Environmental Challenges and Solutions in Dubai, UAE

This assignment examines the environmental challenges faced by Dubai, a city in the United Arab Emirates, focusing on three major issues: limited water resources, land degradation and desertification, and air pollution. The paper provides a detailed overview of each problem, highlighting the specific challenges and impacts. The causes of these environmental problems are explored, including infrastructure investment, human activities, and climatic conditions. Furthermore, the assignment suggests feasible solutions to mitigate these issues, such as implementing air quality standards, establishing monitoring systems, and promoting sustainable resource management. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of addressing these environmental concerns to maintain a high standard of living and promote a sustainable future for Dubai.

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Environment concerns
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
3 major environmental problems in Dubai......................................................................................2
Reasons for the problems.................................................................................................................3
Feasible solutions.............................................................................................................................4
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................4
References........................................................................................................................................4
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Introduction
The country selected for the paper is Dubai. Dubai is a city in the United Arab Emirates and it is
known for luxury shopping and also for ultramodern architecture. It is one of the largest cities in
the southeast coast of the Persian Gulf and it is the capital of Emirate. In 2018, the population
was approximately 31.4 lakhs. The local currency of the country is Dirham that is pegged at
AED 3.67 to 1 US Dollar (Government of Dubai, 2019). The environmental issues will be
elaborated in relation to Dubai. It is observed that there are many environmental issues and this
paper will highlight the issues with feasible solutions.
3 major environmental problems in Dubai
1. Limited water resources
It is considered as one of the environmental challenges faced In DUBAI. The natural freshwater
resources of the UAE are limited and also rare in reference to the groundwater. It is examined
that the government is focusing on desalinated water, which has been generated from excess
health from the generation of electricity. This has also affected the marine life from discharging
the high concentrated seawater to the Arabian Gulf. The groundwater in the UAE has also been
reduced by 60 meters approximately. This also boosts the challenge as the groundwater among
the country is considered as one of the main sources of the water resources (Government.ae,
2019).
2. Land degradation and desertification
UAE is one of the countries among the arid land on the Arabian Peninsula that face the issue
related to desertification. The climate condition of the UAE like high temperature, evaporation,
humidity, and less rainfall has an essential role in the degradation of the land and also of the
fragile ecosystems can be concerned with the vulnerable vegetarian and erodible soil. In UAE,
the climate changes and also the drought periods have reduced and degraded the natural pastures
which have also resulted in the increased numbers of Grazing animals per area unit and this has
minimized the grazing plants (AlSayegh, Hossan, and Slade, 2019). Therefore, it can be stated
that land degradation and desertification are known as the environmental issue in the UAE.
3. Air Pollution
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To maintain the air quality within the set standards is also one of the issues in relation to the
environmental authorities of the UAE. Also, the high rate of pollution is generated by human
activities. The pollution rate in Dubai is high which also impact the health of the individuals and
animals. It is also enhancing the ratio of the thousands die each year and the expected ration will
rise to 60,000 by 2030. The recent Harvard report defined that women are 25% more likely to be
dying from the exposure of air pollution as compared to men. The women have a high risk of
Diabetes, cancer and also dementia. The men also have the risk of heart diseases (Pourkarimi,
Noroozi, and Ebtekar, 2016). So, it can be stated that air pollution is also one of the major
environmental issue faced In Dubai.
Reasons for the problems Reason for Limited water resources
One of the major reasons related to the limited water resources in Dubai is a high investment in
infrastructure and in water efficiency technology. It is observed that due to reduce in the revenue
of the government the impact has been seen on the existing projects which have resulted in the
calls for proposals and also for more innovation. Also, the water resources in Dubai are divided
into two categories such as conventional and groundwater. The conventional is the surface water
which consists of the aflaj water systems and dams and the groundwater relates with the deep
aquifers such as treated wastewater and cloud seeding (Waxin, Knuteson and Bartholomew,
2017). So, due to this classification, the issue related to limited water resources enhances.
 Reason for Land degradation and desertification
The reason related to the human aspects which are showcased in reference to the increase in the
population rate and also it changes the social order pattern and consumption system. This plays
an essential role in enhancing the issue of land degradation and desertification. Drought and
overexploitation are also the factors that have to lead to the cause of the desertification issue.
Also in reference to the climatic conditions such as high temperature and evaporation is caused
due to soil erosion. The reason behind the land degradation and desertification is related to the
overexploitation and also due to the increase of the population in the area (Government.ae,
2019).
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 The cause of Air Pollution
The major cause of this issue is related to human activities. With the increase in the population
ratio, the negative impact has also been analyzed on the environment. The cause of air pollution
is water and transport and also industrial operations. Also, the individuals are suffering from the
issue of air pollution because the UAE is involved in engaging oil and gas. When fossil fuels are
burned in the factories then it enhanced the amount of C02 and it directly generates the pollutants
in the environment (Tobiszewski et al., 2016).
Feasible solutions
To minimize the issue related to air pollution and limited water resources, it is important for the
country to focus on implementing the plan in which the air quality standards should be specified.
The new mobile air quality monitoring system should be set up so that it could be easy to track
the pollutants present in the local environment. Also, in reference to the issue related to Land
degradation and desertification, the strategy of proper allocation of the resources should be done
so negative utilization of the land can be minimized by the individuals.
Conclusion
Therefore, it can be concluded that it is important for the country to focus on minimizing the
environmental issues so that it could be easy to maintain the standard of the living of the
individuals. Also, to resolve these problems related to air and resources, the proper monitoring
system should be installed so that the pollutants can be tracked and it will guide the government
to take accurate steps in reference to the problems.
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References
AlSayegh, A., Hossan, C. and Slade, B., 2019. Radical improvement of e-government services in
Dubai. International Journal of Services Technology and Management, 25(1), pp.53-67.
Government of Dubai,2019.About Dubai.[online]. Available from:
http://www.dubai.ae/en/aboutdubai/Pages/default.aspx [Accessed on 12 March 2019].
Government.ae,2019. Environmental challenges.[online]. Available from:
https://www.government.ae/en/information-and-services/environment-and-energy/
environmental-challenges-in-the-uae [Accessed on 12 March 2019].
Pourkarimi, E., Noroozi, N. and Ebtekar, M., 2016. A Conceptual Model for Integrated
Management of the Urban Environment in Tehran Metropolis (Based on the Good Governance
Guidelines). International Journal of Environmental Research, 10(3), pp.391-400.
Tobiszewski, M., Pena-Pereira, F., Orłowski, A. and Namieśnik, J., 2016. A standard analytical
method as the common good and pollution abatement measure. TrAC Trends in Analytical
Chemistry, 80, pp.321-327.
Waxin, M.F., Knuteson, S.L. and Bartholomew, A., 2017. Drivers and challenges for
implementing ISO 14001 environmental management systems in an emerging Gulf Arab
country. Environmental management, pp.1-12.
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