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Dubai: A Cabinet decree to better manage quarries in remote areas is under study to push sustainable development across the country, said a senior ministry official.
While Abu Dhabi and Dubai are racing forward with initiatives such as the green building decree and Masdar carbon free city, more focus will be given to push the five other emirates environmentally, said Dr Rashid Ahmad Bin Fahd, Minister of Environment and Water.
Resources like the rocks excavated from the many quarries in the northern emirates of Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah will receive better management in the future, he said.
Bin Fahd told Gulf News a Cabinet decree will soon be passed on quarrying to improve the use of materials.
"It has to be safe for the environment and the people," he said on the sidelines of a press conference announcing the winners of the Zayed International Prize for the Environment.
"We are taking our resources so we need to maintain them," he said. "We need to ensure proper use of the environment."
Green initiatives
The green buildings decree initiated in Dubai by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, will help to cut the country's energy bill, he said. "We are on the right track."
Bin Fahd added that water scarcity and finding alternative energies were the biggest challenges to the UAE's environment. A comprehensive water management programme for the UAE is also in the pipelines.
"We are taking all measure to assure sustainable development. As anywhere in the world there are challenges." The role of the ministry of environment and water is there to help with the practical transition towards greener construction methods that will protect the environment, he said.
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