Category Archives: Middle East

How Clean Cooking Could Prevent Premature Deaths Across Africa and Middle East

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Every evening across Africa and the Middle East, millions of families gather around open fires and inefficient stoves to prepare their meals. The smoke that fills their homes poses a deadly threat, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives every year. This daily exposure to toxic fumes represents one of the largest overlooked public health crises in both regions. Expanding access to clean cooking solutions could prevent these deaths while transforming lives in ways that extend far beyond health. The Daily Danger Facing Billions of People The numbers tell a sobering story. Globally, around 2.1 billion people cook with polluting fuels … Continue reading →

Climate Risk Assessment in UAE Utilities Finance

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The way the United Arab Emirates funds its water and electricity projects is changing fast. Before, climate change was seen as a minor issue for the future. Today, it is a main part of how banks and investors decide where to put their money. Because the UAE is very hot and depends on energy to turn seawater into drinking water, any change in the weather can hurt the value of these expensive systems. In the UAE, nearly 80% of electricity consumption is driven by buildings, with cooling alone accounting for 70% of that total. This high demand makes the financial … Continue reading →

الطرق المتبعه لتخفيف آثار العواصف الرمليه والترابيه

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العواصف الرملية والترابية تتسبب في آثار سلبية كبيرة على المجتمع والاقتصاد والبيئة في النطاق المحلي والإقليمي والعالمي. هناك ثلاثة عوامل رئيسية مسؤولة عن توليد العواصف الرملية والترابية – الرياح القوية، وعدم وجود الغطاء النباتي وعدم سقوط الأمطار. المخاطر البيئية والصحية لهذه العواصف لا يمكن التخلص منها  بشكل دائم، ولكن يمكن الحد من الاثار الناتجة من خلال اتخاذ التدابير المناسبة. مع ارتفاع مستوي الغبار، فإنه يقلل من مدى الرؤية الأفقية التي يمكن أن تؤثرعلي حياة الإنسان بطرق عديدة. حيث ان هذه الجزيئات العالقة تحتوي أيضا علي الملوثات والبكتيريا وحبوب اللقاح التي تسبب تأثيرات سلبية على الصحة مثل الحساسية وأمراض الجهاز التنفسي. كما يحمل الغبار الملوثات التي … Continue reading →

Geothermal Energy for Greenhouse Agriculture: Lessons from the Netherlands for MENA

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The Middle East and North Africa region faces a paradox at the heart of its food future. With more than 70% of the region’s food needs met by imports, climate change accelerating water stress, and over half the population living in countries classified as water-scarce, the case for local food production has never been stronger. Yet conventional open-field agriculture in MENA is brutally water-intensive and increasingly unviable as temperatures rise. Controlled-environment agriculture, and high-tech greenhouses in particular, is widely seen as part of the answer. Greenhouses can cut water consumption by up to 90% compared to open-field farming, enable year-round … Continue reading →

Solid Waste Management in the Mediterranean – Challenges, and Success Stories

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Solid waste management in the Mediterranean region represents one of the most complex and pressing environmental challenges of the 21st century, shaped by a unique combination of demographic pressures, economic disparities, tourism intensity, and fragile ecosystems. The Mediterranean basin, home to over 500 million people and one of the world’s leading tourist destinations, generates rapidly increasing volumes of municipal solid waste (MSW), while facing persistent structural deficiencies in collection, treatment, and disposal systems. These challenges are particularly acute in the southern and eastern Mediterranean countries, where institutional, financial, and technical limitations hinder progress toward sustainable waste management systems. Scale of … Continue reading →

An Interview with 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 boy to an extraordinary environmentalist spearheading the fight against climate change in United Arab Emirates. Ten-year old Abdul Muqeet has demonstrated remarkable commitment to saving the environment and has won numerous awards including the prestigious Abu Dhabi Award. Here the Paper Bag Boy (PBB) talks to Salman Zafar, Founder of EcoMENA, about various aspects of waste management scenario in UAE: SZ: You are considered as the ‘recycling face’ of Abu Dhabi because of your wonderful achievements. Can you give an idea of the prevalent waste management … Continue reading →

