Following the establishment of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 1971, Dubai has enjoyed tremendous growth and prosperity assisted by visionary leadership, stable government, an openness to the world and foreign workers, as well as significant oil revenues. Situated at the end of the Arabian Gulf, the UAE though relatively small in geographical terms has a very unique natural history as the country is made up predominantly of desert.

Momentous drive
The high oil prices and expansion of sectors such as trading, tourism and finance have contributed significantly to the rapid pace of development. The population of Dubai, which expanded by over 25% from 1995 to 2000 alone, is now over a million and estimated by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry to increase by over 400,000 from 2006 to 2010.

In parallel with this momentous drive for development however comes the responsibility of ensuring the protection of the local environment. The Dubai Government takes its duty to protect biodiversity seriously, as is demonstrated by it publicly adopting the need to preserve ‘the environment in line with international standards’ as one of the guiding principles to help realise the new Dubai Strategic Plan 2015 (1). The Plan recognises the importance of ensuring Dubai maintains a safe, clean and sustainable environment. It promotes the need to “update and align environmental regulation with best practices and develop required enforcement mechanisms, to adopt a sustainable development approach by integrating environmental outcomes within development policies, and to raise environmental awareness”.

Philanthropic projects
As the largest and most widely represented international bank in the Middle East, HSBC supports, through philanthropy, a number of UAE conservation projects. HSBC Bank Middle East has, for instance, joined forces with the Emirates Wildlife Society in association with WWF, the Fujairah Municipality and Government of Fujairah, to conserve the natural habitat of Wadi Wurayah in the Emirate of Fujairah. The project, which aims to create and manage the first legally designated mountain protected area in the country, consists of three phases, each to be accomplished within a year.

The first phase involved a baseline survey to evaluate the potential feasibility of the creation of a protected area from ecological, cultural and political perspectives. Phase two involves the development of a conservation management plan for the wadi while continuing to monitor biodiversity. During the third phase, rangers from local tribes will be resourced and trained to ensure the sustainability of the conservation programme. Chairman of HSBC in the Community Middle East Foundation, Mohammed Al Mulla, said: “We are pleased to support the conservation of the Wadi Wurayah project which also involves our staff…Through their continuous engagement and voluntary work in Wadi Wurayah, I am sure they will learn a lot about conserving the natural heritage of the UAE”. Also speaking about this local initiative, H. E. Eng. Rashed Hamdan Abdullah, General Manager of Fujairah Municipality, explained that the Municipality aims to enable local heritage to survive in harmony with the local life style and to bring the mechanism of economic development to the area while protecting the wildlife and preservation of Wadi Wurayah’s rich biodiversity and natural resources.

With HSBC’s support, researchers so far have been able to conduct analysis of water samples, characterise aquatic habitats, record all the flora and fauna sightings and interview over 150 local villagers in a social survey. Commenting on this project Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, Director, EWS-WWF said: “We are pleased to say that seven new and previously unknown species have been discovered, indicating the importance and uniqueness of the area’s biodiversity” (2).

Minimizing impacts
A number of banks are also committed to minimizing their direct environmental impacts. Standard Chartered’s new building in the Dubai International Financial Centre, for example, incorporates many environmentally friendly features. For instance plant and associated systems have been designed to reduce energy consumption and minimise pollution, while maintaining comfort and flexibility. The raised flooring used is 100% recyclable and the Bank has incorporated motion detector lighting.

Of course, the biggest opportunities for driving change is through lending operations. With this in mind, Standard Chartered took part in the revision of the Equator Principles and has adopted the revised principles. An environmental risk policy, which was initially developed 10 years ago, allows the bank to factor into its research climate change, impacts on biodiversity, deforestation, air and water pollution.

It is not just the multinationals operating in Dubai that are working to drive forth awareness in this area however. The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) is also taking its role in promoting this challenge. Aside from recently publishing its first CSR report, and undertaking initiatives to help reduce its own environmental impact, the DIFC will be hosting a boutique event on carbon trading this November.

The business case for the biodiversity challenge facing financial institutions is sound. With the increasing pressures of living in a crowded and interconnected world, preserving biodiversity whilst developing economically is of paramount importance. Although in the early stages, the financial services industry in the UAE is considering its relationship and responsibility towards issues of biodiversity, and efforts such as the Dubai Strategic Plan are helping to highlight the challenge and encouraging businesses to follow this lead.

Abbe Le Pelley is Manager for Consulting and Training, Dubai Ethics Resource Centre.

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(1) Dubai Strategic Plan 2015
(2) HSBC Annoucement: HSBC Supports Conservation of the UAE's Natural Heritage