There is limited time to save the world’s wetlands and mitigate the impact of climate change, environmental leaders warned at the opening to a worldwide conference on wetlands.
Wetlands are being destroyed at three times the rate of forests, even though they can store twice as much carbon.
Wetland loss will have heavy economic, security and social consequences, cautioned Martha Urrego, the Secretary General of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.
“If we lose wetlands we lose our possibility to achieve sustainable and equitable development,” said Ms Urrego. “We know that the demand for water is increasing, that we have a predicted gap in water supply and that if we don’t take care of wetlands we are going to endanger the possibility of achieving solutions that benefit all.”
Ms Urrego was speaking in Dubai before the opening of the 13th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.
The week-long event takes place every three years and will be attended by more than 1,000 scientists and policymakers.
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It was opened on Monday night by the Minister of Climate Change and Environment, Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi. This year’s theme is wetlands for a sustainable urban future.
“To achieve a seamless, sustainable transition to cities and to capitalise on the wealth of opportunities this transition brings, we need to move wetland conservation to the top of our priority list,” said the minister. “Wetlands help mitigate floods, pollution and climate change and replenish ground aquifers, and are an excellent source of food and raw materials, in addition to providing job opportunities for hundreds of millions of people around the world.”
The UAE is one of 170 signatories to the convention and has eight Ramsar sites recognised as wetlands of international importance.
Wetlands purify the air and water, regulate humidity levels and water flow, prevent flooding and drought, serve as nurseries and sanctuaries for wildlife and protect shorelines from erosion and natural disasters.
Yet their environmental superpowers are usually overlooked.
“Historically, wetlands had been associated with places that were unused or wastelands, or seen as places of illness or places that need to be put in order or civilised,” said Ms Urrego. “That led to the draining of so many wetlands and has cultivated the idea that wetlands are not important or that they can be used in a better way.”
“All the water we use comes directly or indirectly form wetlands,” she said. “That is to say that they purify water. Wetlands are the kidneys of the earth.”
The Gentlemen
Director: Guy Ritchie
Stars: Colin Farrell, Hugh Grant
Three out of five stars
Martin Sabbagh profile
Job: CEO JCDecaux Middle East
In the role: Since January 2015
Lives: In the UAE
Background: M&A, investment banking
Studied: Corporate finance
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
McIlroy's struggles in 2016/17
European Tour: 6 events, 16 rounds, 5 cuts, 0 wins, 3 top-10s, 4 top-25s, 72,5567 points, ranked 16th
PGA Tour: 8 events, 26 rounds, 6 cuts, 0 wins, 4 top-10s, 5 top-25s, 526 points, ranked 71st
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
CREW
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PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
Teams
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals
BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP
Group A
Paraguay
Japan
Switzerland
USA
Group B
Uruguay
Mexico
Italy
Tahiti
Group C
Belarus
UAE
Senegal
Russia
Group D
Brazil
Oman
Portugal
Nigeria
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Credits
Produced by: Colour Yellow Productions and Eros Now
Director: Mudassar Aziz
Cast: Sonakshi Sinha, Jimmy Sheirgill, Jassi Gill, Piyush Mishra, Diana Penty, Aparshakti Khurrana
Star rating: 2.5/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
