ABU DHABI // Many businesses in the Middle East are putting economic prosperity at risk by not taking major threats to the environment seriously enough, climate experts warn.
Water conservation, waste management and climate change are regarded as the top three environmental concerns in the region, a survey of 106 businesses revealed.
Yet 42 per cent of respondents in the online study, carried out in October, said they were "not really" addressing the issues, and 48 per cent said they were "not applicable".
"Given current predictions for the region in relation to water scarcity and climate change, this is an alarming result," said the Sustainability Advisory Group (SAG), an international alliance of experts that conducted the survey.
"There is a significant amount of work ahead for public policy leaders and scientists to encourage businesses to appreciate the full scope of the impacts of climate change and water scarcity on economic prosperity and business opportunity," the group said.
"The results could indicate that a number of regional businesses are not yet fully prepared to deal with the shifting business context."
Dr Mohammed Raouf, the manager of the environment programme at the Gulf Research Centre, said he was not surprised by the survey data.
"The results represent the Middle East; the awareness of stakeholders here is not as high as in the West. The economic crisis is also affecting the situation," he said.
He suggested that governments might consider economic incentives to encourage a shift towards better environmental practices among the region's business community.
The survey targeted business decision-makers in a variety of fields including management consulting, banking, communications, construction, energy and real estate.
Almost 60 per cent of the businesses surveyed were based in the UAE, with the remainder from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Oman, the Palestinian Authority and Qatar. A total of 30 per cent were multinational companies, 42 per cent were large national or regional firms, with the remainder being small or medium enterprises.
Maria Sillanpaa, the founding director of SAG, said addressing water conservation, waste management and climate change required the involvement of all sectors of society.
"Obviously, these three issues are differently significant in different sectors," she said. "However, they now need to be considered as everybody's business if we are to tackle them effectively in the Middle East and elsewhere.
"This is not only [important] for environmental conservation reasons, but also for managing the increasing direct and indirect costs associated with them."
The UAE is one of the biggest per capita consumers of water, and one of the largest generators of waste, in the world.
In Abu Dhabi, groundwater reserves that can be accessed easily have been projected to run out within 20 to 40 years, according to the Abu Dhabi Water Master Plan, which was developed by the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi (EAD) last year.
EAD's latest figures, from 2006, show groundwater makes up 71 per cent of total supply, followed by desalinated water at 24 per cent and treated wastewater at five per cent.
In addition, the desalination industry has been growing so rapidly that the amount of gas needed to power it is projected to exceed local supply levels by 2015.
Meanwhile, most of the UAE's waste ends up in landfill sites where it emits large amounts of the greenhouse gas methane. Many of the sites are also leaching dangerous chemicals into the soil and groundwater.
Climate change is forecast to cause the region to become hotter and drier over the next 25 years, further exacerbating water scarcity.
Gayatri Raghwa, an environmental education specialist at the EAD, said awareness of climate change was increasing in the emirate, albeit slowly. In August, the agency commissioned its own environmental survey
Of the respondents, 21 per cent of companies said they had water-saving initiatives in place and 42 per cent had implemented power-saving policies.
A total of 40 per cent were actively reducing office paper use, while 18 per cent had customer awareness initiatives focusing on environmental issues.
Both Dr Raouf and Mrs Raghwa said improving the environmental performance of businesses was linked to improving awareness of the issues in society as a whole.
And this, they said, was as much about morals as it was about laws and incentives.
One way to change perceptions, especially when it came to Muslims, was to utilise Islamic teachings, Mrs Raghwa said.
"Islam puts big emphasis on conserving natural resources. We should use the power of religion," she said. "It will have a major effect because people are very religious here. If people believe in something, they will do it no matter what."
vtodorova@thenational.ae
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Important questions to consider
1. Where on the plane does my pet travel?
There are different types of travel available for pets:
- Manifest cargo
- Excess luggage in the hold
- Excess luggage in the cabin
Each option is safe. The feasibility of each option is based on the size and breed of your pet, the airline they are traveling on and country they are travelling to.
2. What is the difference between my pet traveling as manifest cargo or as excess luggage?
If traveling as manifest cargo, your pet is traveling in the front hold of the plane and can travel with or without you being on the same plane. The cost of your pets travel is based on volumetric weight, in other words, the size of their travel crate.
If traveling as excess luggage, your pet will be in the rear hold of the plane and must be traveling under the ticket of a human passenger. The cost of your pets travel is based on the actual (combined) weight of your pet in their crate.
3. What happens when my pet arrives in the country they are traveling to?
As soon as the flight arrives, your pet will be taken from the plane straight to the airport terminal.
If your pet is traveling as excess luggage, they will taken to the oversized luggage area in the arrival hall. Once you clear passport control, you will be able to collect them at the same time as your normal luggage. As you exit the airport via the ‘something to declare’ customs channel you will be asked to present your pets travel paperwork to the customs official and / or the vet on duty.
If your pet is traveling as manifest cargo, they will be taken to the Animal Reception Centre. There, their documentation will be reviewed by the staff of the ARC to ensure all is in order. At the same time, relevant customs formalities will be completed by staff based at the arriving airport.
4. How long does the travel paperwork and other travel preparations take?
This depends entirely on the location that your pet is traveling to. Your pet relocation compnay will provide you with an accurate timeline of how long the relevant preparations will take and at what point in the process the various steps must be taken.
In some cases they can get your pet ‘travel ready’ in a few days. In others it can be up to six months or more.
5. What vaccinations does my pet need to travel?
Regardless of where your pet is traveling, they will need certain vaccinations. The exact vaccinations they need are entirely dependent on the location they are traveling to. The one vaccination that is mandatory for every country your pet may travel to is a rabies vaccination.
Other vaccinations may also be necessary. These will be advised to you as relevant. In every situation, it is essential to keep your vaccinations current and to not miss a due date, even by one day. To do so could severely hinder your pets travel plans.
Source: Pawsome Pets UAE
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Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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