A new female starchitect on the rise? BM Studios is an architectural firm bridging the East and the West. In this article, Balsam Madi shares her approach to climate sensitive design and discusses the role of architects today.

In the UAE, architects often have more influence than they realize, particularly at the early, conceptual stages of a project. How do they weigh that responsibility? How is the role of architects today influencing climate sensitive design? We speak with Balsam Madi from BM Studios to learn more.

Architectural teams are typically structured into distinct roles as concept architects, design development teams, specifiers, and project managers. But these roles frequently operate in silos, especially within large corporations, she tells Green Prophet.

Design managers, who liaise across teams and maintain continuity, are still relatively rare. This hierarchy has a direct impact on sustainability outcomes, notes the young, aspirational architect working between Berlin and Dubai at the firm she founded, BM Studios.

In Balsam’s former role as a senior lead designer at KEO, sustainability was not an add-on, she says, it was embedded in her responsibility. She was expected to introduce cultural research, emerging design trends, sustainable strategies, and even AI-driven methodologies into the workflow. Knowledge transfer was central to her role: staying ahead of global conversations and translating them into locally relevant design decisions.

Sustainability entered most powerfully during the concept phase, which she was leading, through storytelling. She reinterpreted vernacular architectural techniques using contemporary aesthetics that clients respond to today, while quietly embedding passive strategies, climate intelligence, and material efficiency. Referencing comparable cities and precedents helped position sustainability not as a risky experiment, but as a proven and aspirational solution.

She also naturally stepped into a design management role, coordinating day-to-day processes, aligning design development teams, specifications, and material research. Early decisions around modularity, prefabrication, and low-impact construction often made the biggest difference, long before sustainability became a checklist. This coordination allowed quality assurance throughout costing and specification stages—precisely where silos often form and opportunities for design integrity and sustainability are lost.

As independent practitioners, architects become translators, strategists, and sometimes marketeers of sustainability, not superficially, but by demonstrating how responsible design enhances value, longevity, and relevance.

After leaving the corporate world and working independently, she found more freedom to advocate for these ideas, she tells Green Prophet. As independent practitioners, architects become translators, strategists, and sometimes marketeers of sustainability, not superficially, but by demonstrating how responsible design enhances value, longevity, and relevance. They are expected to do it all!

Over the next decade, architects who can bridge vision, systems, and persuasion will shape the industry far more than those focused on form alone, she says. Having knowledge about LEED-building, or Estidama Pearls isn’t enough.

Where Architects Truly Influence Sustainability

Landscape design for a private Dubai client. Balsam Madi.

Architects genuinely influence sustainability at three critical points: concept design, advisory roles, and spatial intelligence. The greatest constraint, however, remains resistance to change.

Balsam once proposed a flexible housing strategy inspired by open-building principles and early Japanese residential models, homes designed to evolve with families rather than forcing families to adapt to rigid layouts. The concept was profitable, socially progressive, and sustainable, yet it was not well received. The real estate sector, despite its creative veneer, often prefers familiarity over innovation.

Some of her most successful sustainability-driven typologies—projects that doubled developer yields—were led by developers who were architects themselves. Leadership mindset matters. Sustainability is not just about trees or technology; it’s about designing spaces that perform socially, economically, and environmentally over decades.

Cultural constraints also play a role. Ambition in the Middle East region is high, but often paired with impatience. Limited time for research, testing, and long-term planning undermines sustainable outcomes. Developers who have truly excelled invested in R&D and allowed innovation to mature, positioning themselves with distinct value propositions.

Architects also influence sustainability through advisory work: optimizing layouts for waste management, connecting developers with recycling or composting partners, and improving operational efficiency through better planning. These opportunities are frequently missed, often due to a narrow procurement mindset focused on either lowest cost or premium solutions, with little space in between.

Quality is another issue. First-time developers sometimes hire very young firms to reduce costs, resulting in poor layouts and dysfunctional living spaces. Sustainability, at its core, is systems thinking. When treated as isolated gestures rather than an integrated framework, it loses both meaning and impact.

From Designing Form to Designing Systems

Balsam says she loves concept design, “the iterative process, the moment when an idea clicks and demands to be built. That creative spark is sacred. But today, AI can generate iterations faster than entire teams once could. This raises an important question: if machines can explore form, what is the architect’s true value?

