Use recyclable products, leave aside plastic bags

MUSCAT, APRIL 17 - Minister of Environment and Climate Affairs Mohammed bin Salim al Toobi emphasised on the need to reduce use of plastic bags and called upon institutions to encourage purchase of products which are recyclable. The minister was speaking at the third edition of Oman Environmental Forum which kicked off on Wednesday at Grand Millennium Muscat, with focus on ‘the green economy, the safe future of development’. “Private sector institutions should adopt development initiatives within the framework of corporate social responsibility in order to encourage individuals to contribute to protecting environment”, the minister said. While stressing on the need for adoption of green economy’s application, Al Toobi said, this is required in order to achieve the goals of sustainable development and continue with various development projects in accordance with the efforts to protect the environment. “The ministry is making all-out efforts to carry out awareness campaigns to ensure that various institutions and establishments comply with the environmental laws in force in the Sultanate”, he said. The ministry has already launched the “Best Environmental Initiative for Reducing Plastic Pollution” — a competition to raise awareness against this silent disaster, he said. “The initiative looks for ideas and solutions to substitute plastics and encourage its recycling and also the sustainability of recycling projects” he added. During the opening speech, Hatim al Taei, Editor-in-Chief of Al-Roya newspaper and General Supervisor of the Forum dealt with the economic and environmental benefits of the recycling sector. “It helps to promote sustainability and environmental conservation, creates job opportunities, expands sustainable growth prospects, in addition to providing opportunities for SMEs in recycling activities”, he said. According to him, specialized companies in waste recycling can achieve desired profitability and also support the government’s efforts to promote environmental sustainability. Najeeb al Rawas, Under-Secretary at the ministry said that the forum is an effective interactive movement in the environmental sector in the Sultanate. “With the population of the Earth reaching 9 billion by 2050 and the sustainability of current patterns of development, natural resources utilization is expected to increase by 70 per cent. So, global efforts are, therefore, directed towards the creation and adoption of economically viable, socially balanced and environmentally sustainable policies and alternatives” he said. According to him, the concept of sustainability has become an essential element of global research and political agendas for decades and decades to come. “Sustainability has been one of the most important challenges facing the world in this century. Scientists and researchers attribute the main reasons for this to the multiplicity of ideas, approaches and methods on the ground for implementation”, he said. He said that changes in the fields of development, economy and the environment have been remarkably rapid since the industrial renaissance and the shift from unilateral economic visions to more comprehensive visions that recognize the role and importance of the environment in economic development and how is this connected to social aspects and the ability to achieve equal costs and benefits. Al Rawas said that determining the speed, steps and trends of the transition to green economic systems requires an integrated analysis of current and future conditions, challenges and requirements in order to determine when this transition is appropriate for green growth. He stressed that the objectives of different concepts and paths to achieve sustainability intersect with each other, so there may be a need to link them in order to integrate them to work to find mechanisms and standards that effectively balance the economic, social and environmental aspects.