Air Supply in the UAE

DO YOU THINK AIR POLLUTION IS A PROBLEM IN YOUR CITY?

Nicky, clerk-typist, Abu Dhabi

I used to work with a construction company earlier, supervising painting, sand blasting and the like. So I guess I have got used to so much pollution that, even if there is any, it doesn't bother me today. I do feel, however, that Abu Dhabi is a much cleaner city than Dubai-even the air. Dubai is a commercial city. It is to the Emirates what Bombay is to India. It is crammed with companies, industries, offices, markets, traffic, people. These make it more polluted.

A general physician, Abu Dhabi

Air pollution is not really a problem. But fine dust and pollen (from such sources as flowers and vegetation) are, at times, suspended in the air. These sometimes cause allergic reactions in people. Vehicular pollution is not an issue because the cars here are generally well maintained and petrol is highly refined.

Kimberly Tippetts, Grade four, St. Joseph's Convent, Abu Dhabi

Until I had watched my favourite cartoon 'Captain Planet' I did not know how important it was to keep our air clean. It upsets me when I am going to school to see the black exhaust coming out of the big buses and trucks. This is the very same air that we breathe and this scares me.

Saloua Seghaier, public relations executive, Meridien Hotel, Abu Dhabi

We are lucky in Abu Dhabi. Air is clean and I feel it is not polluted. Of course I am not an air pollution expert, but I can see the difference between here and other emirates, where people seem to suffer frequently nose and throat infections.

In my country, Tunisia, nature and environment are part of our lives. Family outings are very often in gardens and forests, in healthy surroundings. Cleaning campaigns are not only for some schools or for a few companies, but nation wide crusades.

Awareness, responsibility and honesty are the key words to individuals and to governments. It is our duty to care and take care of our environment. We should not be 'doing green' just because it is trendy or because it is part of a PR action plan. Don't you think so?

Vipin Singh, manager, Emirates, Dubai

I don't think that air pollution is at all a problem in Dubai. There is not very much industry here that can cause pollution; and in any case, most industries are located well outside city limits. Besides, Dubai being a coastal town, land and sea breezes blowing offshore and onshore, uninterrupted by any hills in the vicinity, clean up any semblance of pollution. Vehicular pollution is very limited. This has to do with maintenance of the quality of vehicles. The government ensures this by stringent checks during the annual registration. A vehicle will not be cleared unless its engine is in proper shape. One hears complaints about asthma and a number of respiratory ailments. But these have to do with living in air-conditioned environments and 'in door' pollution causing factors.

Khwaja Nazesh, environmentalist, Eco Plastic Industries, Jebel Ali Industrial area, Dubai

There is not much of vehicular pollution here. At least, not yet. This is because most cars are fitted with catalytic converters that cut down emissions of pollutants such as carbon monoxide, lead and sulphur dioxide. But heavy vehicles like trucks are not fitted with catalytic converters; neither are old vehicles that are run by the 'not so well off.' So one does observe smog here in the early mornings when one is driving down the Sheikh Zayed Road. In industrial areas such as Jebel Ali, factories have to comply with air quality standards that have been set. Certainly air pollution in Dubai is nothing at all compared with that in commercial centres of the less developed countries.

For Your Information

The rapid growth of Dubai, and burgeoning trade and industry do constitute an air pollution risk although it is reported that, by and large, air pollution levels are low. Exceptions are during sandstorms and gales when suspended particulate matter is high; or, in some instances, in the immediate vicinity of industries. Municipal statistics show that in 1997, 86 per cent of pollution in Dubai was vehicular and 12 per cent was industrial. A police official was quoted as stating that "a stricter federal law is needed to reduce the rate of car pollution. Vehicles should be checked in detail, and cars emitting carbon monoxide should be penalised." Since 1993-94 the Municipality's Environmental Protection and Safety Section of the Health Department has set up an expanded (since 1988) air-monitoring network in Dubai. Sited at Jebel Ali, Al Safa, Deira and Mushrif, the stations monitor concentrations of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, ozone, suspended particulates, sulphur dioxide and lead.