“For me, the answer is systems thinking and orchestration. Architecture is no longer about isolated objects; it’s about aligning structure, MEP, HVAC, materials, construction sequencing, and long-term operation from day one. Certifications like LEED touch on this, but the principle runs deeper. Designing holistically from the start avoids waste, redesign, and inefficiency later.

“One of my engineering management professors once said architects are ‘artists with rulers’ and ‘conductors of the construction orchestra.’ We don’t play every instrument, but we understand how they work together. That ability to coordinate, adapt, and guide is irreplaceable.

“This is why my practice spans architecture, interiors, landscape, and product design. Design is a universal language. If you can take an idea from concept to execution in one medium, you can do it in many. The future architect is a systems leader, strategist, and coach—someone who maintains the big picture while navigating complexity with clarity,” she tells Green Prophet.

“As a result, I developed a sustainability arm within my practice that connects businesses, end users, and service providers working on sustainable products. This includes integrating sustainable MEP systems and sensors into high-end heritage spaces—design work that is less conceptual and more coordination-driven, yet increasingly in demand as architecture moves beyond a unilateral definition.

Climate, Materials, and the UAE Context

If you are developing a dream in the UAE, “the biggest challenges in the UAE are climate and infrastructure, particularly mobility,” says Balsam.  “While Dubai’s metro is efficient, many communities lack shaded walkways, green corridors, and pedestrian-friendly design. This disproportionately affects lower-income areas and creates daily stress.”

Materially, many buildings are not designed for long-term exposure to heat and humidity, she notes. “Façades and systems often deteriorate within 20 years, reducing value and increasing vacancy. Rather than resisting the region’s appetite for renovation, we should specify materials with strong life-cycle performance, recyclability, and adaptability. Outdoor construction, in particular, needs stricter material guidelines. Initiatives like Colab in D3 advocate for sustainable material use, but ultimately this requires leadership-level commitment.

“Too often, sustainability manifests as confusion at the operational level and box-ticking at the corporate level. When it becomes jargon detached from empathy and responsibility, it loses credibility. Real change starts with environmental literacy and a shared sense of stewardship for place.”

Beyond Ratings: An Ethical Foundation

Balsam tells us, that there is a growing disconnect between global sustainability agendas and on-the-ground impact. While conferences consume enormous budgets, grassroots sustainability startups, the true innovators, often struggle to survive without access to capital.

Certifications and data have their place, she says, but when sustainability becomes bookkeeping rather than belief, skepticism follows, particularly around topics like Net Zero. “An ethical, zero-harm intention recenters sustainability around empathy—toward nature, communities, and future generations.

“When intention leads, capital can be distributed more holistically, allowing ecosystems to thrive across all roles, from change-makers to policymakers.”

About Balsam Madi, Founder of BM Studios

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Can a cross-border hospital between Israel and Jordan anchor environmental cooperation too?

Israel and Jordan are moving ahead with one of the most ambitious cross-border development projects in the Middle East: the Jordan Gateway, a joint industrial and employment zone straddling the border near the Jordan River Crossing. Conceived during the 1994 Israel–Jordan peace talks, the zone is finally gaining momentum after years of legal disputes and construction delays.

Now, Israeli officials have confirmed that a hospital on the Israeli side, designed primarily to treat Jordanian patients, is under active government consideration. We’ve written about water cooperation and the Red Dead Canal which never happened. And now that Israel is cooperating with India, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, the region is gearing up for movement of goods, people and know-how form the east to the west.

The proposed medical centre, described by Emek HaMaayanot Regional Council head Itamar Matiash as “a centre for cancer treatment, so that people from Jordan or further away could come and receive treatment,” would become the flagship of a wider cluster of medical, academic and innovation-based services planned for the Israeli half of the zone.

Meanwhile, the Jordanian side is already home to several low-tech factories aimed at reducing unemployment, which remains around 18 per cent in the kingdom compared with roughly 3 per cent in Israel.

The defining feature of the Jordan Gateway is its carefully engineered border model. Workers from both countries will be able to enter the shared industrial zone while remaining inside an “ex-territorial bubble”. Jordanians entering the Israeli zone will not be granted entry to Israel beyond the site, and Israelis crossing to the Jordanian side will not enter Jordan proper. Full entry into either country will continue to require the formal Allenby Crossing procedures.

This controlled permeability reflects both diplomatic pragmatism and urgent security realities following the 2023 Hamas-led attack and subsequent regional instability, as well as recent violent incidents involving drivers crossing from Jordan into Israel to commit acts of terror. But not everyone should suffer from terrorism.

