Abstract
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has aligned its development polices and agendas with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, a driver provided by the UN to contribute towards sustainability. As part of this commitment, sustainability in the construction industry is continually evolving. The movement towards sustainability in construction is challenging in the UAE due to the climate, geographical location, economy and availability of natural resources. The UAE has therefore developed specific legislation requiring “green construction”. Over and above the legislation, developers in the UAE recognise the value in achieving certified “green” credentials through the adoption of optional sustainability assessments in their projects. Geotechnical engineering is a specific branch of civil engineering focussing on soil-structure interaction and geotechnical input is required for the design and construction of almost every civil engineering project. This study reviews the current mandatory regulations and practices, with respect to the input from geotechnical engineering. It highlights that as a discipline there is little contribution towards sustainability and concludes that geotechnical engineering can and needs to contribute more. Practical solutions to improve geotechnical engineering sustainability are proposed, as are opportunities for further research and development of geotechnical engineering sustainability.
Highlights
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a constitutional federation of seven Emirates; Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Umm al-Quwain, Ajman, Ras al Khaimah and Fujairah
Civil engineering sustainability is fundamental to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (United Nations, 2015)
Geotechnical engineering needs to be involved in sustainability for the following broad reasons: Geotechnical engineering is required on almost every project Civil engineering projects, be that buildings, infrastructure or masterplanning, almost always require geotechnical input into design and construction
Summary
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a constitutional federation of seven Emirates; Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Umm al-Quwain, Ajman, Ras al Khaimah and Fujairah. The two largest cities in the Emirates are the capital Abu Dhabi and Dubai with populations of around 1 million and 3 million respectively. With a population of almost 10 million, a diverse economy and two of the most prominent cities in the Middle East (Abu Dhabi and Dubai), the UAE is a regional and global economic centre. In the 2006 report (World Wildlife Fund, 2006), the United Arab Emirates had the largest ecological footprint per person, per country, in the world, predominantly because of its carbon emissions. In 2010 (World Wildlife Fund, 2010), the United Arab Emirates had reduced it per capita ecological footprint but was still the third highest in the world (behind its Middle Eastern neighbours, Kuwait and Qatar). In 2016 the report highlighted that the United Arab Emirates is still amongst the countries with the highest footprint (World Wildlife Fund, 2016)
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