Falaj, also known as qanat or aflaj, is an ancient water management system, that has watered the Arabian Peninsula’s arid lands for centuries. Qanat comes from the Semetic word meaning to dig and some say that the qanat systems are as long as the distance from the earth to the moon. Long-ago tribesmen found underground springs in the foothills of the region, and engineered a technology that channels the water over the land, irrigating farms and oases and supplying households with water as needed.  Although some say that falaj is a concept 3000 years old, others claim 5000 years. We reported on the Al-Baydha project for regenerative agriculture in Saudi Arabia with similar aims here.

What we do know is how admirable and sustainable the falaj system is, built entirely from local materials and hewed out of rock and earth by hand.  First deep wells were dug, or  underground springs redirected, to flow into tunnels that emerge on land and into stone channels containing the streaming water. The waterflow moves across miles of land, as determined by the ancients, entirely by gravity. 

Shafts whose function is to regulate the flow of water are sunk in the channels about every 20 meters.  Today, field irrigation is managed by government-appointed overseers, who monitor which fields receive water, and for how many hours. This is done in some areas by removing covers of brick, stones and sheep fleeces from the openings of the shafts to let the water run in another given direction, then replacing the covers to force the water back.

The Aflaj Irrigation Systems of Oman are ancient water channels from 500 AD located in the regions of Dakhiliyah, Sharqiyah and Batinah. However, they represent a type of irrigation system as old as 5000 years in the region named as Qanat or Kariz as originally named in Persia. This one is in the UAE.

In other falaj,  slab-like barriers are inserted into points built into the channel walls to divert the water, then put back as needed.

Falaj comes from the word aflaj, meaning split, or divided. As the photo above shows, the channels may be split to provide field irrigation on one side, and household water on the other.

Walk through a village in Oman, and you’ll  see pure, channeled water flowing in the streets and between houses. Some channels may be partially covered with slabs of stone placed at regular intervals over the top, to prevent night animals that come to drink from falling in and polluting the water.  

There might even be a bath house for the community, with the water provided by the falaj. In the 14th and 15th centuries, governments whose falaj systems had deteriorated rebuilt the tunnels and overland channels. Recognizing the huge value of the ancient waterways,  today’s Emirati and Omani governments have repaired many and put them back in use. Some areas in Oman have over 50 working falaj.

In the UAE there are seven oases, the largest in Al Ain. The stream rippling and burbling between thriving date palms and water greenery is a beautiful thing to see, and it also irrigates 1.200 acres of land, supplying over 550 farms. 

Community areas were once cleared around the mouths of the channels, where the tribes met to take their share of the crop and hold festivities.  Forts and castles were built around the Al Ain oasis to protect it from marauders, and important archaeological discoveries have been made there. UNESCO declared five of the UAE falaj systems to be heritage sites in 2011. 

The falaj system is said to have originated in ancient Iran early in the first millennium BCE, spreading to China and India.  Tribal laborers known as muqannis hand-built and maintained the water channels and shafts, as their descendants do to this day. 

The post This ancient Arab irrigation system invented before Rome’s aqueduct appeared first on Green Prophet.

Largely considered an environmental “extra” and a way to upgrade green building ratings, new research from Abu Dhabi suggests that building integrated photovoltaics are not just a green luxury item. The recent Middle East-based study found that governments and builders might consider the expense of building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) because in hot, sunny regions like the United Arab Emirates, these solar panels can slash energy costs by as much as 33 percent!

And while we root for local companies and suppliers, the best companies up for the challenge of lining the roofs, and sides of buildings with BIPV are companies from Europe, who have experience not only in choosy LEED-loving locations like London, but also with new clients in the Middle East.

The Austrian company ertex solartechnik is one of them. Dieter Moor, the CEO of ertex told Green Prophet (he is pictured below) that they recently completed a BIPV installation in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates. The company installed 1030 efficient PV modules with an installed output of 149 kWp for the Sheik Zayad Learning Center at the Al Ain Zoo. The BIPV panels installed on the roof can be seen in the top image.

Dieter Moor walking “on” the roof of the Sheik Zayed Learning Center, inspecting the progress of the installation.

Moor tells us that the heat, the shape of the building and the immense amount of dust on the roof of this structure were challenges for his company to overcome when working with a Middle East client.

Of course creating a solution that needs to be shipped afar was also a challenge, but through working with a colleague who spoke the language and knows the culture, some of the obvious cultural barriers were overcome.

The project now complete and soon to be open to the public involved the redevelopment of the 40-year old Al Ain Zoo. The centre will be an exhibition and exploration of the natural and cultural history of the Arabian deserts, as well as deserts worldwide.

Knowing that dust cleaners would need to be a regular part of panel maintenance (cleaners would need to physically walk on them – could they employ monkeys to the job?), ertex custom-made panels with two layers of special tempered 2 mm glass, and strong enough to withstand 400 kilograms of weight –– which they tested in a lab using “human” boots.

As for the shape, non-functioning panels were put in places where part panels needed to be used.

Thanks in part to the ertex solution the Sheik Zayad building was recently awarded the Five Pearl Rating, the highest of the Estidama Pearl Rating System.