Beyond bilateral cooperation, the project’s strategic significance extends far beyond the Jordan Valley. The site is now positioned as a critical node in the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), the US-backed transport vision designed to link Indian manufacturing hubs to Gulf ports, Israel and ultimately to European markets. This route circumvents passing through Iranian waters and areas of the Red Sea being terrorized by Yemen’s Houthis and Somalian pirates.

Under current planning, goods could cross into Israel at the Jordan Gateway, be transferred onto rail lines to Haifa Port and then shipped onwards to Europe. Officials from the United States and European Union have already conducted site visits and expressed interest in the zone’s potential role as a resilient logistics alternative to traditional Red Sea and Suez routes.

But if the Jordan Gateway is to become a model for regional integration, its long-term success will depend as much on environmental governance as on geopolitics. The Jordan River Valley is an ecologically fragile corridor long damaged by over-extraction, pollution and climate-driven water scarcity.

Fortunately, the region already hosts some of the world’s most established cross-border environmental collaborations.

EcoPeace Middle East founded by Gidon Bromberg (and featured on Green Prophet regularly) —bringing together Jordanian, Palestinian and Israeli practitioners—has spent decades advocating joint water management and ecological restoration.

Its “Green Blue Deal for the Middle East” proposes exactly the type of shared environmental planning the Jordan Gateway will require. Likewise, the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, located near the Israel–Jordan border, has trained more than 1,800 Israeli, Palestinian, Jordanian and international students in solar energy, desert agriculture and water-scarce resilience.

These networks offer rare and durable frameworks for cooperation that continue even during periods of political tension. Participation by Jordanian and Palestinian students, however, is often kept discreet, as some prefer not to publicize their involvement in cross-border programs to avoid potential social pressures when returning to their home communities.

If aligned with such environmental expertise, the Jordan Gateway could evolve into more than an industrial park or logistics hub. It could become a proof-of-concept for environmentally grounded peacebuilding—a space where economic incentives, ecological restoration and pragmatic diplomacy reinforce one another. In a region where borders often divide ecosystems that must function as a whole, this may be the most significant experiment of all. Peace comes only through shared values, and content.

Without that, peace making is an empty word.

“For a long time, my soul dwelt with those who hate peace,” says Psalm 120.

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The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a dominant force in the Middle East’s green-finance landscape, driven by strong government commitments, influential sovereign-wealth funds, and clear regulatory frameworks. The market continues to grow in sophistication and volume, reinforced by initiatives following COP28. The country first came on our radar in and around 2008 when it began developing Masdar City, which was to be a zero carbon city. It has become an innovation hub and poster for the country’s sovereign wealth that is investing in cleantech and innovation. As the UAE knows full well, the fossil fuel economy can’t grow innovation or a future once the world reaches peak oil, or peak tolerance for carbon emissions.

Market Leadership and Growth

How does the UAE lead in bond market resilience? The UAE remains a primary source of sustainable bond issuance in the Middle East. While regional issuance saw a slight dip in 2024 due to global economic factors, the market is expected to recover, with S&P Global Ratings projecting USD 18 to 23 billion in total regional sustainable-bond issuance for 2025.

Financial-institution dominance: Financial institutions drive a large portion of the sustainable-bond market in the UAE, while corporate issuances have been more volatile.

Green financing in the UAE focuses heavily on renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable real estate, and transportation.

The Catalytic Role of Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs)

Leading wealth funds: Abu Dhabi-based entities like Mubadala, ADQ, and Masdar are pivotal in driving the UAE’s green transition.

Masdar’s green bonds:

As a global clean-energy leader, Masdar uses its green bonds to finance greenfield projects in renewable energy, green hydrogen, and battery storage. In May 2025, Masdar’s third USD 1 billion green bond was oversubscribed by 6.6 times, attracting strong international and regional investor interest. The proceeds have been deployed globally, supporting solar, wind, and storage projects. Masdar releases 2024 Green Finance Report.

Masdar City never reached its projected population but it now houses thousands of students, residents, and businesses (e.g., Siemens, IRENA). It’s a functioning R&D and university hub, not abandoned.

The Alterra Fund:

Launched by the UAE at COP28 with a USD 30 billion commitment, Alterra aims to mobilise USD 250 billion by 2030 to finance the new climate economy. It includes a USD 5 billion arm focused on catalysing investment in underserved markets.

