A few days ago, as I was looking across a particularly verdant landscape, my mind turned to a recent conversation with a friend in Abu Dhabi on the impact of the environment on wellbeing, or, to put it another way, how our surroundings affect the way that we feel.
I have been following with interest a series of posts on social media by a British journalist who has been struggling with mental health issues. Rather bravely, in my view, she has been chronicling her ups-and-downs and the way in which her spirits are lifted by swimming in rivers amid the gorgeous landscape of England’s Lake District or by the discovery of a fragile, beautiful rare orchid.
It’s clear that being surrounded by and engaging with natural beauty is of enormous importance to her. On a different level, I recall how my spirits lift when I drive across the border between England to Scotland on my way to a much-loved valley in the Scottish Borders, which I have visited many times over the last few decades. It just feels good, even if it’s raining, which is often the case. The same applies when I wander around a favourite wadi in Fujairah, whether in summer or winter.
It might be the case that I feel a particular affinity with the natural beauty of the countryside, wherever it may be, because I’m a country boy at heart. I spent my childhood in a house surrounded by a large garden, with woods and fields beyond and with a view for miles across a rolling landscape.
That doesn't mean that I cannot find a similar enjoyment, an identical lifting of the spirit, in an urban environment. It can happen, too, if I am sitting in a well-wooded square in the heart of London or strolling across one of the public parks to be found throughout the city of Abu Dhabi. Even if there's nothing special to be seen in terms of wildlife – and often there is nothing – the very fact of "communing with nature" has a benefit in itself.
I don't think I am unusual in this, although I know there are people who find open spaces hold particular challenges for them. Perhaps that's why, even in the midst of some of the most deprived urban communities in the world, one can see ways in which people seek nature, however that is defined. Tiny plots of land with carefully tended flowers, even a plant in a pot on a balcony or in a cluttered room, or on an office desk, also suggest there's something of benefit to be obtained with a relationship – however small, however tenuous – with the wider world.
Even in school, there is, I would argue, a benefit to be gained from observing the growth of plants and seeds and in a way which allows children to participate. I am delighted that my own daughter's school is introducing such a programme at the beginning of the next academic year. It might not offer them perspectives of lofty mountaintops, an archipelago of tiny islands or the babble of a mountain stream but it will, I hope, introduce them to some of the fascinations of the natural world and teach them to observe their surroundings in a different way.
It’s easy for social scientists and for governments to take a view of society and its needs that places a focus on issues such as physical health, employment, security, interpersonal relationships and access to sufficient water and food. These are all, of course, of enormous importance, fundamental elements in the health of any community. We all need that, whether rich, poor or somewhere in-between.
Perhaps, though, there’s a need to pay greater attention to our surroundings and the nature itself found within them. It might be difficult to define, in sociological terms, the impact that the natural world can have upon us, not least because it might vary from individual to individual.
However one seeks to define the concept of happiness – rightly identified as one of the targets to which the United Arab Emirates aspires – I would hope that the intangible benefit gained from the role the natural world can play in our physical environment receives the attention it rightly deserves.
Peter Hellyer is a consultant specialising in the UAE’s history and culture
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The Breadwinner
Director: Nora Twomey
Starring: Saara Chaudry, Soma Chhaya, Laara Sadiq
Three stars
Biog
Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara
He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada
Father of two sons, grandfather of six
Plays golf once a week
Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family
Walks for an hour every morning
Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India
2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business
Managing the separation process
- Choose your nursery carefully in the first place
- Relax – and hopefully your child will follow suit
- Inform the staff in advance of your child’s likes and dislikes.
- If you need some extra time to talk to the teachers, make an appointment a few days in advance, rather than attempting to chat on your child’s first day
- The longer you stay, the more upset your child will become. As difficult as it is, walk away. Say a proper goodbye and reassure your child that you will be back
- Be patient. Your child might love it one day and hate it the next
- Stick at it. Don’t give up after the first day or week. It takes time for children to settle into a new routine.And, finally, don’t feel guilty.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Family reunited
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was born and raised in Tehran and studied English literature before working as a translator in the relief effort for the Japanese International Co-operation Agency in 2003.
She moved to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies before moving to the World Health Organisation as a communications officer.
She came to the UK in 2007 after securing a scholarship at London Metropolitan University to study a master's in communication management and met her future husband through mutual friends a month later.
The couple were married in August 2009 in Winchester and their daughter was born in June 2014.
She was held in her native country a year later.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo
Power: 374hp at 5,500-6,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm from 1,900-5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.5L/100km
Price: from Dh285,000
On sale: from January 2022
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dresos%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20September%202020%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Vladimir%20Radojevic%20and%20Aleksandar%20Jankovic%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Fashion%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24285%2C000%3B%20%24500%2C000%20currently%20being%20raised%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Crowdfunding%2C%20family%2C%20friends%20and%20self-funding%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
More from Janine di Giovanni
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
My Cat Yugoslavia by Pajtim Statovci
Pushkin Press
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
