Tag Archives: environment

Food Waste Woes in Qatar

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Food waste is a huge issue in Qatar. In 2012, a massive 1.4 million metric tonnes of food was consumed and wasted in Qatar. This figure, divided by the then population of 2.05 million, equates to an average of 636 kilograms (kg) of food per person for the year, or 1.74 kg per day. Given the benchmark of two kg per person per day (preferably nutritious fare that does not contain too many kilojoules), that does not sound too excessive. But if you remove the young, elderly, short-term visitors/workers and people who consume less than two kg per day from the … Continue reading →

Trends in Sustainable Housing

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There has been large-scale proliferation in construction of buildings worldwide due to population growth, economic development, urbanization and migration. According to UN Habitat, there has been a migration of the world’s population from rural areas to cities or smaller urban areas. In fact, this trend is expected to continue and cities within the developed as well as developing nations are expected to grow in terms of population. As a result all forms of construction activities are expected to become more intense than ever in the years to come. Usually the development of urban areas suffers from weak process of planning … Continue reading →

Energy and the Climate: Perspectives for Middle East

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Since energy is an absolute necessity for life on Earth, we have utilized many sources of energy to maintain and improve the lives of people around the globe. The ultimate source of energy is the Sun of course, since all living things on Earth such as plants, trees, animals and humans need the Sun’s energy. In addition to the Sun, we have utilized other sources of energy such as oil, coal and nuclear fission.  However, energy has many different forms and we use different forms of energy for different applications. For example, nuclear energy is mostly used to generate electricity, … Continue reading →

The Green Girl of UAE

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Kehkashan Basu is a 12 year old environmental and social activist from the United Arab Emirates whose sole objective is to involve and mobilize kids and youth in the movement for a sustainable and green future. Born on 5th June, which interestingly also happens to be the World Environment Day, she feels that it was pre-ordained that she should grow up to be an environmental activist. Spreading the message of peace and sustainability has been her passion since she her early childhood days. Needless to say, Kehkashan has been working tirelessly to motivate youngsters all over the world to care … Continue reading →

Sustainable Development and the Arab World

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Sustainable development is a pattern of growth in which resource use aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come. Arab world is facing major sustainability challenges in achieving social, economic and environmental goals. Extremely arid climate, acute water scarcity, high energy consumption and polluting oil and gas industry present a unique challenge in Arab countries. There are four major dimensions of sustainable development – social, economic, environmental and institutional. Social Availability of energy has a direct impact on poverty, employment opportunities, education, demographic transition, indoor pollution and … Continue reading →

A Glance at Plastics Recycling

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Plastic consumption has grown at a tremendous rate worldwide, and Middle East is no exception. Plastics now play an increasingly important role in all aspects of modern life. and used in the manufacture of all sorts of items including protective packaging, mobile phones, domestic appliances, furniture items, medical devices etc. Each year around 1trillon plastic bags are used worldwide with most of them ending up in landfills, dumpsites and water bodies. Due to the rising demand, the global plastic consumption is expected to reach 300 million tons by 2015. Per capita consumption of plastics in the GCC is estimated to be 33kg per annum … Continue reading →

Earth Day 2015 – It’s Our Turn to Lead

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Like Earth Days of the past, Earth Day 2015 will focus on the unique environmental challenges of our time. As the world’s population migrates to cities, and as the bleak reality of climate change becomes increasingly clear, the need to create sustainable communities is more important than ever. Earth Day 2015 will seek to do just that through its global theme: It’s Our Turn to Lead. With smart investments in sustainable technology, forward-thinking public policy, and an educated and active public, we can transform our cities and forge a sustainable future. Nothing is more powerful than the collective action of … Continue reading →

تكاتف المجتمع القطري لإعلاء مبادرات إعادة التدوير

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الحالة الراهنة للاهتمامات البيئية بدوله قطر تبشر بالرغبه من قبل الحكومات الوطنية وغيرها من المؤسسات, والتي دوما ما تؤيد إعلانيا المبادرات الكثيرة للاهتمام بالبيئة. ولكن الحالة االفعلية لا تنم علي الالتزام بهذا العمل. والموضوع السابق نشره بعنوان " المبادرات البيئية في الشرق الاوسط- بين التحديات والحلول", قد القي الضوء علي بعض هذه الثغرات الموجودة ما بين الرغبات والواقع. ولكنه لم يقدم وصفا مفصلا لما يدعم هذا الاتجاه والحلول الممكنة. وبالتالي تسعي المقاله هنا الي التعمق في مؤسسات الدوله والمجتمعات المدنية بدوله قطر لتقوم بشكل تعاوني علي سد هذه الثغرات وحقن المزيد من التدهورات البيئية, وخاصا فيما يتعلق بإدارة اعادة تدوير … Continue reading →

The Menace of Landfills in Kuwait

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Kuwait, being one of the richest countries, is among the highest per capita waste generators in the world. Each year more than 2 million tons of solid waste in generated in the tiny Arab nation. High standards of living and rapid economic growth has been a major factor behind very high per capita waste generation of 1.4 to 1.5 kg per day. The prevalent solid waste disposal method in Kuwait is landfill burial. Despite being a small country, Kuwait has astonishingly high number of landfills. There are 18 landfills, of which 14 sites are closed and 4 sites are still … Continue reading →

Talking Green in Jordan

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The global financial recession triggered serious debate among many countries in revealing the causes behind failures and in innovating affordable solutions. Seeking “transformational” economic growth is very fashionable nowadays bringing to the front-line clean energy and green investments as keys for a better future. And for those countries at the heart of change in the Arab World, the famous “Spring” is bringing a different flavor to the aspired change and reform. In Jordan, attention to sustainability (whether environmental or social) is a need as well as a strategic choice. For a country with very limited natural resources and increasingly growing … Continue reading →

African Development Bank and Renewable Energy

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Africa has huge renewable energy potential with some of the world’s largest concentration of alternative energy resources in the form of solar, wind, hydro, and energy. Overall, 17 countries in sub-Saharan Africa are in the top-33 countries worldwide with combined reserves of solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal energy far exceeding annual consumption. Most of the sub-Saharan countries receive solar radiation in the range of 6-8 kWh/m2/day, which counts among the highest amounts of solar radiation in the world. Until now, only a small fraction of Africa’s vast renewable energy potential has been tapped.  The renewable energy resources have the potential … Continue reading →

Education for Sustainable Development: Key Challenges

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The basic aim of 'Education for Sustainable Development' is to nurture an individual who is capable to solve environmental challenges facing the world and to promote the formation of a sustainable society. The first challenge is to have an ethos in schools that openly and enthusiastically supports the development of ESD (Education for Sustainable Development). This is partly down to the curriculum the school follows, but is mainly as a result of the interest and effort shown by senior management in promoting integration and whole school engagement; a critical element being teacher training. It is also down to the expectations … Continue reading →