ADQ’s strategy:

ADQ embeds ESG principles across its portfolio and has a dedicated Sustainable Finance Framework to guide its investments toward creating a low-carbon economy.

Mubadala’s commitment:

Mubadala integrates sustainability across its investment lifecycle and has committed to achieving net-zero emissions across its global portfolio by 2050.

Regulatory Framework and Transparency

Financial regulators like the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), the Securities & Commodities Authority (SCA), Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), and the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) have established strong frameworks.

ADGM’s framework: In 2023, ADGM implemented a comprehensive sustainable-finance regulatory framework, including ESG disclosure requirements and regulatory designations for various green financial instruments.

Combating greenwashing: The ADGM framework and SCA regulations aim to mitigate greenwashing by requiring third-party verification, regular reporting and adherence to international standards like the ICMA Green Bond Principles. Because the UAE does not have a history or culture of free press, we cannot verify how those international standards will be monitored and supervised.

UAE Sustainable Finance Working Group: The SFWG, which includes federal regulators, is actively developing a nationwide taxonomy and pushing for enhanced sustainability disclosures. International third parties, without monetary stakes must be involved in supervision of policies and procedures.

Forced disappearances, the lack of worker rights, and lack of human rights questions how the UAE will be able to disclose, monitor and support green frameworks which include these standards at the core. Cross-dressing and homosexuality is illegal in the UAE.

Initiatives for a Sustainable Transition

The UAE continues to rollout frameworks such as the UAE Energy Strategy 2050 in support of its transition to a green economy.

Carbon market: In 2022, ADGM launched the world’s first regulated carbon-credit trading exchange, the AirCarbon Exchange (ACX).

Capacity building: Forums such as the Abu Dhabi Sustainable Finance Forum and educational initiatives from ADGM are building awareness and expertise in sustainable finance.

Green Finance Mechanisms and Models in the UAE: A Strategic Blueprint for a Sustainable Economy

The UAE is rapidly cementing its position as a global leader in green finance, moving beyond its traditional role as an oil-dependent economy to become a hub for sustainable investment. A sophisticated mix of regulatory frameworks, strategic investments by sovereign wealth funds and innovative financial instruments is driving this transition. Backed by ambitious targets like the UAE Net Zero 2050 Strategic Initiative, the country has built a robust ecosystem for financing a green economy.

Sovereign Wealth Funds: The Primary Catalysts

At the heart of the UAE’s green finance strategy are its influential SWFs, which are transitioning from traditional capital allocators to strategic enablers of sustainable finance. Their long-term investment horizons make them ideal for funding large-scale, capital-intensive green projects.

The Alterra Fund, launched with a USD 30 billion seed at COP28, aims to mobilise USD 250 billion by 2030 for global climate action. It has a unique two-part structure, including a USD 5 billion arm dedicated to de-risking investments in the Global South.

Masdar, owned by ADNOC, TAQA and Mubadala, is a global catalyst for sustainable development. It has been instrumental in issuing green bonds and scaling clean-energy projects internationally.

Masdar is the the UAE’s flagship renewable energy company. Compare it to Neom in Saudi Arabia. Masdar has become one of the world’s most active clean energy investors, with projects in more than 40 countries across six continents. Established in 2006 and jointly owned by ADNOC, Mubadala, and TAQA, Masdar operates and develops solar, wind, and green hydrogen projects with a current portfolio exceeding 50 gigawatts of capacity. Masdar also buys companies, and bought a 50% stake in the US business Terra-Gen last year. While the sum was not disclosed, it’s estimated to be a deal worth $500 Mllion

The company’s ambition is to reach 100 GW of installed renewable capacity and produce one million tonnes of green hydrogen annually by 2030. Its projects stretch from the deserts of Abu Dhabi to the steppes of Uzbekistan, where Masdar is developing multi-gigawatt wind farms, and to the Philippines, where it has signed a $15 billion deal for solar, wind, and battery storage projects.

In Europe, Masdar has expanded into Spain and Portugal through the acquisition of a large wind and solar portfolio, while in Africa and island nations like Seychelles it supports off-grid solar and microgrid systems. Domestically, its Shams 1 solar plant remains a regional landmark. Collectively, Masdar’s projects generate more than 26,000 GWh of clean power each year, offsetting around 14 million tonnes of carbon emissions, and symbolizing the UAE’s broader ambition to lead the global clean energy transition.

