The Ministry of Environment and Water, MoEW, has met with a delegation of senior leaders from the Kingdom of Bahrain at its Dubai headquarters where they discussed the UAE’s actions and policies in various key environmental issues.

The visit comes at a time when the combined efforts of the Ministry and local authorities have significantly contributed to the country’s improved global rankings on both the Global Competitiveness Index and the Environmental Performance Index. The UAE’s standing on the Environmental Performance Index went up from 152 in 2010 to 25 in 2014. Out of the 178 countries, the UAE was the top-ranked state in the Middle East and North Africa regions as well as in terms of the number of marine-protected areas.

During the meeting, both parties talked about the Ministry’s 2014-2016 strategies and efforts towards strengthening and ensuring the country’s environmental sustainability and food and water security. In addition, the Ministry and its counterparts from Bahrain looked into the local biosecurity efforts in line with UAE Vision 2021, which aims to propel the state into becoming one of the world’s developed countries.

The delegation also learned about the Ministry’s action plans in its bid to put the UAE on the global map in terms of stronger environmental policies. Other points of discussions were the state’s initiatives in order to improve its ranking on the Environmental Performance Index 2014 and efforts to reduce its carbon footprint by about one-third per capita during the period of 2006-2012. Additionally, both parties reviewed the UAE’s success in decreasing its greenhouse gas emissions to less than 21 tons per capita in 2012 from an estimated 40 tons in 2000, as well as its green economy approach to achieve sustainable development.

Source: WAM