The Estidama system is the LEED for Gulf region countries.

Moor says that, “This building evaluation system is in principle comparable with the Austrian ÖGNI or German DGNB System and refers to the sustainability of the property.

Working with the company Enviromena, ertex had to work around a solution for a complicated building: “Everything was rounded,” Moor says, eventually finding a way to make rectangular panels fit into the undulating curves of the roof.

“Full coverage of the surface of the extraordinary building shape was possible and for architectural reasons, 121 special modules with a combined surface area of 1,140m² were manufactured. Due to the net energy production of circa 239,000kWh through the photovoltaic panels, the high sustainability rating can be maintained in the long run,” he tells us.

Surprise, surprise: lots of radiant sun isn’t always a bonus for BIPV: “High temperatures can have a negative effect on the solar cell semiconductors, making them less efficient,” Moor says.

So far ertex has clients around the globe from the UK (The Peak below was one of their projects), the US, Sudan and Turkmenistan to name a few. Their recently completed project in Abu Dhabi shows that they are ready to open their business doors to more Gulf countries looking to Estidama practices, and joining the global trend of environmental sustainability in buildings.

ertex installs BIPV at The Peak in London. Even odd-shaped PV panels were built to collect power. 

When price is no limit, why not?

ertex installs about 1.1 MW of energy per year, and while “most of our customers don’t care about the return on investment, it´s more a discussion about esthetically integration of PV,” says Moor, money put in on energy saved can be about 20 years.

Efficiency and electricity drops over time, so this is obviously an estimate, Moor, a married father of three, adds.

::ertex

The post How ertex Integrates Solar cells into Middle East Buildings appeared first on Green Prophet.

Working with the local environmental agency, a new resort in the United Arab Emirates hopes to entice hunters to come and “kill for the pot” at their high end desert lodge near Al Ain. For a steep sum, they can hunt for deer and gazelle, which will be cooked by trained staff at the end of each day.

Throughout most of Middle East and North Africa, hunting regulations are so poorly enforced that men can shoot a bonnet full of birds or a wolf without any government reprisals.

We’ve seen this time and again in Lebanon, Kuwait and elsewhere. Hunting without careful oversight can lead to devastating losses – like the one million migratory song birds killed for a pickled dish in Cyprus.

Some argue that hunting should be banned altogether, while others claim that total bans are unrealistic and lead to poaching.

Most Green Prophet writers could not be persuaded to pick up a gun and shoot anything – especially not animals that are hanging on tenterhooks in the wild.

But there is clearly a market for hunting, and if we have to choose, we would prefer a regulated hunting environment that involves more than trophies for rich men’s walls.

This appears to be what Mourouj Hotel and Resorts will offer when their new boutique lodge opens in September, 2013. Although nothing about the development promises to be “green.”

Visitors will have their own private pool complete with jacuzzi and sauna in 15 “royal villas” in the water-strapped desert, for which they will pay a whopping $3,763 a night.

This price includes hunting excursions and the use of resort weapons.

While deer and gazelle will definitely be available between September and April each year, according to The National, there’s also a chance that hunters will be able to shoot birds.

“It will be prearranged hunting in coordination with the UAE Environment [Agency] and it will of course take into account safety and security,” Tarek Elsherif, the managing director of Mourouj Hotels and Resorts, told The National.

He added that they hope to attract customers who normally flock to Africa and Asia to spend all their money out in the desert instead.

:: The National

Image of desert gazelle, Shutterstock

The post First African-Styled Hunting Resort in Gulf Country Will Serve its Kill appeared first on Green Prophet.

NPR traveled to the United Arab Emirates to witness firsthand one such lake that rose 35 feet in the last year alone. It was populated by cormorants, herons and even Ferruginous ducks, as well as fish and other species that couldn’t normally survive the harsh desert environment.

Dave Clark, a hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey told NPR that “this lake began to emerge from the sand a few years ago.”

Water taken from the Arabian/Persian Gulf for desalination is pumped to the city of Al Ain, where it is used for drinking, plumbing and other daily needs. It is then flushed to the waste water plant, where is treated.

After the water has been scrubbed, it is used to irrigate the city’s various parks and gardens, of which there are many. Al Ain is known as the “Garden City” because of its abundance of greenery.

Then the water seeps into the ground and eventually makes its way into the surrounding desert. The rising lake outside of Al Ain is one of several similar lakes that are pushing through the sand.

While locals are taken by the water, which is perfectly clean, at least one scientist is concerned that these new lakes will destroy the existing dune habitat.

Brigitte Howarth, an ecologist at Zayed University in Dubai, told NPR that in 2010 she discovered that the midas fly lays its eggs in the area, but since it requires loose, dry sand to be successful, the influx of new water is “a death sentence.”

Clark, who is less concerned, cites the Arabian desert’s sheer enormity: 900,000 square miles of desert wilderness stretches from Yemen to the Persian Gulf and Oman to Jordan and Iraq.

Instead, he is excited about the new birds. He told NPR that each year up to five new species arrive, which is unheard of in the desert. While birds are constantly being pushed afield in eroded landscapes across the earth, at least here they have a new sanctuary.