Innovative financial instruments for foreign investment

The UAE has adopted and adapted a variety of financial instruments to channel capital toward sustainable projects, leveraging both conventional and Islamic finance models.

Sustainable bonds and sukuk: Issuances of green and sustainability-linked bonds and sukuk are foundational to the UAE’s green-finance market. For example, corporate green sukuk were used to fund green commercial buildings. Private sector green sukuk in UAE to incentivise green commercial buildings.

Blended finance: UAE financial institutions, supported by the UAE Banks Federation’s pledge of AED 1 trillion toward green finance by 2030, are increasingly applying blended finance models to attract private capital for sustainable projects.

Carbon-credit trading: The ADGM-based AirCarbon Exchange turns emissions reductions into tradable financial assets, creating a new frontier of green-finance innovation.

Regulatory frameworks

Robust and proactive regulation from both financial free zones and federal bodies is essential for building investor trust and mitigating green-washing risks.

ADGM: A free-zone regulator that now offers regulatory “labels” for Green, Climate Transition and Sustainability-Linked funds and mandates ESG disclosures.

DIFC: The Dubai International Financial Centre runs its own Sustainable Finance Framework and recently launched a Sustainable Finance Catalyst, an AI-driven platform to boost sustainable-finance investment flows.

Federal coordination: The Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG) is finalising a national green taxonomy and enhancing ESG-reporting standards.

While the UAE’s green-finance landscape is advanced, significant challenges remain. A unified national green taxonomy is still in development, regulatory differences persist between mainland and free-zone jurisdictions, and data transparency and capacity building remain work-in-progress. Nevertheless, major growth opportunities lie ahead, including:

• Increased focus on green infrastructure beyond renewable energy—such as water and waste management.
• Green fintech platforms and climate-technology innovation environments.
• Improved ESG data-quality and disclosure frameworks, enabling more informed investment decisions.
• Investing in the UAE gives investors close access to Asian markets.

With its religious tolerance policy and a current embrace of western culture, despite practicing Sharia law, UAE’s green-finance model is dynamic and forward-looking — built on a foundation of sovereign wealth, regulatory sophistication and market-driven innovation. This multi-pronged approach not only underpins its own national climate ambition, but positions the UAE as a critical engine for mobilising global climate-finance flows into the sustainable economy of the next decade. It is certainly leading the green financing market by far in the Middle East, in practice and action.

Zakat, taxes and cultural surprises in the UAE

Beyond finance-instruments and regulation, investors and companies operating in the UAE should be aware of several cultural, religious and tax-related “surprises.”

Zakat is a Muslim duty: Though the UAE does not officially mandate zakat under federal law, many Muslim-owned businesses voluntarily observe it as a religious obligation. Typical calculation is about 2.5 % of eligible wealth (cash, inventory, receivables) after deducting liabilities. And of course, there are regulations, lawayers and advisers in this space: see Zakat advisory & compliance services in the UAE.

If you want to live in the UAE and raise a family there, it’s not easy to become a citizen: Non-Muslims can become citizens of the United Arab Emirates, but the process is highly selective and tightly controlled. Traditionally, UAE citizenship was reserved almost entirely for Emiratis by birth. However, since 2021, the UAE has introduced special pathways for foreigners with exceptional contributions to the country. Citizenship if granted, is mostly symbolic. They don’t have an open-immigration process for the millions of laborers who come there from Pakistan or India. Unlike, Canada.

Also, learn about why Muslims don’t drink alcohol. And how to behave as a foreigner in Dubai.

Taxes: While the UAE is known for having no personal income tax, and a certain kind of tax freedom, it does levy other taxes and fees:

• Value-Added Tax (VAT) at a standard rate of 5% on most goods and services. Official UAE taxation portal.
• Corporate Tax (CT): As of 1 June 2023 for qualifying businesses, a standard rate of 9% on taxable income exceeding AED 375 000. KPMG corporate tax overview.
• Additional levies: Municipal taxes on rental contracts, hotel services, and selective “excise” taxes on certain goods (e.g., energy drinks, tobacco). See: TAXATION OF INTERNATIONAL EXECUTIVES – UAE guide.

