Author Archives: Salman Zafar

About Salman Zafar

Salman Zafar is the Founder of EcoMENA, and an international consultant, advisor, ecopreneur and journalist with expertise in waste management, waste-to-energy, renewable energy, environment protection and sustainable development. His geographical areas of focus include Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe. Salman has successfully accomplished a wide range of projects in the areas of biomass energy, biogas, waste-to-energy, recycling and waste management. He has participated in numerous conferences and workshops as chairman, session chair, keynote speaker and panelist. Salman is the Editor-in-Chief of EcoMENA, and is a professional environmental writer with more than 300 popular articles to his credit. He is proactively engaged in creating mass awareness on renewable energy, waste management and environmental sustainability in different parts of the world. Salman Zafar can be reached at salman@ecomena.org or salman@bioenergyconsult.com

MSW Generation in the Middle East

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The high rate of population growth, urbanization and economic expansion in the Middle East is not only accelerating consumption rates but also increasing the generation rate of all  sorts of waste. Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar and Kuwait rank in the top-ten worldwide in terms of per capita solid waste generation. The gross urban waste generation quantity from Middle East countries has crossed 150 million tons per annum.The world’s dependence on Middle East energy resources has caused the region to have some of the largest carbon footprints per capita worldwide. The region is now gearing up to meet the challenge of … Continue reading →

Biogas Feedstock in the Middle East

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Anaerobic digestion (or biogas technology) is the natural biological process which stabilizes organic waste in the absence of air and transforms it into biofertilizer and biogas. It is a reliable technology for the treatment of wet, organic waste.  Organic waste from various sources is biochemically degraded in highly controlled, oxygen-free conditions circumstances resulting in the production of biogas which can be used to produce both electricity and heat. Almost any organic material can be processed with anaerobic digestion.  A wide range of organic wastes are available in the Middle East for anaerobic digestion. In addition to MSW, large quantity of waste, in … Continue reading →

Big Data and Environmental Sustainability

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Over the past few years, big data has gained significantly in popularity. Big data is being used for a wide array of applications. Businesses rely on big data to gain more insight into their customers. In return, this allowed them to market more effectively. Nowadays, it is possible to use big data, alongwith IoT and AI, for many other purposes, including achieving and maintaining optimum environmental sustainability. What is big data all about? How can it help achieve environmental sustainability? You’ll find out in the guide below. What is Big Data First and foremost, you should familiarize yourself with the … Continue reading →

The Paper Bag Boy of Abu Dhabi

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Abdul Muqeet, also known as the Paper Bag Boy, has risen from being just another ordinary student to an extra-ordinary environmentalist, eco-hero and eco-warrior. At just ten years old, Abdul Muqeet has demonstrated his commitment to saving the environment in United Arab Emirates and elsewhere. Inspired by the 2010 campaign “UAE Free of Plastic Bags”, Abdul Muqeet, a student of Standard V at Abu Dhabi Indian School, applied his own initiative and imagination to create 100% recycled carry bags using paper waste. He then set out to distribute these bags in Abu Dhabi, replacing single-use plastic bags that take hundreds … Continue reading →

Solar Energy in Qatar

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Qatar’s solar energy future is steadily developing. With average daily sunshine of around 9.5 hours, low-cloud cover conditions and plentiful space, there is great scope for small, medium as well as large-scale solar power projects in the country. Qatar’s global horizontal irradiance is 2,140 kWh per m2 per year which makes it well-suited for solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. The country is geographically well-positioned to tap its tremendous solar energy potential and has set an ambitious target of 2 percent renewable energy contribution in the national energy mix by 2022. Solar energy has multiple advantages for Qatar in the form of energy … Continue reading →

Dubai’s Journey Towards a Sustainable City

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Only a decade ago, Dubai was considered one of the world’s worst polluters. The ecological footprint of this single city was huge, however, by 2050 it could be a sustainable city with the smallest ecological footprint of any city in the world. Why Sustainability Matters Over the last couple of decades, the need for a renewed focus on our global commitment has become obvious. We have started to see an unusually high rate of extreme weather events across the globe, events which many scientists are attributing to global warming. Time is running out to take decisive action on climate change. … Continue reading →

