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Dubai: The construction boom's impact on the environment is seriously being looked into and any problems are addressed, said the Minister of the Environment and Water ahead of the award ceremony for the Zayed International Prize for the Environment.
Environmental pioneers will be rewarded on Monday night in Dubai.
Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince, will honour the winners of The Zayed International Prize for the Environment at Jumeirah Beach Hotel.
Speaking at the Dubai International Conference on Sustainable Construction held on Sunday, Dr Rashid Ahmad Bin Fahad, Minister of Environment and Water, said construction has caused damage to the environment.
"This has the attention of the authorities and with rationalised use of electricity and water, and the use of materials with a low impact on the environment, the negative effects are being minimised," he said.
According to Habib Al Habr, director and regional representative of the United Nations Environment Programme Regional Office for West Asia, 40 per cent of all resources are used by the construction industry, which creates 30 per cent of waste.
He referred to actor Brad Pitt who is working with a developer in Dubai to build a hotel complex in line with sustainable construction guidelines.
Hassan Lootah, director general of Dubai Municipality, said he was hopeful that with proper decrees by the authority the outcome of the construction boom will be positive.
"We don't claim or allege that it can be perfect... but if we look at all the resources available, with rational use of them, we can come out of it with good results," he said.
The $500,000 (Dh1.8 million) prize for global leadership has been awarded to Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland from Norway who works as special envoy in climate change for the United Nations secretary general General Ban Ki Moon.
Shared
The prize for scientific or technological achievements worth $300,000 (Dh1.1 million) is shared between Jane Lubchenco, a world leader in environmental sciences and V. Ramanathan, a distinguished climatologist.
The third prize for environment action leading to positive change in society of $200,000 (Dh734,820) has been given to Environment Development Action in the Third World, who works with the poor. This prize is shared with Tierrmerica, a specialised information service.
Special recognition
Special recognition will be given to Emmy Award winning journalist, author and television personality Anderson Hays Cooper for his outstanding contributions to investigative journalism and reports on the CNN news show, Anderson Cooper 360°.
Cooper has reported from Alaska, Brazil, Madagascar, Southeast Asia, and Yellowstone National Park among others to examine topics like population growth, rising temperatures and poaching on the global environment.
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