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Policies I would like to establish for UAE |
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by Fatima alhosani | 20-10-2018 16:42
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I like to eat and try new dishes, with my big appetite, I do visit restaurants often and order a lot from the menu, but there are always leftovers. Be it with my family, my friends or alone. There are always leftovers. UAE is abundant with resturant bussinesses and they keep increasing, our tendency to try new things leads to so much food waste. According to a report, around 35% to 50% of total waste is generated from excess food in the UAE and this equates to around 800 grams of food per person, per day. We can nonetheless, make use of this waste by either consuming or reusing them. And so, I would like to establish a policy to make use of food waste. At school, I once saw a student shred the remainings of her sandwich and the birds gathered afterward to eat the remainings. I felt inspired by her, whenever I feel full now, rather than throwing the sandwich away, I like to do that too. Inspired by that student, I thought of this policy. Special trash bins for food waste can be implemented in restaurants for food given to animals, the remainings of the food will be given to animals who can eat that food. Special collectors of food waste will be available in every area and the food will be taken to zoos and sanctions immediately the next day before they begin to decay. Other than food waste, we greatly struggle from water scarcity. The UAE has been among countries with the highest per capita water consumption in the world, according to the UN Environment Programme. an average UAE resident consumes about 550 liters of water a day. This is more than three times the world average per capita consumption. It is also said that the UAE may see the last droplet of groundwater by 2030 because as a country who experiences little precipitation a year, 50% of UAE¡¯s water demand is met by groundwater. A law already exists regarding groundwater which is Law No. 5 of 2016 concerning the Regulation of Groundwater in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. This Law consisting of 27 articles establishes that the groundwater on the Emirate territory is a property of the Government. Responsible for management, organization and licensing the activities related to groundwater is the Environment Agency of Abu Dhabi, which in particular is in charge for establishing and implementing related policies, checking and inspecting existing wells, supervising the excavation of new wells, issuing permits for excavations and establishing the amount of water possible. We stay in indoor places most of the day, most of us feel the need to shower often after sweating, the humidity in certain areas leads the plants to drought easily, hence lots of water is used for segregation. The hot weather (we have a weather ranging from 25¡Æ to 45¡Æ most of the year) causes us to consume lots of water for agricultural purposes. Some people had to make the switch to artificial grass because of the high water bills. Other than from agricultural purposes, water waste comes from houses and a huge part of it will be saved if houses begin to reduce their usage or reuse the water in some way. A policy I would like to establish is, "limited amount of water per month." As struggle-some as it might sounds, it will save lots of water. houses will have a limited amount of water per month depending on the size of the land, it will strongly raise awareness of the water scarcity issues in the society. House owners will feel the need to add greywater reuse systems underground in which the water can be reused again in faucets or to segregate plants not to run out of water during the month. The United Arab Emirates joined the world in recognizing environmental problems by signing and ratifying environmental agreements that include The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, Basel Convention on the Control of Trans-boundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and many more. I believe by establishing policies that require the help of the individuals, the UAE might become an influence on other societies and make a difference. |
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4 Comments
Hello Fatima, regional ambassadors from UAE seem to have common thoughts as they have paid a lot of attention for a long time :)
Concerning waste management and clean food disposal, you may take a look at Rohan's past reports. His reports are specified at waste management and individual participation to take part in group activity.
And thanks for introducing policies that you would like to make! :)
Posted 24-10-2018 23:20
Fatima,
Food wastage is another environmental issue that needs to be properly addressed. That a food item is no more useful to us does not mean its not useful to animals. Your proposed policy for prevention of food wastage is highly recommendatable
A good way to avoid water scarcity and excessive consumption is by metering the water supply and distribution system of the country. These will ensure close monitoring of the use of water and appropriate charges on its use.
Very brilliant policies and educating report Fatima. Thanks for the report.
Posted 24-10-2018 18:16
Hello Fatima
It is true that most of our worries come from the wrong allocation of resources. In some places, resources are wasted and in other, they suffer from scarcity. The first thing that is needed is the awareness that we shouldn't really waste resources. And the second would be a more macro view of an integrated management system.
Thanks for the report :)
Posted 22-10-2018 15:11
Hey Fatima!
For waste of 35 to 50% is extremely high. What makes it worse is that that percentage is only for the UAE, imagine how many countries waste food on a day to day basis? Your ideas for excess food serve well, not only for animals but and compost for plants as well. A good policy will enable such ideas to materialise.
Water scarcity is a major problem in arid to semi-arid regions. And now that summer in approaching in the Southern hemisphere, more and more water will be used. Already in South Africa, prepaid meters have already been installed so that each house hold regulates their water usage, this makes them highly conscious when they notice that tap leak or that broken pipe. Your policy will be excellent for those who cannot and want to regulate their water usage.
It's been a while since I've last read up on a report of yours. Thank you for giving us such an insightful report Fatima!
Posted 20-10-2018 17:30