Environmental Management in the United Arab Emirates - Case Study Example

Title: Environmental Management Plan Dated: January 28 , 2009 Introduction The Environmental Management plans are designed by the states, countries and the organizations which provide a mechanism for implementation of the policy of the originator body in a systematic and coordinating pattern. The purposes of the Environmental Management plans are to Identify priorities of the country in the field of environment , to define performance indicators over a period of time which are serving as milestones for checking the pace of implementation of the plan ,to set objectives and targets on long term as well as on short term basis, to propose allocation of resources and fixing responsibilities for implementation of the plan or a part of the plan ,to establish mechanisms to monitor the progress of the plan with regular intervals , to evaluate and report the progress ,and finally to develop documentation strategies and time frames to achieve the targets of the plan in favor of the country or state. These plans are also formulated to achieve the targets of the international commitments as agreed by the countries through the signing of the international protocols, treaties and agreements in the field of environment for ensuring sustainable progress of the country in other allied fields of the economic interests of the states. Subsequently, these plans are helpful in the initiation and completion of coordinated research in the field of environment for achieving the highest standards as per the international commitments of the country. Gradually, all these steps help in the creation of an environment friendly culture for the promotion and preservation of the cause of the environment especially in the basic and essential fields of environment like biodiversity, climate change, ozone layer depletion, international waters and obsolete chemical substances. In March 2007, The United Arab Emirates has developed and approved an Environmental Management Plan for its implementation by the concerned implementing bodies which include several new projects and initiatives relating to the preservation of natural environment through the conservation of wildlife sanctuaries, promotion of green buildings in the country, disposal of solid wastes through environmental friendly mechanisms and other related practices as to address the environmental issues within the period of the plan. The objectives of these initiatives are to ensure quality environment and improving the environmental situation in the UAE as to enhance the status of the country in the field of environment (1). The plan adapted by the government indicates the sensitivity and priority level as granted by the higher authorities’ vis-à-vis the commitment to the sensitive issue like that of environment. The plan has envisaged three main areas which have been included in the said plan as in the form of projects and initiatives in the priority area of the country (2).These three areas include conservation of natural resources and their reservations, introduction of environmental friendly mechanisms and procedures for the disposal of solid wastes and their management, and promotion of green buildings concepts for strengthening of the environmental base as per international environmental practices . The approval of the environmental management plan by the country comes as a step of the government’s strategic plan as already declared by His Highness and as per its requirements the government seeks to set up the basis for a sustainable mechanism to maintain the prevailing delicate balance between different segments like that of land, soil, biodiversity, climate change and water resources. The final objective of the environmental action plan as approved by the country is to reduce the negative impact of human activities on the environment through a series of control procedures, observance of environmental standards and best practices and finally the same will help to protect the health and quality of life of the inhabitants of the United Arab Emirates. The action plan is consisting of four major pillars as start the plan as per its schedule, implementation of the plan as per its time lines, monitoring of the ongoing activities and finally the evaluation of the ongoing projects as per their goals and targets. All these activities are occurring in a coordinated and integrated mechanism for their synergetic impacts. The environmental action plans are dealing with the environmental issues pertaining to all major areas of the environmental pollution. All these areas are having their specific causes as the nature of the pollutants and their presence in specific medium causes the form of pollution (3). These types of pollutions are affecting the economy of the nations through improvement in the health and safety standards and higher quality life of the inhabitants of the country. United Arab Emirates had taken a number of legislative and non legislative steps to ensure the quality of environment in the country through these measures. The concerned authorities in the country are taking necessary steps to reduce the negative impacts of the pollutants especially relating to air pollution with the introduction of environmental legislations in the country that will resultantly lead to the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the country. For example, several electric utilities in the Arab region have started to use the natural gas for thermal power generation in their respective countries (4).Table 1 shows the emissions types as associated with each type of fuel used in the electric generation. A comparison of the emissions as associated with thermal power generation with the use of fossil fuels are clearly demonstrating that the emission of carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide with the use of natural gas are on the lower side as compared to the other types of fuels like coal and fuel oil (5). In pursuance of the environmental plan of action, the United Arab Emirates is monitoring the emissions of carbon dioxide in the industrial sector as a monitoring activity on regular basis. The government is taking a number of legislative measures to ensure the implementation of the environmental plan of action. For example, the country is devising strategies to include widening of the road network for easy access to the cities and towns, introducing new modes of transportation systems to encourage the masses to use public transport for making their journeys to their workplaces, to replace existing fuel type with unleaded gasoline and low carbon