Abu Dhabi's expanses of vegetation have helped keep atmospheric pollution in check to a great extent. However, air quality monitoring is being undertaken by the Abu Dhabi Municipality's Food and Environment Control Centre (FECC) through a network of stations connected to a main computer in the FECC. Concerns having been expressed about the impact of diesel fumes on public health and environment, the Federal Environmental Agency is to undertake a study on this specific issue and devise an action plan.

Amal Obaid, administrative officer, a private company, Abu Dhabi

Yes I think it is a problem. It never used to bother me till I returned to Abu Dhabi after nearly two years in the USA, where I had lived in rather green surroundings in the north western part of the country. When I came back I could feel the difference in air quality. Here, vehicle exhaust is particularly noticeable on the streets in the early mornings. The well-to-do families own far too many cars. And the lower income groups drive old, poorly maintained cars. There are just too many cars on the roads. I feel there should be more stress on developing public transport. In winter people would prefer to use public transport, I think. Also, auto-exhaust emission checks should be conducted at the time of vehicle registration. In Europe and America, cars have to be fitted with pollution control devices. But cars that are exported to the Middle East from these same countries are different.

Abdul Kadir Gaya, bank executive, Dubai

I look back to the early '70s when air pollution was hardly a concern. The only irritants then were the dust storms that were too frequent due to lack of rains in the region. Rapid development in the last two decades has led to considerably more traffic on the roads. Carbon monoxide emission from vehicles has become a great polluting factor. Although the authorities keep emissions in control by stringent checks and one hardly sees smoke emitted from exhausts, the invisible fumes are of grave concern. The UAE authorities must insist on catalytic converters for all cars, trucks and other vehicles, so that at least one major cause of air pollution is contained.

Rubina H. Iqbal, housewife, Dubai

Compared to Pakistan, India or Egypt, Dubai is like a garden in terms of outside air pollution. Here, my concern is about internal pollution caused by central air-conditioning. Lack of fresh air, germs carried over the ducts....Our children fall frequently ill here.

A taxi driver, Dubai

At present there is not much of pollution. But as the traffic is growing fast, it may become a problem. That is why the authorities, I have heard, are making some new rules for controlling automobile pollution. Vehicles that are over ten years old will not be allowed to ply on the roads; only persons drawing a specific monthly income will be permitted to own cars; and the number of automobiles owned by individual families will be specified.

ARABIA LEOPARD TRUST

ALT: Formed July1993; Legally established November 1994 through Emiri Decree by HH Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah.

Milestones

1995: Captive breeding of Arabian leopards in the UAE is initiated with a male (name: Arnold) on a breeding loan from Yemen and a female (Lucy) from Oman.

1996 and 1997: Scientific research by carnivore experts, Chris and Tilde Stuart, culminates in the proposal of five areas as nature reserves in the northern emirates.

1998: The ALT animals find a new home in the Breeding Centre for Endangered Arabian Animals (BCEAA), established by the generosity of Sheikh Sultan.

Arabian leopard breeding success: A litter of cubs born to Arnold and Lucy on July 15th. Andy, a male cub, becomes the first surviving offspring born in the UAE.

Dr. Jongbloed credits all of ALT's achievements to teamwork; and defines her most satisfying moment to be the establishment of the Breeding Centre. But it has been a struggle. There have been a few times when she thought to herself "I want out, but I can't!" The second and third years were particularly difficult for ALT because there were insufficient funds to hire help and there was too much work for volunteers working in their time off. But throughout even the difficult times, it had also been fun, because they had a great group of people to work with. "And we have been blessed by seeing results and progress, unlike so many similar groups in the world that have to work for years and have hardly anything to show for it, because of financial or other difficulties."

To see at least three nature reserves up and running by the end of the year 2000 and, ultimately, several nature reserves in different habitats in place are Dr, Jongbloed's vision. The wildlife of the UAE will then have a reasonable chance to make a comeback and increase in numbers in the wild. Her face lights up. "We could have adventure trips into the high mountain ranges to see Arabian tahr and hear the leopards at night. We could have turtles laying eggs and hatching on the beach at Khor Kalba. We could have gazelles and oryx roaming the gravel and sand plains of the emirates. We could have camel safaris to really remote dunes to see sand foxes at play or observe rheem gazelle in their natural habitat. That is not a dream - it is going to be true!'

