Ministry launches UAE State of Environment Report 2015 in Expo Milano

Dr. Rashid Ahmed bin Fahad, Minister of Environment and Water, has announced the launch of the UAE State of Environment Report 2015 at the UAE Pavilion and Business Centre of Expo Milano 2015.

The Ministry is the official sponsor of the UAE Pavilion and Business Centre at Expo Milano 2015 running under the slogan of ‘Commercial and Future Business Developments.' The pavilion is hosting governmental and semi-governmental institutions to showcase the country's most important projects and highlight major projects in the environment, food, energy and technology sectors.

According to Bin Fahad, the launch of the UAE State of Environment Report 2015 is in conjunction with World Environment Day and reviews the country's current environmental situation. It highlights the challenges faced by the sector in light of comprehensive development and rising population which are underscoring the pressures of limited environmental resources and increasing competitiveness in various economic sectors. He noted that the report will showcase the UAE's environmental situation and achievements in the past few years attained with the cooperation of all concerned agencies and authorities within the environment sector.

Bin Fahad praised their on-going efforts to achieve the sustainable development goals in various fields, through which the UAE is looking to position itself among the world's best countries by 2021.

The Minister added that the UAE has adopted a group of policies in the past concerning clean energy, green architecture, and sustainable transport as well as actively promoted the efficient use of resources to reduce any negative impact.

The report demonstrates the efforts of all the concerned authorities in the country to improve environmental performance and enhance sustainability. He explained that the report analyses the prevailing environmental situation with the help of the latest available data, with the belief that transparency is the first diagnostic step towards practical solutions for further enhancement.

Moreover, Bin Fahad said that the report consists of a brief introduction and six sections detailing the UAE's social and economic development and their impact on environmental resources along with the policies drafted and implemented for sustainable environment management. The report also reviews the set of priorities in the UAE's environmental sector such as air quality, water and land resources, and the challenges faced in the past and in the future vis-a-vis natural and human pressures.

The report provides important and valuable information on the state of the environment which will be an important tool for policy and decision makers in the field of sustainable development as well as for those interested in environmental affairs, including specialists, researchers and students. It also promotes environmental awareness among different segments of society, forming a standard for an integrated environmental database subject to growth and development with the coming reports.

The report addresses the social, economic and demographic characteristics of the country and the significant increase in population and age structure. It also highlights the demand for energy because of the economic growth and the impact of this progress on the social, health, banking and environmental sectors.

The report consists of seven sections that address a number of environmental indicators in the UAE, illustrating the extent of change in the local environment. The Driving Forces-Pressures-State-Impacts-Response (DPSIR) Methodology was used to highlight the driving forces that lead to the emergence of pressures on the environment. It describes the present state of the environment, the extent of the future impact of these pressures, and procedures that the country is taking to protect the environment from these effects.

The UAE recently launched the first edition of the ‘UAE State of Green Economy Report 2014' which aims to provide information on the progress being made in the implementation of the UAE Green Growth Strategy. In addition, it also released the UAE Green Agenda as a framework for unified action to propel this strategy to achieve the goals of sustainable development and the implementation of the green economy approach.