diesel, to patronize the use of natural gas as an alternative fuel on trial basis. Similarly, the government has designated Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD) as the designated national authority for Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) for which in August 2007, the country had already approved first project under the clean development mechanism in the UAE. Besides non legislative steps, UAE has taken a number of legislative and legal steps in connection with the adoption of environmental laws relating to the conservation of natural environment in the country. Brief lists of the laws as adopted by the government include both international as well as regional laws for the protection of the environment is as under: (a) International Conventions/Protocols(all of these conventions and protocols have subsequently been ratified by the UAE) 1. International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1974 (b) International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage (CLC), 1969. UAE has enacted a number of laws to fulfill their international as well as national commitments in the field of environment which are showing the political maturity of the country in the field of environment. These are as under: 1. Concerning Exploitation, Conservation, and Development of Living Aquatic Resources in the United Arab Emirates and its Executive Order issued by Ministerial Decree No. (302) of 2001.(Law number 23, year of enactment=1999.) 2. Concerning Protection and Development of the Environment as amended, and its Executive Order issued by: Council of Ministers Decree No. (37) Of 2001 which includes: Regulation concerning Environmental Impact Assessment of Projects. Regulation concerning Handling of Hazardous Substances, Hazardous Wastes and Medical Wastes. Regulation concerning Protection of the Marine Environment. Regulation concerning Agricultural Pesticides and Fertilizers. And Council of Ministers Decree No. (12) Of 2006 which includes: Regulation concerning Protection of Air from Pollution (Law number 24, year of enactment=1999). 3. Concerning Regulation and Control of the Use of Radioactive Sources and Protection against its Hazards as amended (Law number 1, year of enactment=2002). The measures taken by the government are helpful to all the stakeholders for the implementations of the projects in the field of environment. Various agencies like Abu Dhabi Civil Defense is trying to reduce the gas emissions with the adoption of environment friendly technologies and practices that will lead to the release of fewer pollutants into the environment (6). Similarly, most of the Arab countries are dealing with the issues of environmental degradations through the control of pollutants released and adoption of technologies to deal with theses chemicals. Arab countries are suffering from the impacts of both primary as well as secondary air pollutants that led to an increase in different types of diseases in the inhabitants like skin diseases, eye infections and respiratory diseases(7). These countries are taking steps to control the issue of environmental degradation through the adoption of environmental mechanisms in their respective countries (8). Table 2 is illustrating the status of pollution as is present in the Arab countries. The common parameter selected for the purpose is the emission of carbon dioxide. Conclusion: United Arab Emirates is taking sufficient steps to combat the issue of environmental pollution in all its shape like air pollution, soil pollution, water pollution and noise pollution through the adoption of an Environmental Management plan in the country(9). For example Kyoto protocol, 1997 Movement of Hazardous wastes and their disposal, 1999, United Nations Framework on Climate Change, 1992 and Vienna Convention for the protection of the ozone layer, 1985. These protocols and treaties are helping the government to implement the environmental protection plan (2007) for securing quality environment in the country (10). References: 1.Aballa, Kathleen. ‘’ Health and environmental benefits of clean fuel and vehicles.’’ Keynote presentation. Cairo, Egypt : UN DESA, May 24 , 2006. 2. Assi Rafat , and Jahad al Sawair , ‘’ Vehicular exhaust emission in Amman, ‘’ Air Quality Studies Division , Environmental Research Center Royal scientific Society . Amman , Jordan , 2002. 3. ‘’CGD ranks CO2 emission from power plants worldwide . ‘’ Press release . Center for global Development , 14 November. 2007 4. Gari (2002), "Arabic Treatises on Environmental Pollution up to the End of the Thirteenth Century", Environment and History 8 (4), pp. 475-488 5. Beychok, Milton R. (1967). Aqueous Wastes from Petroleum and Petrochemical Plants (1st Edition ed.). John Wiley & Sons. LCCN 67019834.  6. Beychok, Milton R. (January 1987). "A data base for dioxin and furan emissions from refuse incinerators". Atmospheric Environment 21 (1): 29–36. doi: 10.1016/0004-6981(87)90267-8 7. Carbon dioxide emissions chart (graph on Mongabay website page based on Energy Information Administration's tabulated data). 8. IPCC; Solomon, S., D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. Marquis, K.B. Averyt, M. Tignor and H.L. Miller (eds.) (2007). "Chapter 7. Couplings Between Changes in the Climate System and Biogeochemistry". Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-88009-1.  10 Friederike Wagner, Bent Aaby and Henk Visscher (2002). "Rapid atmospheric CO2 changes associated with the 8,200-years-B.P. cooling event". PNAS 99 (19): 12011–12014. doi: 10.1073/pnas.182420699. PMID 12202744.  Table: 1 Typical Emission from Power Plants [g/kWh] Serial no. Fuel type CO CO2 SO2 NOx 1 Natural gas 0.2 490 0.004 1.5 2 Coal 0.11 1,060 5.5 2.4 3 Fuel oil 0.19 781 5.1 1.5 Table: 2 The Arab Region’s National Per Capita CO2 Emissions From The Consumption And Flaring Of Fossil Fuels. Serial no. Country 1980 1990 2000 2003 1 Algeria 0.94 0.90 0.75 0.70 2 Bahrain 6.11 7.68 8.66 9.13 3 Egypt 0.27 0.44 0.46 0.53 4 Iraq 1.04 1.03 0.88 0.78 5 Jordon 0.67 0.85 0.84 0.85 6 Kuwait 6.12 3.48 8.15 8.16 7 Lebanon 0.58 0.40 1.24 1.17 8 Libya 2.83 2.74 2.21 2.77 9 Mauritania 0.10 0.13 0.33 0.29 10 Morocco 0.21 0.24 0.28 0.29 11 Oman 0.88 1.90 2.33 2.17 12 Qatar 16.37 10.54 12.64 10.78 13 Saudi Arabia 4.79 3.53 3.39 3.74 14 Somalia 0.05 0.04 0.03 0.02 15 Sudan 0.05 0.04 0.05 0.07 16 Syria 0.52 0.81 0.86 0.80 17 Tunisia 0.36 0.43 0.56 0.57 18 UAE 8.09 10.99 12.61 14.45 19 Yemen 0,21 0.25 0.15 0.14 20 Middle East Average 1.43 1.48 1.76 1.89 21 World Average 1.12 1.11 1.07 1.11 Source: EIA World Carbon Dioxide Emission from the use of fossil fuels. Read More