Cultural surprises:

• Business relations in the UAE are still heavily influenced by personal trust, relationship-building, and local customs. Respect for Islamic tradition, Friday prayer schedules and Ramadan timing remain very important important if you are doing business there. Things which are normal at home, may not be acceptable in the UAE, like having cannabis in your blood or using CBD oil. If you come on an official visit, invited by a person of power of influence you should be fine.
• Operational licence regimes differ across emirates and free-zones: rules can vary between Dubai, Abu Dhabi and other emirates so on-the-ground due diligence is critical.
• The regulatory framework for green finance is young and evolving — local interpretation of “green” or “sustainable” may still diverge from global norms, so verification and local partner-insight matter.

Further reading on Green Prophet:

1. Arab Energy Fund commits $1 billion to energy transition and decarbonization
2. World Green Economy Summit 2025: Sandeep Chandna’s mission to make sustainability core to business strategy
3. The history and promise of geological hydrogen for fuel
4. $100 million USD fund unites Arab Gulf and Israel (cleantech investments)
5. Abu Dhabi’s Masdar buys 50% stake in American renewables Terra-Gen
6. The Future of Energy: Nuclear Realism vs. Solar Idealism
7. The wind farms of the Middle East

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In a meaningful gesture of environmental solidarity, the Emirates Environmental Group (EEG), in collaboration with Umm Al Quwain Municipality, marked Earth Day 2025 by planting over 1,200 mangrove saplings along the ecologically vital Mangrove Beach in Umm Al Quwain.

The initiative was part of EEG’s longstanding national campaign, “For Our Emirates We Plant”, a grassroots movement that has helped seed millions of trees across the UAE’s arid landscape.

More than a ceremonial planting event, the gathering served as a stirring reminder of the UAE’s growing momentum in greening the desert and amplifying climate action in a region historically synonymous with drought and sand. Earth Day 2025 brought together government officials, academics, youth groups, and families, all united by a common goal: regenerating ecosystems and building coastal resilience in a time of escalating climate emergencies.

“Each mangrove planted today is a living pledge for the future,” said EEG Co-Founder and Chairperson Habiba Al Mar’ashi, addressing attendees. “We are not only restoring coastal forests but cultivating a culture of care and responsibility toward our planet.”

Over the past two decades, EEG has facilitated the planting of more than 2.1 million indigenous trees across the Emirates. Their efforts, particularly since 2007, have resulted in the sequestration of over 186,000 metric tonnes of CO₂ — a measurable contribution to the UAE’s Net Zero 2050 ambitions.

Mangroves: Coastal Guardians and Carbon Powerhouses Mangroves — often overlooked in favor of more iconic forests — are emerging as climate champions. Able to absorb up to four times more carbon dioxide than terrestrial forests, these trees serve as a natural bulwark against rising seas and intensifying storms. They filter water pollutants, prevent coastal erosion, and create rich nurseries for marine life — all while thriving in salty, oxygen-poor soils that would kill most other trees. In hyper-arid nations like the UAE, mangroves have proven their mettle as ecosystem engineers. And interest is surging across the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia recently launched its own coastal reforestation program under the Saudi Green Initiative, with plans to plant 100 million mangroves by 2030. These efforts are vital not only for biodiversity and carbon drawdown, but also for cooling coastlines that are rapidly heating under the climate crisis. Historical Roots of a Green Revolution The UAE’s mangrove legacy is rooted in conservation efforts dating back to the 1970s, when late ruler Sheikh Zayed first introduced reforestation programs in Abu Dhabi.

Since then, the country has slowly cultivated a green spine along its coasts — a powerful symbol of what’s possible when environmental vision meets community action. Green Prophet has previously reported on efforts to protect mangrove ecosystems in the face of destructive development. In 2019, we highlighted the push to use drones to plant mangroves in hard-to-reach tidal zones — a testament to how tech and tradition can coalesce for Earth’s benefit.

A Desert Forest for Future Generations In the Gulf, where freshwater is precious and fertile land is rare, initiatives like “For Our Emirates We Plant” serve as a clarion call for climate resilience.

Mangroves, often viewed as muddy or marginal, are now at the forefront of regional regeneration. They are not merely trees but living infrastructure — cooling cities, sustaining marine life, and holding back the tides. Earth Day 2025 in Umm Al Quwain wasn’t just about greening the beach. It was a reminder that hope can grow even in the harshest conditions — and that in the Middle East, the future might just be forested.

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Ummah for Earth unites Muslim faith groups, including Greenpeace MENA at COP28

Ummah for Earth was founded by Greenpeace and several other activist groups, with the goal to empower Muslim communities who are facing environmental crises. These are faith-based groups who want to solve climate change as well. They are present at COP28 asking for climate remediation using faith-based tools.

