The Environment 2001 Conference and Exhibition was organized in collaboration with the General Exhibition Co-operation (GEC), Federal Environmental Agency (FEA) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) during the period from 4 to 7 February 2001.

The conference and exhibition was held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, President of the UAE. The theme of the conference was “Sustainable Development: Challenges and Solutions”.

The main objective of the Environment 2001 Conference and Exhibition was to continue the international global dialogue on environmental issues and sustainable development, identify working solutions that can be applied in both the developed and developing countries, and identify further areas of technical improvements. Among other objectives was to discuss the present status of the environment in the Arab countries, trends and future aspects in the new millennium.

The importance of the event was underlined by the Arab Environment Ministers meeting which was held on 3rd February, and in the adoption of The Abu Dhabi Declaration, which lays down guidelines for the sustainable use of resources in the Arab world throughout the 21st Century.

The Conference

 

The conference’s programme covered three main themes: “Decision- Making and Planning for Sustainable Development”, “Management and Implementation for Sustainable Development”, and “Technology for Sustainable Development”. Five sub-themes were covered under each theme. These include environment, natural resources, governance, business and industry.

Six workshops were held focusing on the following: protection and management of marine environment, domestic and industrial waste management modeling, cleaner production and waste management, ozone layer protection, desertification and remote sensing and GIS in environmentally sustainable development.

 

The Exhibition brought together the manufacturers and developers of some of the world’s most advanced environmental products, services and technologies, giving their products an opportunity to be presented to decision- makers throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

 

The exhibition attracted more than 350 companies and corporations from more than 30 different countries around the globe.

 

A special feature of the event is the Village Project, an innovative feature that allowed countries from the Middle East and Africa to present their own environmental projects.