“Shaping the future of Abu Dhabi through sustainable development” was the focus of a roundtable conference held in Abu Dhabi and hosted by Hyder Consulting, the award-winning international advisory and design consultancy.

The roundtable reviewed industry best practices to determine how the Abu Dhabi emirate should maintain its current fast-paced development in a sustainable manner.

The event, moderated by area director (Abu Dhabi) at Hyder Consulting Middle East Chris Venemore, gathered the company’s leading sustainability consultants from various disciplines. It was also attended by a representative from the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi (EAD).

“We have been involved in Abu Dhabi’s development for the past 35 years, and as a result of our commitment to the emirate and sustainability, we aimed to provide a forum to discuss the emirate’s development ventures,” said Venemore.

“Abu Dhabi is definitely learning from other countries’ successes and failures, pooling sustainability experts from around the world to get their expertise. With sustainability at its core, Abu Dhabi will ensure its future as a modern Arab city with world class living standards.”

The consultancy highlighted four key concerns facing the emirate: water demand, carbon emissions from construction, public private partnerships and public awareness.

Speakers singled out water usage in real estate development projects as a priority. “Water sustainability is not an option anymore – it’s the only way forward,” said senior consultant - waste water, Hyder Consulting Abu Dhabi office, Marwan Ghannam.

“We must accept that desalinating water is not a sustainable option and therefore water demand must be managed. If there is a specified water budget that is planned and enforced on all members of the community, sustainability will eventually prevail.”

Associate director, Hyder Consulting Abu Dhabi office, Paul Winfindale emphasised the environmental dimension of the emirate’s development.

“Carbon emission is the largest threat to the environment,” he said. “It is estimated that buildings contribute approximately 40 per cent of global carbon emissions, with the UAE coming second highest in per capita emissions. We therefore need to set a target to reduce emissions. When we do, we will reduce the costs on the environment.”

Regional director of value management and sustainability at Hyder Consulting Middle East Stephen Oehme said the roundtable is one of several signs of the emirate’s commitment to sustainable urban development.

“Things are changing in Abu Dhabi at an unprecedented pace,” he said. “It might look that the region is far behind other developed western countries but it’s not. All these conferences on sustainability, the major initiatives in Abu Dhabi such as Masdar, EAD Sustainability Report and Ecological Footprint are only examples of what the UAE is capable of achieving.” – TradeArabia News Service