Sharjah Municipality (SM) has embarked on a mission of protecting the environment, especially the precious groundwater with the support of Abu Dhabi Environment Agency (Adea).

The municipality recently received an environment agency delegation from Abu Dhabi to exchange experiences and open horizons for cooperation and joint action, study the latest technical practices and technology to protect the environment including groundwater.

The meeting was held in the main municipal building in Sharjah and was led by Director of Environmental Services of SM Eng Ali Jaafar Jaafar and Director of Environmental Assessment, Adea Eng Abdul Salam Al-Hashimi, along with other officials.

Eng Jaafar said that the visit came in the framework of the municipality’s keenness to exchange knowledge of experience with all government authorities and agencies for joint action in environment-related works in the country. Since the country is witnessing a remarkable development in general and Sharjah in particular because of its natural beauty and aesthetic appearance, “we have discussed many topics such as the environmental licensing of factories and projects, infrastructure development, environmental licensing for the drilling and the use of groundwater wells.”

They also discussed the procedures and review of various environmental studies for industrial projects, he added.

Eng Ali Jaafar led the visiting delegation for a tour of the municipality and explained the latest artistic and technical innovations adopted for the protection of the environment and the most important efforts made by management to achieve sustainable development and saving groundwater.

He also discussed the environmental challenges such as air pollution, household and industrial waste, hazardous and non-hazardous waste disposal and how to reduce the waste, recycle and process.

He pointed to the role of management in spreading environmental awareness among members of the community in order to maintain human health.

At the end of the visit, Eng Al-Hashimi lauded the role played by Sharjah Municipality to protect the environment and the continuous cooperation with all bodies and government institutions to achieve the vision and strategy of the UAE to achieve a sustainable environment.