DUBAI // An Italian expatriate is hoping to inspire us all to live and work more sustainably.With high-impact lifestyles and rapid development, the UAE has a long way to go, says Lisa Durante.But the good news is, the nation has the means and opportunity to do so.
Ms Durante, who spent a decade working as a development journalist in India before moving to Dubai, is publishing a book CleanUAE.
She is the managing group editor for the book's publishers, GVP Media, a company known for its "best of" annual book series, which started with Dubai guidebooks and spread to Belgium, Singapore, South Africa and Australia.
The company plans to update CleanUAE on an annual basis and expand to the region, with Bahrain and Saudi Arabia the initial targets. The book, which was showcased to the press yesterday in Dubai, covers a variety of topics including organic agriculture and the water-saving potential of vegetarianism.
It lists ways to reduce waste and trim individual carbon footprints and highlights companies that offer responsible products and services or have implemented their own sustainability programmes.
"The book does not aim to be an in-depth scientific compendium on sustainability, we will leave this to the experts … but rather something that people can pick up and have a sprinkling of inspiration," said Ms Durante. "I got the idea by looking at the kinds of key messages in the West, where … consumer choices are made based on the sustainability criteria applied by companies."
The biggest hurdle was finding reliable, objective information on individual companies: those that ended up being included in it became a "coalition of the willing".
"In terms of doing the research, it has been a big challenge," she said. "I invited companies to participate and tell me their stories. Many have and many have not."
Ensuring greater transparency - both from companies and the Government - is a key factor to starting meaningful dialogue on sustainability and incorporating it in people's lives," she said.
The UAE has "got the highest tower and the biggest shopping mall," she says. "Let us start building our infrastructure in a sustainable way."
While environmental performance - reducing pollution and waste and protecting habitats - is a key focus of sustainability, social and economic considerations matter too.
"It is just as important to look after people, it is just as important to have good labour laws," she said.
At the official book launch tonight, which comes the day before the UAE National Environment Day, a high -profile US politician best known for her work on human rights and peace activism, will be addressing guests.
Cynthia McKinney was the Green Party presidential candidate in the 2008 elections. Speaking in advance of tonight's launch, she said that control of precious resources can often motivate state policy in a way that violates basic principles of human rights - even in western democracies such as the US.
"My personal self-definition would involve the struggle to have the promotion and protection of human rights at the centre of US policy," she added.
"In the past, it might have been difficult [to rally people around such issues] because things were going very well. As long as you would put cheap gas in the car or there was employment for almost everybody, there was little incentives to question. Today, things are greatly changing.
"The winners and losers are becoming more clearly evident and the vast majority of the people are losers, and Mother Nature is a loser, too," said Ms McKinney.
Not facing the significant financial constraints experienced by other countries, the UAE can make quick steps towards a sustainable future, she said.
"They have the means, they have the opportunity, all they need is the motive," she said. "Perhaps the UAE can show the US a thing or two about how to live sustainably."
vtodorova@thenational.ae
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Company%C2%A0profile
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The Bio
Favourite holiday destination: Either Kazakhstan or Montenegro. I’ve been involved in events in both countries and they are just stunning.
Favourite book: I am a huge of Robin Cook’s medical thrillers, which I suppose is quite apt right now. My mother introduced me to them back home in New Zealand.
Favourite film or television programme: Forrest Gump is my favourite film, that’s never been up for debate. I love watching repeats of Mash as well.
Inspiration: My late father moulded me into the man I am today. I would also say disappointment and sadness are great motivators. There are times when events have brought me to my knees but it has also made me determined not to let them get the better of me.
THE BIO:
Favourite holiday destination: Thailand. I go every year and I’m obsessed with the fitness camps there.
Favourite book: Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. It’s an amazing story about barefoot running.
Favourite film: A League of their Own. I used to love watching it in my granny’s house when I was seven.
Personal motto: Believe it and you can achieve it.
THE BIO
Favourite book: ‘Purpose Driven Life’ by Rick Warren
Favourite travel destination: Switzerland
Hobbies: Travelling and following motivational speeches and speakers
Favourite place in UAE: Dubai Museum
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ENGLAND SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Jack Butland, Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope
Defenders: John Stones, Harry Maguire, Phil Jones, Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, Gary Cahill, Ashley Young, Danny Rose, Trent Alexander-Arnold
Midfielders: Eric Dier, Jordan Henderson, Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard, Raheem Sterling, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Fabian Delph
Forwards: Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Marcus Rashford, Danny Welbeck
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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.”
Results
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
