GRC releases summary of Green Gulf study

The Dubai-based Gulf Research Center (GRC) on Wednesday released the executive summary of the Green Gulf study, a joint research project with New Delhi-based TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute) that addresses various environmental concerns in the Gulf region such as biodiversity, water, air pollution, marine and coastal environment and solid waste management.
Coinciding with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum – which took place in Dubai from 4-9 February – the event also involved a GRC-TERI youth conference on environment entitled ‘Green Gulf: Threats, Challenges and Solutions’, which was hosted in association with the American University of Sharjah (AUS).
The Green Gulf study is a scientific attempt to address some of problems facing the region in the form of unsustainable patterns of production and consumption, GRC Chairman Abdulaziz Sager said, adding: “Given several constraints in assessing the environmental damage due to the non-availability of or inconsistent data, which hinders devising and implementing solutions, the project is a beginning toward addressing the deficit.”
Giving details of the study, Dr. Oskar Ziemelis, Director of Cooperation at the GRC, said the preliminary report was meant to raise awareness about the environmental issues in the region; create networking among experts, governmental and non-governmental bodies; highlight the need for more in-depth research; and pave the road for further comprehensive and resource-specific studies.
The GRC plans to launch the second phase of the Green Gulf project in March 2006, Ziemelis added. Called ‘Green Gulf 2020’, the two-year project will be a solution-based study conducted by dedicated resource teams headed by regional environmentalists.
Referring to the youth conference, Sager said “it intends to promote environmental awareness and motivate young minds in the Gulf region to start looking around them, become aware of the damage to their environment and natural resources, realize the intensity and urgency of the situation, probe deeply into the existing threats and causes and suggest innovative and immediate solutions.”
The conference, which was held in the AUS auditorium, was attended by about 250 students, academics, international and regional environmental experts and UNEP representatives and served as a forum for students from several UAE universities to express their views on some of the most urgent environmental problems facing humankind.
AUS Chancellor Dr. Winfred Thompson emphasised that the subject of the youth conference had attracted the interest of all the faculties in the university. “It gives not just our faculty members the opportunity to have an in-depth experience of environment problems, but also for the students to work hard, concentrate on particular issues, and be recognized for the success of their efforts,” he said.
The youth conference witnessed presentations from 10 student speakers from different UAE universities, who were chosen by an international panel of experts based on 35 abstracts.
The first prize was awarded to an AUS team comprising of Mohammed A. Abu Jayyab, Salim K. Al-Ahdab, M. Hazem Taji, Zahraa Al-Hamdan for their paper titled ‘Pollution mapper for urban Gulf cities’. Nisin Mathew of the University of Wollongong in Dubai won the second prize for ‘Environmental threats of transportation in the UAE’ and another AUS team made up of Roland Shine, Ali-Reza Masoumi and Milad Meraji finished third for their presentation on ‘Water-loss threats to Gulf nations’.
In recognition of the stiff competition, the judges also awarded a special fourth prize to Morteza Farajian and Shahrzad Talachian of the AUS for ‘Different alternatives to face water shortage in the UAE’.
While the first three winners received commemorative plaques, the Director of Communication and Public Information at UNEP Eric Falt – who said the project and event were crucial steps toward to a better world – announced that the four winners will be invited to participate in an international youth conference conducted by UNEP in Germany next year.
All 10 papers of the finalists will be part of a special publication to be released by the GRC later this year.
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The Gulf Research Center (GRC) is an independent research institute located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The GRC was founded in July 2000 by Mr. Abdulaziz Sager, a Saudi businessman, who realized, in a world of rapid political, social and economic change, the importance of pursuing politically neutral and academically sound research about the Gulf region and disseminating the knowledge obtained as widely as possible. The Center is a non-partisan think-tank, education service provider and consultancy specializing in the Gulf region. The GRC seeks to provide a better understanding of the challenges and prospects of the Gulf region.