The UAE will celebrate the annual "World Environment Day" on June 5, which was launched by the United Nations to raise the awareness of communities about the importance of protecting the environment and maintaining the sustainability of natural resources and biodiversity. This year, the day will be held under the slogan, "Biodiversity," as recent events — including fires in Brazil, the US and Australia, locust swarms in many regions, and recent epidemics affecting the world — have highlighted the dependency and close relationship between humans and the environment. In recent years, the UAE has reinforced its global position as a center of harnessing the global efforts to counter climate change and protect the environment, through hosting major environmental events, including the Climate Forum at the World Government Summit held annually in Dubai and Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. As part of the UAE's support for scientific research and its encouragement to scientists, researchers and students to develop innovative environmental solutions, it established several global awards, including the "Zayed Sustainability Prize," the "Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Water Award" and the "Mohamed Bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund." The UAE has been active in financing environmental development projects around the world, such as renewable energy projects in the Caribbean and the Pacific islands, as well as water projects in countries suffering from a lack of drinking water. Locally, the UAE is implementing a range of projects and strategies that aim to protect the environment and mitigate the effects of climate change, and it has increased its number of natural reserves to 44. The UAE has adopted several measures to preserve its biodiversity, including conducting many studies and surveys on species and habitats facing pressures and threats, such as increasing land use and consumption of groundwater, as well as overgrazing, the exploitation of marine resources, land and water pollution, invasive species and climate change. Meanwhile, the Statistics Center Abu Dhabi (SCAD) continues to work closely with the concerned authorities to protect and conserve the environment, by providing policy and decision makers with the latest data and statistics that help set policies and devise plans based on a professional and scientific basis, said Abdullah Ahmed Al Suwaidi, acting director-general of SCAD. On World Environment Day, he said, "This day, specifically amidst the current global pandemic, offers an open invitation for all entities, institutions and individuals from the public and private sectors, to discuss the impact economic systems and social activities have on the environment, and the solutions that can be taken as a society to proactively mitigate the post COVID-19 environmental challenges facing our planet." "More than that, it calls on them to consider their own actions towards the environment, and to protect it from the negative practices and habits we have adopted as human beings, as it is not only the state's responsibility, but also an individual social responsibility we must all take on," Al Suwaidi added. "Thanks to the vision and guidance of its wise leadership, and by continuously working to achieve comprehensive and sustainable development and optimally utilizing its resources, the emirate of Abu Dhabi has made tangible achievements in the environmental field. "Government entities in the emirate pay great attention to a range of environmental issues, with many concerned with the preservation of biological diversity as a basis for life; an essential component of ecosystems that provide goods and services that support economic and social well-being," he added. "Our numbers indicate a significant improvement in air quality in Abu Dhabi, especially in light of the low traffic and lessened number of human activities during the past months. The concentration of sulfur dioxide decreased in the residential areas of Abu Dhabi during Q1 of 2020, with Al Ain improving the most by marking a 43 percent decrease. "The concentration of nitrogen dioxide also decreased in the first quarter of 2020, specifically in the industrial areas of the emirate, where Mussafah improved the most by marking a decrease of 18 percent," Al Suwaidi said. World Environment Day is celebrated on June 5 every year and is the United Nations' principal vehicle for encouraging awareness and action for the protection of our environment, engaging governments, businesses, celebrities and citizens to focus their efforts on a pressing environmental issue. — WAM
