In July academics and scholars from across the Gulf states gathered at the University of Cambridge for this year’s Gulf Research Meeting – an opportunity for members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to exchange ideas and share research around a range of issues affecting populations in the Middle East. Liverpool John Moores University joined the meeting and three academics directed a series of workshops focused on balancing economic sustainability with environmental and social impacts.
Here, Dr Turki Al Rasheed, visiting research fellow for Liverpool Business School, graduate of the Doctorate in Business Administration and co-director of the GRM workshops reviews the events and some of the outcomes of the LJMU-led event.
Together with my esteemed colleagues, Dr Yusra Mouzughi, programme leader for Doctoral Programmes at Liverpool Business School, Professor David Bryde from the Built Environment and Sustainable Technologies (BEST) Research Institute, we ran workshops titled ‘Sustainable development Challenges in the Gulf Co-operation Council’ which explored issues facing the GCC and provided decision-makers in both the public and the private sector organisations with a better understanding of the issues aiding them in developing appropriate policies and practices for sustainable development.
We were joined by academic colleagues to look at addressing the challenges that have faced western countries in terms of how to balance the need to develop their economies, whilst at the same time taking into account the impact of such developments on the environment, on communities and individuals.
Over 44 abstracts were received and, after a rigorous review process, nine high quality papers were selected to represent some of the issues on the sustainability agenda.
The workshop was spread over two full days and stimulated lively discussion and debate from the presenters, directors as well as the listening participants. The workshop focused on five main themes:
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general sustainability
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urban development, planning & real estate
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water management
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public and private sector issues
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knowledge and awareness
Providing a solid platform from which to start, the first paper in the workshop gave an overview of sustainability and provided a focus on sustainable production and consumption. The paper touched on the idea of the ‘rentier’ state and its impact on moving towards a culture where sustainability is viewed as important. The next paper focused on the relationship between sustainability and urban development and real estate development. The paper took Bahrain as a case study exploring the opportunities and impacts of sustainability on economic development. This raised much debate and comparisons from workshop delegates from across the Gulf countries.
Technological and social developments in sustainability challenges formed the next stream of papers focusing on sustainable agriculture, tackling the water crisis and a specific case study of water usage in the UAE.
Given the criticality of the topic, the debates and discussion were intense and provided a rich environment for the exchange of ideas and research. This workshop was a very good step in furthering our understanding of the real issues at play.
Taking a more macro view of the sustainability agenda, the next workshop theme focused on green growth and governance providing an overview of challenges in environmental sustainability for the region. The session posed many questions (not all of which were answerable) but offered a platform for further discussion in the area. The workshop ended with two papers under the theme of knowledge and awareness focusing on youth unemployment and raising awareness as a tool for long term development. Both papers were well received bringing the session and delegates to the realisation that policy and decisions makers were only one part of the equation; of equal strength is the importance of changing attitudes and behaviours in order to achieve long term sustainable development.
After the meeting, Dr Mouzughi commented on the outcomes of the workshops: “whilst we concede that the workshop did not, and obviously could not, address all of the challenges that the sustainability topic poses, the workshop did provide an opportunity for debate, discussion and potential for collaborative research between delegates in the West and the GCC in order to provide answers to some of the burning questions.”
Professor Bryde said that “this area is of great importance to the long term development of the whole region and continued research in this area is a must to ensure sustainable development.”
He also acknowledged the importance of the work that comes out of the workshops in relation to organisational support in the Gulf, ”The fact that the workshop was sponsored by the Kuwaiti Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS), highlights the importance of this area for the region.”
In conclusion, the papers and discussions during the two days attempted to address the main sustainability challenges facing the GCC in the current era. The directors tried to draw themes and trends from the presentations and debates in order to develop a broad framework of the main issues that are involved in this complex topic. Delegates have also agreed to set up a virtual forum in order to continue the exchange of research and ideas in the area.
For further information about the GCC visit the website http://grm.grc.net
Watch the video of my presentation on sustainable agricultural development: http://vimeo.com/70765588
Read more about the Built Environment and Sustainable Technologies (BEST) Research Institute: http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/BLT/BEST
Read more about Liverpool Business School: http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/lbs
Titles of papers and authors who delivered presentations during the two-day workshops:
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** Kassem El Saddik:** “Transition toward sustainable development: Sustainable consumption and production opportunities and challenges in GCC”
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Maher Al Shaer: “Impact & Role of Real Estate Developments on the Sustainable Economic Development of Kingdom Of Bahrain
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** Turki Al Rasheed:** “Sustainable Agricultural Development”
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** Martin Keulertz & Mark Mulligan:** “Tackling the water crisis in the GCC – a new proposal for demand-side management”
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Rachael McDonnell: “Quenching the thirst of the UAE: water security stresses that challenge developments”
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Yousuf Al-Balushi: “Examining the critical importance of the Private Sector role as an engine for sustainable development growth in the Gulf Region”
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** Paul Joyce:** “Public governance and green growth: Contextualizing the concepts of governance, economic growth, and environmental sustainability to the GCC countries”
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** Abdulnabi Alekry:** “Youth employment challenge in GCC”
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** Nilly Elamir:** “Improving the sustainable development in the Gulf: Raising awareness as a Tool”
http://blog.ljmu.ac.uk/2013/developing-sustainability-in-the-gulf/