful success in UAE.
The industries in UAE have the same responsibilities as the governmental activities. They should also take initiatives in painting the country in green by planting plants and trees. The plants and trees should be considered to be public wealth and no steps should be taken which affect them.
The fauna wealth of the country is also smaller compared to other nations of the world. The animals common in UAE are camels and goats which are even found roaming nearer to the roads of transportation. “Indigenous fauna includes the Arabian Leopard and the Ibex, but sightings of them are extremely rare. Other dessert life includes the Sand Cat, Sand Fox and Dessert Hare, plus gerbils, hedgehogs, snakes and geckos.” (Publishing). The number of diverse groups of animals is very less in UAE, but the measures to conserve them without fail are accepted. The companies of UAE have to assist the government in executing the action pans to save those. The hide outs of the animals should be held safely and the prey of those should be preserved.
The marine life is an important wealth of UAE which is a nation bounded by sea. The fisheries of UAE are a successful business sites with a plenty of marine species available. “Off the coast of Arabian Gulf contain a rich abundance of marine life, including tropical fish, jellyfish, the dugong (“sea cow”) and sharks. Eight species of whale and seven species of dolphin have been recorded in UAE waters.” (Publishing). The varieties of species of turtles are the attractions of the UAE seas which are much rarely found. The entire species of the marine life will be in danger because of the hazardous industrial wastes being dumped into sea and the leakage of oil tankers. The elimination of wastes pollutes the sea water leading to deoxygenating of it and results in the death of the fishes and other marine species due to exhaustion. The same is the case if leakages from oil tankers occur. The oil spills remain as an impermeable layer to the diffusing oxygen, resulting in the poor oxygenation of the sea water leading to the extensive death of marine plants and animals. The decaying and accumulation of those dead creatures will further add to the pollution of sea water.
The UAE companies have a great role in preventing the attack on marine wealth. The companies should have the idea on the impact of the wastes from their factories on the marine life. They should develop suitable set ups for converting the bye products to be eliminated in the sea to compounds which are inactive in the saline sea water. The oil companies should take care of the situation of leakage of the oil from the storage tankers. The companies in the field of fisheries must have a proper idea of marine wealth. The breeding of marine creatures should never be interrupted at a cost to ensure preservation of the life of marine animals. Another fact to be considered by the industrial sectors is on the reactive wastes which are really hazardous to the entire marine life if present even in very minute quantity. The reactive elements always emit radiations which cause mutations resulting in harmful effects on the marine life. The creatures will die soon or else will get damaged permanently. Thus, the entire marine set up becomes altered to a dangerous situation. So, the companies disposing the reactive wastes should take care that they are dumped in the cases with no leakage of radiations.
Ecosystem
The environmental region of an uneven range anywhere on earth with a variety of flora and fauna, the habitat and the environment working together with cooperation is commonly known as ecosystem. There are various types of ecosystems available including atmosphere, sea and earth. Each ecosystem will have its own habitat, creatures and adaptations. The managing of ecosystems is considered with high priority in concern with the saving steps of environmental wealth. Ecosystem administration recognizes to facilitate the inter relationship of environment and the inhabitants along with the various aspects of living that influence the peaceful life on the earth and the activities involving those.
The management of ecosystem involves the various aspects of human life including the societal, communal, financial, biological traits in analyzing the objectives for the safe guard of environment. The process necessitates the requirement of identification of the responsibilities of each individual and each enterprise to preserve the diversity of biological wealth of an ecosystem, so that mutual profits are attained by the ecological aspects and the prosperous life of humans. The people should be aware that the ecosystems other than the earth they live in like sea, air etc has much to do in their life as well. The well being of humans on earth depends on various other ecosystems also.
When we consider the earth, the entire flora and fauna along with the climatic conditions prevailing make the ecosystem. UAE has the desert as major areas of dwelling. The UAE companies have to be cautious in keeping the earthly wealth pure from the wastes they dump out.