:: NPR

Image of puzzle-shaped pool in the desert, Shutterstock used for illustrative purposes only.

The post New Lake Rose 35 Feet in the Arabian Desert This Past Year Alone appeared first on Green Prophet.

Over 6,000 units of sustainable public lighting have been installed across Abu Dhabi’s capital, as part of three separate projects carried out over the past year, according to a statement released to Gulf News by the Municipality of Abu Dhabi City . The light fixtures conform to sustainability standards specified in Abu Dhabi emirate’s Sustainable Public Lighting Strategy.  That program was decreed by the Department of Municipal Affairs, which oversees the municipality, along with Al Ain Municipality and the Western Region Municipality.

“The application of this lighting strategy will reduce total lighting costs by as much as 40% over the next 20 years,” said Abdullah Al Shamsi, Acting Executive Director of Infrastructure and Municipal Assets at the municipality.

“Previously, humans have had several options in using natural resources, but options began to recede with the surfacing of risks of depletion of these resources. It is imperative to embark on balanced thinking that combines maintains the sustainability of resources.”

The new lights will cut carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 75% and reduce power usage by 60%, compared to the old lighting system these units replace.  The new lights also reduce maintenance works by 40 to 80%  going forward.

What’s really exciting is their plan to gradually dim street lights by up to 50%: light pollution of the evening skies is an incidious side affect of urbanization.

Light pollution is excessive or obtrusive artificial light that spills beyond it’s targeted surfaces, intruding into physical and atmospheric space.  At a minimum, it prevents enjoyment of the natural nocturnal environment, blocking the night sky from view, and interfering with skygazing.

Light pollution also disrupts ecosystems. Nocturnal fauna experience disrupted behavioral cycles, and humans living near excessive light spillage often report sleep disorders and stress.

“The gradual dimming of streets lights will raise the anticipated benefits accruable from this Strategy,” added Al Shamsi.

The Municipality held a series of workshops to facilitate strategy adoption and implementation throughout the emirate.

Revised standards and specifications have been released that apply to lighting on streets, bridges, tunnels, pedestrian areas, public squares and parks.  The standards specify different types of lighting,  detailing acceptable lightpole shapes and heights, nature of lighting, gradual dimming applications, and lighting sources. The specs also clarify minimum light intensity and rate of distribution for several classes of roadway including highways, subsidiary roads, local internal roads, access lanes, walkways and overlapping traffic areas.  Lighting is specified for application underneath bridges and car parks, too.

It’s likely the improvements were instigated by the recent transfer of street lighting  maintenance from the  public joint stock company Abu Dhabi Distribution Company to the municipalities.  The municipalities are trending in takeover of public lighting from developers too, and in the process they are modifying existing fittings which have high energy consumption rates. No matter if the motivation was fiscal, the environmental end result is positive and large. And how great is it that these guys are focusing on premium fixture performance rather than mimicking “stylish”  appearance?

“The Municipality of Abu Dhabi City is undertaking various sustainability initiatives. In cooperation with The Center of Waste Management,  the Municipality embarked on a pilot project to use gravel recycled from the demolition and construction waste in road projects. Over the next few months, the Municipality will also implement a new initiative for improving the performance of the soil in road paving; all of which stem from the vision and drive of developing a sustainable infrastructure in the city and Emirate of Abu Dhabi,” added Al Shamsi.

Hope the neighbors are watching.

Image of new solar light fixtures via solarone.net

The post Lightbulb Flips On Over Emirati Planners appeared first on Green Prophet.

Africa’s most dangerous animal will make its debut in time for the upcoming Eid holiday at the Al Ain zoo in the United Arab Emirates. The hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) is a massive herbivore that roams swamps and shallow waters throughout sub-saharan Africa.

My stepmother kissed Jessica the Hippo on her rubbery snout last year in South Africa, but get between a normal mother and her calf, and you may as well say your prayers.

Mature male hippos can weigh as much as 3 tonnes, but that doesn’t stop them from running at speeds of up to 19mph, and they are very unpredictable. They may appear docile, but they’re fearsome animals that have until now been kept out of view of Emiratis who frequent the Al Ain zoo.

This doesn’t mean they weren’t always there. Gulf News reports that hippos have been a part of the zoo’s animal collection for a long while, but this is the first time that they will be presented to the public.

It’s not easy to keep hippos in captivity – especially not in a sauna like the Gulf region. They require special facilities to ensure they can stay suitably cool.

Unlike Egypt’s zoos, which are mostly rundown places that badly neglect the wild animals they keep, the Al Ain zoo is a respected facility that has conducted a variety of breeding programs over the years.

They have ensured that the hippos will have access to water that is cleaned with a special filtration system as well as shading trees and shrubs.

There will be five hippos on display in sum and the zoo is open to visitors during the Eid Al Fitr holidays from 10am to 10pm; thereafter the exhibit will be open from 4pm to 10pm.

:: Gulf News

image via Tafline Laylin

The post Africa’s Most Dangerous Animal to Greet Eid Vistors at Gulf Zoo appeared first on Green Prophet.