58 December 2016 www.bahrainthismonth.com interview Diane Klaimi F rom pollution and climate change, to drought and desertification, environmental concerns have become all too common in our modern, fastpaced world. Unfortunately, Bahrain is no different. In fact, the country’s huge economic growth in recent decades has accelerated these issues, putting significant pressure on its natural resources, leading to many environmental problems. Luckily, there are people and organisations working tirelessly hand in hand with governments to protect and conserve the country’s ecosystems. One of the most prominent is the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), an organisation based in Nairobi, Kenya, that has one of its six regional offices in Bahrain. Hosted by the President of the Supreme Council for the Environment (SCE), His Highness Shaikh Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the small office of 24 staff provides technical environmental help to 12 countries in the region. “Our logo with a person at the centre of the environment indicates what we do,” says Diane, biodiversity and ecosystems programme officer. “Humans are central to nature. Everyone derives positive benefits from it, yet at the same time, may also impact it negatively.” Diane joined UNEP in Bahrain in 2009 as an environmental expert in the field of biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management. She previously worked with master developer Nakheel, in Dubai, and also UNITED IN GOING GREEN as a government official for the Ministry of Environment in Lebanon. This mix of public and private sector experience has broadened her spectrum of expertise, bringing relevance to her current role. “We cooperate with the SCE on a number of issues and provide Bahrain and the region advisory services, policy guidance and capacity development on concerns related to climate change, resource efficiency, land and coastal degradation, biodiversity loss, waste and pollution, science and law,” says Diane. UNEP also assists in the development of science-based strategies for land, water, energy and food production, taking into consideration the needs of the society. “We help the government to integrate those strategies into national development plans and the financial agenda of the country,” explains Diane. “It is then up to the government to take stringent measures to implement them. We also showcase best practices from around the world through international conventions that Bahrain participates at.” UNEP works with partners at all levels, mobilising the resources needed for achieving its lofty goals of environmental sustainability. “This involves working with local communities and NGOs (non-governmental organisations) and communicating with all sectors, including APPLE SHARMA Putting the spotlight on our ever-changing ecology, BTM sits down with United Nation’s environmental expert, Diane Klaimi, to talk about the country’s proactive efforts to protect its natural habitat. education, planning, finance, industry, agriculture, forestry and fisheries and, last but not least, the media, who are the strongest tie with society,” adds Diane. The environmental threats Bahrain faces are mostly those that affect the region as a whole. These are many and include climate change, drought and desertification, water resource depletion and pollution, land and coastal degradation, loss of biodiversity (plants, microorganisms and animal species) and air pollution from sand and dust storms. “All of these affect our health,” says Diane. “Therefore, we need to work together with the health and industry sectors in Bahrain to curb these negative impacts.” We are all aware of the radical transformations that have taken place along Bahrain’s coastline in recent years from endless reclamation projects. So what effect has this had on the marine life? “These land filling and dredging operations unfortunately lead to the smothering of benthic species – millions of microscopic species that sustain fisheries, corals, mangroves and sea grass beds,” explains Diane. “UNEP advises avoiding these practices as much as possible and using international guidelines for the safe use of technologies such as silt curtains to reduce the harmful impact of silt plumes. We also
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