The same is the case with the atmosphere, as it is the habitat of various minute organisms and the source of life for the life on earth. The climate, oxygen content etc are the factors connected with the atmosphere essential for the entire ecosystems available in the world of ours. The UAE companies should keep up their steps to prevent pollution of the air and atmosphere.
The ecosystem which should be of greater significance in the case of developing UAE is the sea. The marine wealth in the country should be preserved by taking essential steps as it is one of the major sources of their revenue and employment. The UAE companies should take care that their business never conquers the peaceful marine life in the nation. The oil spillage, chemical waste dumping, reactive residue elimination etc are the cases that should be taken care of by the UAE companies as a part of their responsibilities towards the environmental issues.
Water & Desalination
The sea bounds the land of the United Arab Emirates, which is the main source of water of the country. The country always has scarcity of pure water; the only dependence is on the saline water available in abundance. It was found that the desalination projects will be successful in the case of providing sources for pure water essential for various purposes.
The major requirements of water in UAE are for the household purposes and watering of plants. The watering of plants is accomplished mainly with the help of sewage treatment plants. Many companies of UAE have taken up the responsibilities of the projects on treatment of sewage water drained into the drainage system of the nation. “The sewage treatment process requires less energy and will improve on the quality of water that can be safely used for irrigation and other industrial applications.” (Landais).
The first sewage treatment plant was launched at the place named Masafi in UAE. The companies who took up the initiatives for this project were Al Ghurair group of companies and Hitachi. The plant made use of Hitachi’s Membrane Bio Reactor (MBR) technique which increases the efficiency of the plant. This put light on the awareness of the responsibilities of UAE companies in the matter of environmental issues. The UAE companies located at various points of the country should develop their sewage plants that utilize the recycling capacity of sewage water. The main advantage identified by these ventures of the UAE companies is related to power projects possible from the same launch.
The desalination projects are launched for achieving consistent clean water provisions depending on the easily available water resource like sea.
The sea water is found to be everlasting abundant source of water, but saline. The desalination methods help in producing pure water from the saline oceanic water. Scientific researches have dug out the fact that the scientific technique of reverse osmosis yields a much effective method of desalination producing pure water that can be used for drinking as well. This technique is accepted worldwide; so do the companies in UAE. The major companies of UAE have taken up the challenge as their responsibility in the environmental issues.
“An array of advanced desalination technologies was selected at each plant to best address the site-specific challenges presented by their unique locations.”
The above shows a desalination plant launched in UAE. The desalination techniques used by the companies of UAE are mostly concentrating on the factor of purity percentage of water after the desalination process. The reverse osmosis technique is used in the plant shown above due to the fact that such method produces water which is pure enough to drink as well. The Global engineering firm CH2M HILL was the UAE Company responsible for its successful launch.
The largest desalination plant launched in UAE was accomplished by another joint venture of the UAE companies. The acceptance of the responsibilities on environmental issues is seen even in this project launch on desalination. The image shown below is the Umm Al Nar Power Company, UAE which is the largest of all desalination plants of UAE.
“The Umm Al Nar Power Company is the largest single producer of water in the United Arab Emirates.” (Umm Al Nar Desalination Plant, Abu Dhabi, United Urabe Emirates).
The ventures on water treatment, that is, sewage treatment as well as desalination projects have turned the face of UAE from a water scarce country to a self sufficient one. These are all due to the situational activities adopted by the UAE companies contributing their part for the developmental and environmental issues of the nation.
Environmental Organizations & Environmental Awareness Programmes
UAE government has launched various environmental organizations and environmental programmes for cultivating awareness on the responsibilities of individuals as well as firms towards the environmental issues of the nation.
