Nakheel and Environment Health & Safety (EHS) will jointly develop a marine biology laboratory.

The initiative by Nakheel, one of the largest real estate developers, and EHS, the regulatory arm of Dubai World, is a part of the environmental monitoring programme for the waters of the Arabian Gulf.

A memorandum of understanding signed between Nakheel and EHS establishes a framework to enhance the marine ecological monitoring capability for the existing EHS laboratory through the support of Nakheel and United Nations University - International Network for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH).

The MoU was signed by EHS chief operating officer Amin Al Mulla, on behalf of EHS chief executive officer Ahmed Hussain and head of environment section Shaun Lenehan, on behalf of The Nakheel Design Group director Abdulrahman Kalantar.

This achievement forms the basis for the establishment of a sophisticated ecological laboratory to implement the UNU-INWEH project on “Strategic Management of Marine Ecosystems in Nakheel Projects”.

“This latest agreement confirms Nakheel’s dedication to enhancing the environmental sustainability of our coastal development projects, as well as providing comprehensive environmental data for the entire region,” said Kalantar.

“By partnering with these two organisations we can expand our abilities to promote environment protection and build an enlightened community.  Through this unique cooperation we will continue to be leaders in the region in our ability to ensure sustainable development,” said Al Mulla.

“This is a big step forward for the future of the Strategic Management of Coastal Ecosystems Programme. We look forward to working closely with Nakheel and EHS on this project,” said UNU-INWEH assistant director for sales Dr Peter F.

With the new marine biology laboratory, and major new analytical instrumentation at the existing lab, EHS will have the critical resources needed for coastal monitoring activities in Dubai waters and the wider region.

The laboratory will be made available for the use of Nakheel and UNU-INWEH personnel to undertake the laboratory analysis and training associated with the joint monitoring program for the Strategic Management of Coastal Ecosystems established in January 2007.

The new EHS laboratory work will complement the fieldwork of the joint monitoring programme which analyses and assesses water quality parameters, physical oceanography and ecological characteristics to develop an empirical model that will help predict ecosystem dynamics and consequent water quality and environmental sustainability for the waters surrounding the novel coastal structures being developed by Nakheel. -TradeArabia News Service