Posted on April, 22 2010

United Arab Emirates: Starting today, citizens of the United Arab Emirates are being asked to follow an animation made almost entirely of paper as they pursue a path to a lower footprint.

The Emirates Wildlife Society in association with the -WWF (EWS-WWF) Ecological Footprint Animation, released today to mark Earth Day, chronicles a newspaper family. We follow a man and daughter that progresses from driving a Hummer to the supermarket to buy and consume imported products, to them leaving by foot with a bag of sustainable products in the course of bringing their ecological footprint down to sustainable levels.

UAE ecological footprint animation (English)- EWS WWF from WWF on Vimeo.

It is a pertinent message for the United Arab Emirates, and part of an extended reaction to the small Gulf state being identified in the 2006 Living Planet Report as having the world's highest per capita Ecological Footprint. The report found if everyone in the world lives like the average UAE resident, we would need four and a half planets to sustain the current consumption of natural resources.

The animation was developed to raise awareness to the general public on the high consumption lifestyles in the UAE, scarcity of natural resources, and the environmental consequences of simple purchasing decisions.

‘We ask people to be inspired and motivated through the animation to pursue a more environmentally conscious and sustainable way of life to reduce their Ecological Footprints and help protect the environment’’, said Laila Abdullatif, Sustainability Coordinator at EWS-WWF UAE.

Since 2005, there have been some positive signs from the UAE. Its footprint is still high - but there are several ambitious initiatives by the UAE Government , for example Masdar City, to lead the country onto a more sustainable pathway.

Although, there is still a long way to go, starting from today, EWS-WWF UAE urges all UAE residents and the rest of the world to think twice before getting in their cars, or buying their favourite foods, and imagine the environmental cost of these luxuries that they take for granted, and ultimately look at other, more sustainable choices.