The organization launched in the UAE in regard to environmental issues is EcoVentures. The commencement of EcoVentures has turned out to be a significant step in initiating awareness on the environmental matters and launching various environmental missions for the development within UAE as well as other countries of Middle East. They play a vital role in the environmental issues of the nation and in initiating various projects by different UAE firms on the environmental issues. There are a number of organizations in UAE which are governmental and non-governmental agencies that play an important role in the environmental issues of the nation. The unity between the UAE companies and such organizations has made much environmental advancements in UAE. WWF is another organization of UAE which has the objective of limiting the degradation of the environment of the nation. The organization is recognized worldwide “which focuses on six priority issues: forests, fresh water, oceans and coasts, threatened species, and the insidious threats of toxic chemicals and climate change.” (WWF and the UAE).
The issues on environmental development are being taken up by the UAE companies and the organizations launched effectively.
The environment awareness programmes initiated in UAE is gaining its own importance in the field of expansion in the country. The programmes are launched by several governmental or non-governmental organizations of the country. The several awareness launches in UAE are categorized to “General Community Education Programmes”, “Media Awareness Programmes” and “Educational Awareness Programmes”. The general programmes launched include “Heroes of the UAE” and “Clean UP UAE”. The ‘Heroes of the UAE’ is a programme which makes the people aware about the huge energy consumption seen in the society and gives them guidance on how to minimize it. The perspective of cleaning the premises and reducing the garbage dumping to initiate a clean UAE is put forward by ‘Clean UP UAE’. “Protected Areas Media Tour” is an awareness programme through media making the public aware of the environmental issues. ““Greening” School Curriculum” for making the environmental issues integrated to the curriculum syllabus, “Enviro-Spellathon” competitive programme on environmental issues for students and “Field trips to UAE’s ecological sites” arranging tours to the different biological sites are all part of ‘Educational Awareness Programmes’. (Environmental Awareness Programmes).
Awards are arranged in UAE for better and enhanced developments in the environmental issues. Emirates Environmental Group (EEG) awards are given to the companies initiating the programmes on environmental issues of the nation. Better Environment awards are given for the students involved in the betterment of the environmental issues. Best Environmental Initiative Award, Special Award, Shell Better Environment Award, Environmental Excellence Award etc are the other inspirations given to the companies and public of UAE in the field of environmental issues.
Conclusion
The research on the environmental issues and the responsibilities of the companies in UAE in the matter has given a proper idea of hope within the nation. The government is extremely curious on the matter and is able to make the companies aware about the situation and requirements and make them involved with full responsibilities in the case of environmental enhancements. Different projects on the issues were launched with the support of companies which shows the success in the matter. The initiatives are made effective to the very possible extent so that the negative impact of industrialization becomes negligible on the environmental sectors.
The entire evaluation exhibits the fact that every initiative taken by the environmental organizations is turned out to be with maximum output. The joint ventures launched by the UAE companies explain the success of the companies in identifying their importance and responsibilities in the environmental sectors. The surveys conducted by various environmental organizations have made clear the matter of awareness of the companies of UAE on the environmental issues. The conclusion on the matter can be deduced as the future developments of the environmental issues in UAE have a light of hope in the involvement of the companies in UAE. Thus, the UAE may turn out to be a nation which is an example and model for all other countries in the world on the matter of environmental issues.
Works Cited
Environmental Awareness Programmes. Abu Dhabi Government, 2009. Web.
Environment. MOFI. Web.
Landais, Emmanuelle. Masafi Village to Get First Sewage Treatment Plant. Gulgnews.com, 2009. Web.
Publishing, Explorer. Dubai, the Complete Residents’ Guide. Ed. 10. Explorer Publishing & Distribution, 2006. Web.
UAE Companies Showing Progress in their Environmental Performance. MEinfo.com, 2009. Web.
Umm Al Nar Desalination Plant, Abu Dhabi, United Urabe Emirates. Technology.net, 2009. Web.
Wang, Felix., and Scott, Keith. Delivering Desalinated Water to the UAE. Power Engineering, 2009. Web.
WWF and the UAE. AMEinfo.com, 2003. Web.
WWF and the UAE: Environmental Issues in the UAE. AMEinfo.com, 2003. Web.