The Ummah for Earth Alliance can be found at the Faith Pavilion, along with people like eco-rabbi Yonatan Neril who wrote the Eco-Bible.

The Ummah for Earth Alliance created in 2020 was an initiative led by (created) Greenpeace MENA and other allies. The group now includes 30+ organizations and individuals.

“Our presence will serve to emphasize Muslim and interfaith voices coming from some of the most climate-impacted communities,” the group says in a statement. 

They want COP28 to start a fast and fair fossil fuel phase-out, and be a space for initiating protection for climate vulnerable communities: “My hope is that COP 28 will achieve a new momentum to act more passionately and from the heart to affect the change we need”, said Husna Ahmad, the CEO of Global One, a member of Umma for Earth.  

“As for the faith leaders present there, I invite them to think about humanity through the eyes of a child who has lost everything and is a climate refugee due to the greed, want and injustice of historical polluters, putting aside their own bias and working together for this child and all humanity”.

Umma for Earth members writes out its demands with The Interfaith Statement for COP28 that calls for transformative policies and action to maintain global temperatures within 1.5 degrees Celsius. (We’ve already hit 2 degrees twice in November). They aspire to see a fair implementation for the Loss and Damage Fund while fulfilling climate finance promises to the countries of the Global South following a human rights-centered approach.

Several countries announced their participating in the Loss and Damage fund, as a means to financially support lower-income countries that may be hardest hit from the ravages of climate change.

Islam and the Environment talks with Green Muslims

“Allah has created the universe in cosmic balance (al-Mizan) with all its diversity, richness, vitality and inextricable interdependent mutuality. All creations are Sacred signs of God,” said Imam Saffet Catovic, who comes as an individual from Justice for All.

Catovic has worked in New York City and New Jersey Muslim communities on interfaith environmental justice. He began his faith-based activism in 2009 with Green Faith, the leading interfaith organization on environmental activism and education. He also worked on the Green Ramadan Initiative, a mosque-based project across New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania aimed at modifying environmentally related behaviors during Ramadan, i.e., local procurement of food, community-supported agriculture, reducing water in ritual washing and consumption, and “leftars” (distributing iftar, Ramadan fastbreak, leftovers to soup kitchens).

“Continued investment in the fossil fuel industry is physically destroying the Signs of God and polluting Earth, thereby depriving us and future generations of a safe climate. The time to end the fossil fuel era and safeguard the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is now! At COP 28 we need all nations to take bold action by significantly increasing their ambition both in terms of NDC CO2 reduction targets and moving up the deadlines for achieving them,” Catovic continued.

“Nations of the world must be transparent and accountable in this process, detailing the specific plans with time bound milestones as to how they will achieve a carbon free – renewable energy future. Since the historic Paris accord promises have been made, but not kept.

“Nations need to heed the call of global faith communities, and civil society organizations and associations as well as many cities and towns across the globe and sign unto and implement the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation treaty as a compliment to the Paris accords”.    

Check out The Ummah for Earth alliance demands for Faith leaders at COP28.

Interested in how Islam intersects with the planet’s well-being? Join Green Muslims in DC on Dec. 7 for a Zoom call on Islam and the Environment. You can also read our series of articles about and by the Green Sheikh himself featured here on Green Prophet.

Want to join Umma4Earth? Click here

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The best marathon in the world? Ones where women are allowed to run? This is a hard question to answer and you will get answers as varied as the people you ask. There are the well known marathons, like the New York Marathon in November, the London Marathon in April and the Berlin Marathon in September. Chicago, Boston, Stockholm and Paris follow suit.

What about the best marathons in the Middle East? Now you are in for an adventure. 

Adventurous, sustainable travel that’s good for you, and a marathon rolled into one? That’s a marathon in the Middle East. A marathon to support women runners? Maybe you have an eye on the prize or want to run around holy sites, the land of the cedars, or through grueling but expansive deserts in the Sahara Desert?

Maybe you are a global nomad who’s looking for the next location for roaming and running for the next few months. Nothing like training in situ like a local. Nothing like running for cardio health. And nothing like the Mediterranean Diet for heart health. We are Green Prophet so we’ve got your Middle East marathon bases covered. For this purpose locations in North Africa, the Arab parts of it, are lumped into what we call The Middle East. 

