Renewable energy and waste management put in spotlight at Gulf Eco Conference 2013

The inaugural address was delivered by Mr. Ibrahim bin Ahmed Al-Ajmi, Director General of Climate Affairs, Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs, Sultanate of Oman.

Presenting the first topic on the first day of the Conference titled Clean Energy Oman, Dr. Benno BÖer, Ecological Sciences Advisor - UNESCO Arab Region, Doha-Qatar touched upon the importance of biosphere reserves in the Arabian Peninsula.

Their link to the global climate change, their relation to the intrinsic connectivity between climate change, green-house gas emissions and clean energy and the UNESCO Doha activities for sustainable environmental development were also highlighted.

Chaired by Dr. Benno BÖer and co-chaired by Dr. Ahmed bin Mubarak Al Saidi, Director of preservation of the marine environment, Ministry of Environment & Climate Affairs, the first session titled Regulations & Policy on Renewable Energy, saw Dr. Mohamed Abdel Raouf, Research Fellow- Environment Program, Gulf Research Center, Egypt focus on the concept of sustainable development in the Middle East using the United Nations Conference on Sustainable development held in Rio de Janerio (RIO+20) to analyse actions that must be undertaken towards achieving a green economy and sustainable development goals.

On similar lines, Dr. Ali Al Ghafri, Vice President, Public Authority for Electricity & Water, Oman examined the challenges and suggested framework that supports renewable energy in Oman.

Following him, Mr. Sami Al Ali, Senior Advisor for Sustainable Development - Middle East, Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Organization (IREO), Kuwait gave attendees an outlook on various renewable energy laws & regulations in the GCC region that have scope for implementation, by looking at what other countries have done in the area of regulations and how the same can be implemented in the region, be it in terms of countries favouring a direct governmental approach or shared responsibility between the private sector and the public with the government being the regulator.

A panel discussion, moderated by Dr. Ahmed bin Mubarak Al Saidi saw panelists
Dr. C. Radha Krishnan, CSG Manager - Infrastructure and Environment, WorleyParsons, Oman and Dr. Ali Al Ghafri, Vice President, Public Authority for Electricity & Water, Oman discuss the potential of harnessing & utilising renewable energy in Oman.

Under the last session Waste Management & Recycling, chaired by Dr. Benno BÖer and moderated by Dr. Thurayia bint SaidAl Sariria, Director of the Department of Biological Diversity, Ministry of Environment & Climate Affairs Waste Management and Recycling, concentrating on a particular sector namely the waste management sector contributing to climate change, Dr. Hameed Sulaiman, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Environmental Science, Department of Biology, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman reviewed the main greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and savings from different waste management options via his topic Waste Management Options & Their Contribution to Climate Change Mitigation Potential.

Mr. Sanjeev G. Kulkarni, Group General Manager, HMR Environmental Engineering Consultants, enlightened attendees on reed bed technology being an effective form of eco-friendly wastewater treatment systems due to the special characteristics of reed, the construction and operation of reed bed systems etc that lead to them being successfully used for treating a wide range of wastewater concentrations.

Wrapping up the first day of the Conference, Mr. Mohammed Said Al Masroori, HSE Manager, OMIFCO presented an effective waste management strategy through a case study on OMIFCO.