Dubai Municipality outlines green ambitions

The Dubai Municipality has pledged to turn the emirate into a green city by 2020.

Taleb Abdul Kareem Julfar, director of the civic body's Public Parks and Horticulture Department, said plans are in place to turn 380 sq km of the sheikhdom into cultivated land.

In addition to this, four per cent of urban areas will be transformed into attractive parks.

Mr Julfar said a lot of work has gone into the 'greenification' of Dubai in the last ten years or so and the results are starting to speak for themselves.

He stated that in 2003, just 191,655 sq m of the emirate was classed as green land, with a modest 63,237 trees standing across the entire city.
 
However, last year there were 105,340 trees covering an overall area of 529,827 sq m.

'So far we have achieved 5.09 per cent of our target and the municipality is keen on adopting a number of strategies, implementing projects and raising public awareness for this cause,' Mr Julfar remarked.

The government will oversee the development of a multitude of nurseries in the coming years and a number of plantation projects will also be launched.

Dubai is often viewed as the global blueprint for urban development, as the city has grown at an incredible rate over the last 50 years.

Although even more record-breaking buildings are in the pipeline, the government is keen to alter Dubai's image by making it more eco-friendly.

Earlier this year, the Dubai Land Department (DLD) insisted it is possible for the city to maintain its position as an international property investment hotspot without causing undue damage to the environment.

A number of green building laws have been introduced of late and developers must give more consideration to sustainability when planning new structures.

The Sustainable Real Estate Conference was held at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre in May 2013, where the DLD and other influential organisations reinforced the importance of eco-friendly construction.