Abu Dhabi launches its 1st State of the Environment Report

The excellence of producing the first State of the Environment report was claimed by Abu Dhabi last week. Although I have learned that both Lebanon and Egypt have produced former national reports, while Jordan produced a "civil society" perspective report, Abu Dhabi has made it clear that it is the leader by producing a highly informative report that can be traced and viewed from

www.soa.ae

The Emirates News Agency reported that the themes covered by the report include freshwater, atmosphere, land resources, coastal and marine resources, biodiversity, development and environment, environmental management, and future scenarios.

The report is a compilation of data that was achieved by Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD) and its partners, including local and federal government bodies, the academia and non- governmental agencies.

"The launch of such a report is also testament to the fact that the UAE holds a far-reaching vision to achieve a crucial balance between economic growth and environmental protection," Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Deputy Prime Minister, was quoted as saying.

The report is accessible to the general public at the website www.soe.ae, in both Arabic and English.