In 2010 UAE was rated number one in the world for having the biggest ecological footprint report by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). This was a wake up call for UAE as following the announcement UAE took many initiatives aimed at tackling environmental issues facing the country. One of them was it formed  a committee of scientists and experts in order to study in detail the methods of energy consumption in the country and determine how they can be improved. This made the UAE the third country in the world to develop the ?Ecological Footprint Initiative? after Switzerland and Japan.

Even though UAE drastically reduced its carbon footprint and has expanded its renewable infrastructure yet it faces Environmental challenges like loss of wildlife habitat through urbanization and industrialisation, overfishing, desertification limited agricultural land caused by UAE's arid landscape and low precipitation and finally the intensifying effects of climate change.

UAE being one of the most water-stressed regions in the world, it needs stringent policies to safeguard its limited water resources. Even though UAE makes a conscious effort to adopt a sustainably clean and healthy environment, I  look forward to a better coordinated government policy  towards urban planning, and also a long-term strategy for urban transportation along with building stricter energy efficiency standards. Construction policies needs to be implemented on a larger and stringent scale as the developers have shown little regard for the environment.

According to the report, environmental improvement now prominently features in national plans like Dubai Plan 2021 and Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, as well as a number of corporate strategies in the country but there are few areas where UAE needs to streamline its policies.

The coastlines and mangrove forests are part of a unique heritage that many would consider the country?s real natural wealth. UAE government should draft policies to look after these resources as is not only essential for the protection of economic activities such as traditional fishing businesses and modern tourism, but coastlines, along with the world?s oceans, are also critical to storing CO2, in addition to accommodating the UAE?s rich maritime and coastal biodiversity.

Part of protecting this natural heritage comes down to society. Reducing waste and recycling, as well as picking up rubbish is widely publicized and encouraged by the government – though we all see plastic bottles, cigarette stubs and other waste routinely dumped in virtually every area of the country.  It is not the lack of education or environmental awareness, but in many cases a lack of culture brought by the transient and complacent nature of our society. There should be policies to foster and enforce the culture of waste management, recycling and reducing the use of plastics amongst the corporate as well as community. Water and electricity tariff should be reformed so that it is used prudently. Waste segregation policy should also be placed and enforced by the Municipality for the residents. A

On the other hand, waste reduction and recycling could be much more feasible if waste collection policies are incentive-oriented. For instance by applying the same refundable charge as many other countries place on glass and water bottles and sugary drinks; while rubbish dumping in public areas should, attract fines.

The National, Gulf news