Dubai: Dubai Municipality organized a virtual seminar under the slogan "Green Recovery," coinciding with
the celebrations of the National Environment Day, which falls on 4 th February every year. The
symposium witnessed the presence of a group of participants at the local, Arab and international
levels.
The symposium shed light on the concept of green recovery, the experience of the countries
participating in green recovery, and how to benefit from the experience of each country, in addition
to screening films related to the field of environment that showcase the concepts of environmental
recovery.
Dubai Municipality participated in the celebrations of the 23 rd National Environment Day under the
slogan "Nature-based solutions," which reinforces its vision of building a happy and sustainable
city. The Municipality Environment Department organized a number of activities to mark the
occasion, considering the importance of the annual event that highlights one of the important
environmental issues in the UAE.
Dubai Municipality had sought the cooperation of a number of entities to enrich the content of the
symposium and learn about the best practices undertaken by various bodies in order to preserve
the environment and their positive participation in protecting it. The Environment Agency in Abu
Dhabi participated through a presentation focusing on the use of renewable energy in the water
and agricultural sectors in the UAE.
The Abu Dhabi Environment Network delivered a lecture on the carbon footprint and climate
change. The Environment Center for Arab Towns presented the experience of implementing the
programs of the Environmental Education and Blue Science Organization that promote a
sustainable lifestyle and put forward initiatives to conserve natural resources, and the importance
of establishing and practicing environmental education and positive sustainability policies.
In addition to that the Emirates Environmental Group shared its thoughts on the carbon footprint
and its impact on climate change in the UAE. The participation varied from entities of neighboring
countries, such as the Arab Gulf University in Bahrain talked on the impact of the pandemic on the
water sector in the GCC countries, while the focus of the Arab Forum for Smart Cities of Jordan
was on green recovery and climate change. The Jordanian strategy for green recovery was
presented by the green leadership projects in Jordan. The symposium concluded with a panel
discussion titled "Comparisons in Green Recovery Around the World", moderated by Dubai
Municipality in cooperation with Aachen University of Germany.
During the seminar, a set of recommendations were presented to maintain green recovery and
achieve sustainability for the economy and the effective use of natural resources, and as an
extension to celebrate this important day in the local environmental agenda.
Dubai Municipality, in cooperation with the Atlantis Hotel, released ten Arabian carpet sharks in the
Jebel Ali Wildlife Sanctuary, as these fish were bred in the Atlantis Hotel Aquarium with the
intention of releasing them into the marine environment to contribute to their preservation and
reproduction.
The National Environment Day celebration, under the slogan of green recovery, comes through
the adoption of a wide range of policies and measures in the field of ability to achieve green
recovery.
The UAE has adopted an approach based on a balance between the requirements of development
and the sustainability of environmental resources, which enabled it to set a steady foot on the road
to sustainable development, by adopting a package of policies and measures such as the
economic diversification policy to move from an oil-based economy to a diversified and sustainable
economy based on knowledge and innovation, which includes the green economy and the policy
of diversifying energy sources by adopting new and clean energy, the general environmental
policy and the urban planning policy to ensure a sustainable environment, food security policy,
policy of protecting ecosystems, natural resources and biodiversity, and finally climate change
policy and adaptation to it.
It is noteworthy that within the framework of Dubai Municipality’s efforts towards achieving the
National Air Quality Index of 90%, in 2017 the Municipality, in coordination with the General
Secretariat of the Executive Council, launched the first integrated strategy to maintain air quality in
Dubai, with a future vision towards achieving the national air quality index. The strategy is a close
framework for all strategic partners in the public and private sectors, which unites all efforts.
The strategy included smart performance indicators to reduce air emissions within a specific
timeframe for all relevant sectors (energy production sector, transport sector (land, air, sea) and
industry sector), and their achievement rates are evaluated annually by the Municipality, in direct
coordination with the stakeholders in various sectors. The implementation of the strategy resulted
in a package of specific initiatives to reduce air emissions that support both the developmental and
environmental path of the emirate, which resulted in a remarkable improvement in the air quality
sector in the emirate.
Dubai Municipality also launched the Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, which aims to develop
a long-term proactive plan to ensure the readiness of the relevant sectors and their adaptation to
future climate changes, as the strategy included analysis and technical evaluation of the current
and future status of climate change on several sectors such as: the energy and water sector,
infrastructure, food, biodiversity, coastal area, air quality, public health, the business development
sector, tourism and other related sectors have resulted in a package of strategic initiatives and
future plans by all sectors in order to enhance the efficiency of their operations and support the
achievement of strategic goals of adaptation to climate change in the Emirate of Dubai.
