Category Archives: Sustainable Development

Sustainable Water Management and River Rehabilitation in Jordan Valley

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The key challenge in sustainable water management is to overcome the water scarcity related problems  in the Jordan Valley. This means creating a sustainable water supply system that meets the current and future domestic and agricultural water demands; and at the same time preserves the water resources for future generations and for the environment. This requires an Integrated Water Resources Management regime for the whole (Lower) Jordan River, based on international co-operation among Israel, Jordan and Palestine, supported with adequate water management tools (like WEAP) to ensure sustainable water supply and an increase of the baseflow and rehabilitation of the … Continue reading →

Blue Roads in Doha: An Innovative Way to Combat Rising Temperatures

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The streets of Abdullah Bin Jassim near the iconic Souq Waqif in Doha were painted blue recently as part of a pilot project to reduce the effects of extreme heat in the city. By reflecting the heat instead of absorbing it, the blue-coated asphalt roads will support Qatar’s battle to combat the Urban Heat Island effect (UHI). Image Source: The Peninsula (2019) Blue road project to bring temperature down What is UHI? With 55 per cent of the world’s population currently living in urban areas, cities struggle to meet their overflowing capacity resulting in a dense network of high-rise buildings, … Continue reading →

The Islamic Principles on Sustainable Development

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A huge number of verses in Qura’n and several sayings of the Prophet Muhammad indicate the great importance that has been given to environmental concerns and the responsibility of man to the environment. The concept of sustainable development in Islam can be defined as “The balanced and simultaneous realization of consumer welfare, economic efficiency, attainment of social justice, and ecological balance in the framework of a evolutionary knowledge-based, socially interactive model defining the Shuratic process”. The Shuratic process is the consultation or participatory ruling principle of Islam. The over arching principle in the use of nature is derived from the prophetic … Continue reading →

Climate-Resilient Cities in MENA: Green Spaces, Walkways and Cycle Routes

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Countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region endure more climate challenges than any other area. If you live in the developed Western world, you may not experience food deserts, water scarcity and urbanization’s impacts. However, these are common problems for these populations, especially as temperatures shift and natural disasters impact local ecologies and economies. Building better cities could be the best way to reinforce communities with more climate-resilient resources. The Role of Green Spaces in Urban Resilience MENA is slowly embracing the role of thought leader in the climate space. The United Arab Emirates held the 28th … Continue reading →

World Wetlands Day – Protecting Our Wetlands For Our Common Future

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World Wetlands Day is celebrated on 2nd February every year. It marks the date of the signing of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands on 2nd February 1971. World Wetlands Day was celebrated for the first time in 1997. Every year there is a different theme and the theme for World Wetlands Day 2025 is “Protecting Wetlands for Our Common Future”. What is a Wetland A wetland is a land area that is saturated with water, natural or artificial, static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salty and include areas of marine water, the depth of which at low tide does not … Continue reading →

The Key Features of a Green Building

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A green building incorporates environmental considerations into every stage of the building construction and focuses on the design, construction, operation and maintenance phases. The key process difference between green and conventional buildings is the concept of integration, whereby a multi-disciplinary team of building professionals work together from the pre-design phase through post-occupancy to optimize the building for environmental sustainability, performance, and cost saving. Green buildings offer widespread benefits to a number of building industry stakeholders, including building occupants and society as a whole. Green buildings typically incorporate superior air quality, abundant natural light, access to views and noise control which benefits … Continue reading →

التعاونيات الزراعية:ضرورة استراتيجية لا أنشطة تكميلية

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في عالم تتسارع فيه التحولات الإقتصادية والإجتماعية، لم يعد العمل الانفرادي مجدياً، ولم تعد الفعالية التنموية تُقاس بما يحققه فاعل واحد مهما كانت إمكانياته، بل أصبحت تُقاس بمدى قدرة الفاعلين على الاشتغال المشترك والتنسيق الاستراتيجي. ومنذ عام 1995 تحتفل الأمم المتحدة باليوم العالمي للتعاونيات والذي حددته بيوم السبت الأول من شهر تموز/يوليو واعتبرته يوماً دوليا للتعاونيات إحتفالاً بإنشاء الحلف التعاوني الدولي وقد تم الإحتفال هذا العام 2025 بيوم التعاونيات العالمي تحت شعار “التعاونيات تبني عالماً أفضل” لم تعد التعاونيات الزراعية مجرد إطار تكميلي أو نشاط جانبي في ظل التحديات الإقتصادية والبيئية المتزايدة التي يواجهها القطاع الزراعي، بل أصبحت ضرورة استراتيجية … Continue reading →

World Habitat Day: Affordable Housing for One and All

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World Habitat Day, observed every year on the first Monday of October, is meant to reflect on the state of our urban areas and the basic human right regarding provision of adequate shelter to all human beings. World Habitat Day (WHD) also aims to remind the planners and government officials of the collective responsibility for the habitat of future generations and a day to encourage grassroots action from civil society organizations to advocate for universal decent housing. Each year, World Habitat Day takes on a new theme chosen by the United Nations based on current issues relevant to the Habitat … Continue reading →

التأثيرات البيئية لتحلية مياه البحر

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تعتبر عملية التحلية عملية لإزالة الأملاح والمعادن من مياه البحر وتحويلها الى مصدر صالح للشرب. وهذه العملية مفيدة جداً في بعض المناطق التي تشهد طلباً متزايداً على المياه لندرتها والجفاف وازدياد عدد السكان وكذلك زيادة استهلاك المياه. ولأن المحيطات تغطي معظم سطح الأرض فإن توفر مياه البحر يعتبر حلاً مستداماً وطويل الأمد لواحدة من المشاكل التي لن تتلاشى بالوقت القريب. تم إنشاء 18 ألف محطة تحلية حول العالم بحلول عام 2015، وهذه المحطات تنتج 22870 مليون جالون من المياه العذبة يومياً، ويعتقد الخبراء المائيين أن تحلية المياه – بجانب التكنولوجيا المستقبلية – ستشكل مفتاحاً لبناء مجتمعات مقاومة للجفاف في العالم … Continue reading →

Why We Need to Use Technology to Fight Climate Change

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Climate change is a colossal challenge, and it can seem like individual actions won’t be enough to tackle it, or that we don’t have the resources necessary. But neither of those are true. There are many individual actions we can all take that will help change the course of climate change. Many technologies available at both consumer and industrial levels can play a role, from simple things like switching to LED lights to complex processes such as building wind farms for renewable energy. With so many people consuming our valuable resources, science says humans are a main cause of climate … Continue reading →

How To Set Up Your Online Store: 5 Crucial Steps

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Market enthusiasts have rightly said not everyone possesses the art of running a business but if you think you can be the one, the recent craze of online shopping has made it easier for you. Now setting up an online business does not cost you your lifetime wealth, time, or even test your technical expertise. The global ecommerce market is expected to reach $4.8 trillion by the end of 2025. So if you are looking for any motivation on how to set up an online store along with your brick and mortar business, now is the time. From creating a … Continue reading →

The Key Features of Net-Zero Homes

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It doesn’t matter where in the world you live, the time has come to realize the importance of building homes that use zero energy. You don’t even have to believe in catastrophic global warming to realize the financial, comfort, and environmental benefits of net-zero homes. But first, you need to have an understanding of net-zero and zero-carbon buildings and their implications for us all, as well as the elements and features that need to be incorporated into a net-zero home. Net-Zero Homes and Energy Efficiency You could say that a net-zero or zero-energy home represents the best in energy efficiency. … Continue reading →