"If various governments take responsibilities for these nature reserves, as ideally they should, then the ALT will have achieved what it set out to do. The only function I see then will be the ever-continuing role in the education of new generations of young people."

In the mean while, ALT's priorities will be to train UAE national young men to become nature reserve guards and guides and to assist local governments in setting up nature reserves.

Does Dr. Jongbloed have a message for people? Indeed she does.

"Whenever you start something and it seems to be too difficult to do, but you believe it is worthwhile to do it, think of what Winston Churchill said in the shortest speech ever given (to army cadets) 'Never give up. Never, never give up!'"

ENVIRONMENT AWARDS

In recent months, prominent achievements in the fields of environment and conservation have received due recognition. Among the winners of the Dubai International Award for Best Practices to Improve the Living Environment (awarded on World Habitat Day, 5th October) are some projects that clearly have an ecological focus. Examples are the Kipepeo (butterfly) project in Kenya (rearing forest butterflies for export, and so maintaining biodiversity and saving a forest), the sustainability path of a USA-based company, Interface (endeavouring to become the first name in industrial ecology, a corporation that cherishes nature and restores the environment), and the Zabbaleen garbage collectors in Cairo (generating income through solid waste management).

Clean Up the World campaigner, Australian Ian Kiernan (he has been referred to as the most famous 'garbo' since Greta!) won the United Nations Sasakawa Environment Prize.

DR. MARIJCKE JONGBLOED HONOURED

Dr.Marijcke Jongbloed. A name synonymous with wildlife conservation in the UAE. She is director of the Sharjah Natural History Museum and Desert Park; co-ordinator of the Arabian Leopard Trust (ALT), its founder member, prime organiser and principal driving force. On 28 November 1998, Dr. Jongbloed received, from Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, the Order of the Golden Ark for her outstanding contribution to the conservation of wildlife. Among previous honourees are His Majesty Sultan Qaboos of Oman. This prestigious conservation award was founded in 1971 by Prince Bernhard, himself a highly committed naturalist and Founder President of the World Wildlife Fund.

Friday talked to Dr. Jongbloed. How does she react to the honour bestowed on her? " I am stunned," she says, "and incredibly pleased!" It has come to her five years after she was one of a group of volunteers, whose concern for the status of wildlife in the Emirates, brought them together as the ALT. And three years after she willingly surrendered her medical practice to take up conservation. "Since I had been practising medicine for 25 years, I had no problem giving it up when His Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi invited me to run the museum and the park. I was ready for a change, and nature had always been my first love-plants even more than animals."

CLEAN UP THE WORLD CAMPAIGNER AWARDED
Australian Ian Kiernan, founder of the Clean up the World Campaign, has been awarded the 1998 United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP) Sasakawa Environment Prize. The US$ 200,000-prize, one of the most prestigious environmental awards in the world, is given to individuals who have made an outstanding global contribution to the management and protection of the environment.

Kiernan's intense concern about marine pollution motivated him to launch a massive clean up operation of Sydney Harbour in 1989. He spearheaded a campaign during which 40 000 people removed 5000 tonnes of rubbish in one day. In the following year Kiernan mobilised a Clean up Australia Campaign and, in 1993, a Clean up the World Campaign attracted 30 million volunteers in 80 countries. Since then this has become a global event in the third weekend of September each year. In 1994, Kiernan was named 'Australian of the Year.' His new (August 1998) clean up project targets major retail groups. The Waste Reduction Accreditation Campaign will see retailers given a rating in return for their efforts in reducing waste, an initiative that Kiernan feels is desperately needed to reduce amounts of waste ending up in landfills.

WHAT ON EARTH CAN WE DO?

Buy cars that run on unleaded petrol. Switch off the car engine when we park, even for a short time. Walk! As far as possible. Use public transport as much as possible. And try to form car pools.

Air Supply in the UAE

December 1998

WHAT ON EARTH CAN WE DO?