Attitudes towards Waste Management – The Case in Oman

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Responses to the Oman waste management questionnaire were interesting, enlightening, and often unexpected. The Omani interviewees gave thoughtful answers and additional insights and opinions that stemmed from their sociocultural backgrounds as well as from their individual experiences. Often, statements and assertions from these respondents were found to be corroborated by evidence from other types of research, such as the study on the composition of refuse found in dumpsites in Muscat, or the feeding habits of camels cited earlier. Food waste On the topic of food waste, respondents generally had a strong belief that such waste was immoral. When asked about … Continue reading →

Unlocking Green Hydrogen in Jordan Through PPP Models

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Green hydrogen is gaining global attention as a clean energy solution for industries that are difficult to decarbonize, such as steel, chemicals, and long-distance transport. While the technology is promising, large-scale projects remain expensive and complex. They require major investments, reliable infrastructure, and long-term buyers—factors that are not yet fully developed in many countries. This challenge is particularly relevant for Jordan. The country imports more than 90% of its energy, making it highly exposed to global price fluctuations. Over the past decade, Jordan has made strong progress in renewable energy, with solar and wind now accounting for around 25–27% of … Continue reading →

Hazardous Waste Management in MENA: Pathways, Challenges and Opportunities

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Hazardous waste management in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has become a critical environmental, economic, and public health issue, shaped by rapid industrialization, demographic growth, urban expansion, and increasing consumption patterns. Hazardous waste, defined as waste exhibiting toxic, corrosive, reactive, or flammable properties requires specialized handling, treatment, and disposal systems to prevent harm to ecosystems and human health [1]. Globally, between 300 and 500 million tonnes of hazardous waste are generated annually, reflecting the scale of the challenge [2]. Within the MENA region, although comprehensive data remain fragmented, available evidence suggests that hazardous waste streams are rising … Continue reading →

Biomass Energy in Jordan: An Overview

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Jordan has promising biomass energy potential in the form of municipal solid wastes, crop residues and organic industrial wastes. Municipal solid wastes represent the best source of biomass in Jordan. In terms of quantity per capita and constituents, the waste generated in Jordan is comparable to most semi-industrialized nations. Agricultural biomass offers a low energy potential due to arid climate in most of the country. The major biomass energy resources in Jordan are: Municipal waste from big cities Organic wastes from slaughterhouse, vegetable market, hotels and restaurants Organic waste from agro-industries Animal manure, mainly from cows and chickens Sewage sludge … Continue reading →

Plastic Waste Management in UAE

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Plastics are an inseparable part of modern society. However, their safe disposal is a big and highly challenging issue. A typical UAE resident uses 450 plastic water bottles on an average in a single year1. With the equivalent of 43 gallons on an average per person in 2011, the United Arab Emirates had the fourth-highest level of bottled water consumption in the world. A whopping 11 billion plastic bags are used annually, according to statistics from UAE’s Ministry of Environment and Water. This goes on to add up to an annual overall waste of 912.5 kilogram per capita2, 3, and 4. These … Continue reading →

نصائح لتقليل النفايات الغذائية

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تبذير الطعام له آثار بيئية واقتصادية وكذلك الاجتماعية.  ارتفاع نصيب الفرد من الدخل والإنفاق، ومستويات المعيشة، القدرة على تحمل التكاليف و اللامبالاة تجاه الطعام كلها عوامل لها تأثير سلبي كبير على مواردنا المحدودة. في مراكز التسوق والمطاعم على سبيل المثال ، من الشائع أن نرى كميات متراكمة من الطعام غير المستهلك كليا أو جزئيا. للأسف، الرفاهية تؤدي إلى تفشي  توليد النفايات الغذائية في جميع أنحاء الشرق الأوسط، وخاصة دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي. خطورة الوضع يمكن قياسها من كون أن أكثر من 300 طن من النفايات الغذائية يتم توليدها يوميا  في البحرين وهذا يشكل حوالي 11٪ من إجمالي  نفايات البلدية . … Continue reading →