أحسن تدابير لتوفير الطاقة

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الطلب المتزايد على الطاقة يضيف إلى الضغط على احتياطيات الطاقة المحدودة لكوكبنا. هذا يؤدي إلى استنزاف سريع لهذه الموارد ، مما يجعل المرء يفكر في مسألة خطيرة – إذا استمر هذا ، كيف سيكون مستقبلنا؟ ليس بالضرورة أن تكون الصورة قاتمة. على الرغم من صحة هذا ، إلا أنه لا يمكننا عكس الضرر الذي ألحق بالفعل ، ولكن يمكننا بالتأكيد اتخاذ موقف لتحسين الأمور. يمكنك توفير الطاقة إما عن طريق إجراء تعديلات صغيرة على عاداتك اليومية أو عن طريق إجراء تحسينات واسعة في بنية المنزل وفي داخله. في هذه العملية ، لن توفر الكثير من المال فحسب ، بل ستحمي … Continue reading →

الطحالب – معمل وقود حيوي

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اتجهت أبحاث الخبراء والمتخصصين فى الفترة الأخيرة إلى التركيز علي إنتاج الوقود الحيوى من الطحالب الخضراء، خاصة بعد إقرار بدء مرحلة نضوب النفط فى فترة زمنية قريبة، وأنه سينضب أكثر من 95% من مصادر البترول الموجودة على سطح الأرض.   وايضا مشكله الغذاء المحتمل حدوثها في حاله استخدام المنتجات الزراعيه او مخلفاتها في الوقود الحيوي لانتاج منتجات الوقود مثل وقود الديزل الحيوي, الايثانول, الجازولين الحيوي و غيرهم من منتجات الوقود الحيوي. وقد اشارت االعديد من الدراسات الحديثه الي ان الطحالب الخضراء كمصدر للوقود تندرج تحت لواء مصادر الطاقه المتجددة وخاصا بعد التزايد المستمر في سعر الوقود الاحفوري. فهي تنمو بسرعة ولها … Continue reading →

Eco-building a Plastic Bottle Village From Rubbish Removal

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This is an inspiring true story that demonstrates a solution to the rubbish removal problem, especially discarded plastic bottles, plaguing our planet! We hope it will encourage and inspire other visionaries to take similar actions around the world! Robert Bezeau moved to the tropical paradise of Bocas del Toro, Panama, after he grew tired of the cold weather in his home country of Canada. He loved Panama, but at the same time, he was dismayed by the rubbish removal left behind by more than 100,000 tourists visiting the area every year. While he walked the beaches, he began collecting discarded … Continue reading →

مستقبل تحلية المياة لمنطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا

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تحلية المياه هي عملية معالجة للمياه يتم فيها فصل الأملاح من المياه المالحة لانتاج مياه صالحة للشرب. عملية التحلية تستهلك كمية كبيرة من الطاقة لانتاج الماء العذب من مصادر المياة المالحة. يتم ضخ الماء المالح في عملية التحلية وتكون المخرجات عبارة عن خط ماء عذب بالاضافة لخط أخر من المياة عالية الملوحه جداً. يوجد أكثر من 15000 وحدة تنقية مياه على المستوى الصناعي في العالم، بطاقة اجمالية تزيد على 8.5 مليار جالون يومياً. يتفوق أسلوب الترشيح بالأغشية في هذا المجال حيث تبلغ نسبته حوالي 44% من اجمالي الطاقة الاجمالية، يليه التحلية بالتسخين MSF بنسبة حوالي 40 %. وبالنسبة للمصادر، تمثل … Continue reading →

Significance of Domestic Water Conservation

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The Middle East region is plagued by water scarcity and water management issues. Despite heavy investment in the water sector, water management remains a serious economic and environmental issue throughout the region. Overconsumption of water is a serious issue as per capita use of water in most of the Middle Eastern countries is several times more water than the global average. For example, on an average each UAE and Saudi Arabian resident consume 550 liters and 250 liters of water per day respectively. On the other hand, per capita water consumption in United Kingdom and Germany is 150 liters and … Continue reading →

Food Waste, Ramadan and the Middle East

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With the holy month of Ramadan only a few days away, huge food wastage in the Middle East is again hogging limelight. It is a widely acccepted fact that almost half of the municipal solid waste stream in the Middle East is comprised of food wastes and associated matter. The increasing amount of food waste in the Middle East urgently demands a strong food waste management strategy to ensure its minimization and eco-friendly disposal.  Food Waste in Ramadan Middle East nations are acknowleded as being the world’s top food wasters, and during Ramadan the situation takes a turn for the worse. In 2012, the Dubai Municipality … Continue reading →

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