The Middle East is one of the world’s most vulnerable regions when it comes to ecological threats over the next 30 years, according to a global report.
The first Ecological Threat Register, produced by Australia-based Institute of Economics and Peace (IEP), also warned of the mass displacement of 1.2 billion people across the world by 2050.
The Middle East was named alongside Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and North Africa as the regions facing the largest number of ecological risks.
The report stated more than one billion people are living in countries which were unlikely to adapt to new challenges over the next 30 years.
“There are a number of countries in the Middle East that are going to be vulnerable to severe water shortages in the future,” said Steve Killelea, founder and executive chairman of the IEP.
Countries like Iraq, Syria and Yemen will have low resilience to ecological stresses
“Countries like Iraq, Syria and Yemen will have low resilience to ecological stresses.
“We saw the impact wars had in those countries in terms of the numbers who were forced to migrate. Now they are also going to be facing increased stress on their water and food supplies.”
The Ecological Threat Register measures the risk to countries arising from population growth, water stress, food insecurity, droughts, floods, cyclones, rising temperatures and sea levels.
The report found that 141 countries were likely to be exposed to at least one ecological threat by 2050.
The 19 countries with the highest number of threats have a combined population of 2.1 billion people, representing close to 25 per cent of people in the world.
Water stress represents the most significant concern to life in the Middle East over the coming decades, according to Mr Killelea.
The number of recorded water-related conflict and violent incidents increased by 270 per cent globally in the past decade.
Since 2000, most of those incidents took place in Yemen and Iraq, according to the report.
The report states there are 2.6 billion people in the world who are experiencing water stress today, a figure which is predicted to grow to 5.4 billion people by 2040.
The worst affected countries are predicted to be Lebanon, Singapore, Israel and Iraq.
“Ecological threats and climate change pose serious challenges to global peacefulness,” said Mr Killelea.
Over the next 30 years, lack of access to food and water will only increase without urgent global cooperation, he warned.
“In the absence of action civil unrest, riots and conflict will most likely increase. Covid-19 is already exposing gaps in the global food chain.”
Palestine was also named in the new report as being among the countries where water scarcity represented the biggest ecological threat over the next 30 years.
The report also stated the global demand for food is expected to increase by 50 per cent, meaning that many more people will be at risk of hunger unless there is a significant increase in supply.
More than two billion people across the world already face uncertain access to food, that figure is predicted to increase to 3.5 billion by 2050.
With the world’s population expected to rise to 10 billion over the next three decades, the IEP predicts access to food is going to be a major issue for large sectors of the global population.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, said last month that bolstering food and water security was a top priority for the UAE.
He stressed that the Covid-19 outbreak had only served to highlight the need to be self-sufficient.
A global report, published by the Water Resources Institute (WRI) in August, 2019, ranked the country 10th out of 164 in a global league table of nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The UAE was among 17 countries facing “extremely high water stress”, researchers said, meaning 80 per cent of available surface and groundwater in an average year is being consumed.
Mariam Al Mheiri, Minister of State for Food Security, called for water resources to be managed more effectively through the use of advanced recycling technologies during a meeting with Sheikh Mohammed.
“The food and water security file shows an urgent need for sustainable development and enhancing the work of the management of resources to provide water and food for future generations," she said.
Mr Killelea added that the growing economy in China will also put extreme pressure on global food demand.
“The rising incomes in north Asia, particularly in China, will mean more people will move into the middle class, a demographic that traditionally consumes more food,” he said.
“That puts additional stresses on what food is out there which is likely to increase the cost as well.”
The countries predicted to struggle the most with food supply issues are Sierra Leone, Liberia, Niger, Malawi and Lesotho, where more than half of the population already experience uncertainty with access to sufficient food to be healthy.
It is not just countries in the developing world that are at risk from ecological threats over the coming decades.
Mr Killelea said regions such as Europe and North America will be impacted by the number of refugees created by ecological crises.
“We saw how the refugee crisis of 2015 and 2016, which saw two million people flee to Europe, created political turbulence and social unrest,” he said.
“Mass displacement will lead to larger refugee flows to the most developed countries.
“Ecological change is the next big global threat to our planet and people’s lives, and we must unlock the power of business and government action to build resilience for the places most at risk.”
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Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
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if you go
The flights
Fly direct to Kutaisi with Flydubai from Dh925 return, including taxes. The flight takes 3.5 hours. From there, Svaneti is a four-hour drive. The driving time from Tbilisi is eight hours.
The trip
The cost of the Svaneti trip is US$2,000 (Dh7,345) for 10 days, including food, guiding, accommodation and transfers from and to Tbilisi or Kutaisi. This summer the TCT is also offering a 5-day hike in Armenia for $1,200 (Dh4,407) per person. For further information, visit www.transcaucasiantrail.org/en/hike/
Roll of honour 2019-2020
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Hurricanes
Runners up: Bahrain
West Asia Premiership
Winners: Bahrain
Runners up: UAE Premiership
UAE Premiership
}Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes
UAE Division One
Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II
UAE Division Two
Winners: Barrelhouse
Runners up: RAK Rugby
Name: Brendalle Belaza
From: Crossing Rubber, Philippines
Arrived in the UAE: 2007
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi: NYUAD campus
Favourite photography style: Street photography
Favourite book: Harry Potter
The biog
Name: Mohammed Imtiaz
From: Gujranwala, Pakistan
Arrived in the UAE: 1976
Favourite clothes to make: Suit
Cost of a hand-made suit: From Dh550
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MATCH INFO
Barcelona 4 (Messi 23' pen, 45 1', 48', Busquets 85')
Celta Vigo 1 (Olaza 42')
Roll of honour 2019-2020
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Hurricanes
Runners up: Bahrain
West Asia Premiership
Winners: Bahrain
Runners up: UAE Premiership
UAE Premiership
Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes
UAE Division One
Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II
UAE Division Two
Winners: Barrelhouse
Runners up: RAK Rugby
RESULT
Chelsea 2
Willian 13'
Ross Barkley 64'
Liverpool 0
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
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- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
About Krews
Founder: Ahmed Al Qubaisi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Founded: January 2019
Number of employees: 10
Sector: Technology/Social media
Funding to date: Estimated $300,000 from Hub71 in-kind support
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Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
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A fraudulent investment operation where the scammer provides fake reports and generates returns for old investors through money paid by new investors, rather than through ligitimate business activities.
AGL AWARDS
Golden Ball - best Emirati player: Khalfan Mubarak (Al Jazira)
Golden Ball - best foreign player: Igor Coronado (Sharjah)
Golden Glove - best goalkeeper: Adel Al Hosani (Sharjah)
Best Coach - the leader: Abdulaziz Al Anbari (Sharjah)
Fans' Player of the Year: Driss Fetouhi (Dibba)
Golden Boy - best young player: Ali Saleh (Al Wasl)
Best Fans of the Year: Sharjah
Goal of the Year: Michael Ortega (Baniyas)
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
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Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
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Company profile
Name: Thndr
Started: October 2020
Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000
Funding stage: series A; $20 million
Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC, Rabacap and MSA Capital