From starts in capital cities to desolate deserts or a run to help save refugees, here is a list of the best runs, the month they run, with varying degrees of atmosphere, speed, beauty and even prize money. Want us to consider adding another to this list? Drop us a line to run@greenprophet.com or a message via Instagram. 

The 10 best marathons in the Middle East

Marathon des Sables, Ouarzazate, Morocco – April

The Marathon des Sables is iconic and profits go to charity. It’s the marathon that might change your life or your status as an athlete. This marathon is more adventure and eco-tourism than any marathon you’ve ever met. “Sables” means sand in French, a second language of Morocco – after Arabic – and it’s in sand you will run. Sand will fill every crack of your soul.

It’s considered the world’s toughest footrace which combines 5 and a half marathons in one, spanning about 200 miles (251km) over five to six days. Everything you will need to eat is carried on your back, except water, as you run through the tops of the Sahara Desert in Morocco, in the heat of the sun, making it a coveted event for top athletes. Proceeds to this event go to a charity that help support desert dwellers. Funds go to solar energy systems and schools. 

Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon, Dubai, UAE – February

The Dubai Marathon is the largest mass sporting event in the Middle East, according to event organizers. It’s an annual road-based marathon hosted by Dubai, United Arab Emirates, since 1998. The marathon is categorized as a Gold Label Road Race by World Athletics. In 2007, it was announced that the 2008 marathon would become the world’s richest long distance running event in history, with one million dollars offered as a prize for a world record and $250,000 for first place for both men and women. 

Top cash prizes still attract the world’s best runners. Participants from the past claimed that while the architecture is beautiful, and the weather is great for Europeans looking for a bit more heat in the winter, most of the race takes place through flat and boring scenery. 

But if you’ve come for the prize month or the ecological attractions before and after, and you are in the trance of running, who cares?

Bahrain International Marathon, Bahrain- February

The Bahrain Marathon is older than you’d think. It was This race was inaugurated in 1979 to coincide with a visit from Queen Elizabeth II, where 15 participants ran. In 1983 Mustafa Fulad became the first Bahraini to complete a full marathon but more and more locals participate in it every year as sports, and the joy of running, catches on in the Middle East.

Today this marathon is known for crossing both desert and mountains on Amwaj Island in Bahrain. Definitely not boring. As per Middle East style, the purse money is about $100,000 every year for top winners in male and female categories.

ADNOC Abu Dhabi Marathon, Abu Dhabi, UAE – December

Enjoy running with marathon elites in the heart of Abu Dhabi, while taking in iconic landmarks, stunning scenery and cheering crowds as you stride in style to finish line success. Run past the Zayed Sports Center, and Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. People come for the biggest prize money at this race, totalling about $300,000 USD dollars every year.

Sahara Marathon, Algeria – February

This intense course, a humanitarian and activist race at its core, starts in the Sahara, and you have to fly in to reach it at Al Ayoun, Algeria. Aid stations are set up throughout as you run in the world’s largest desert.  This marathon event has brought together thousands of runners for a few decades to the Saharawi refugee camps of Tindouf in Algeria. 

The Sahara Marathon is an international sport event to demonstrate solidarity with the Saharawi people with the aim of promoting sport among Saharawi young men and women and financing and developing humanitarian programs to help these people overcome conflict in the region.

Who are the Saharawi people?

The Sahrawi, or Saharawi people, are an ethnic group and nation native to the western part of the Sahara desert, which includes the Western Sahara, southern Morocco, much of Mauritania, and along the southwestern border of Algeria. They are of mixed Berber, Arab and Black African descent. Systematic human rights abuses, police brutality, violations of international law and fundamental rights, the Sahrawi people of Africa’s last colony, Western Sahara, have endured decades of repression at the hands of Moroccan occupying forces. Since replacing Spain as coloniser, Morocco has attempted to control a territory about the size of the UK, using military force to suppress free speech and pro-independence protests. 

Jerusalem Marathon, Jerusalem, Israel – March

Going for a Holy Run? The Jerusalem Marathon is an annual marathon running event held in Jerusalem during the month of March when the weather is pleasant and warm in this Israeli city, also known as The City of David. 

The course begins at Israel’s parliament, passes through Mount Scopus and the Old City, and finishes at Sacher Park. Prize money for winners is only a few thousand dollars, so this is a run you do for your soul. 

Jerusalem’s big brother marathon is the Tel Aviv Marathon, which happens in February attracts more runners and prizes (about $7,000 USD for winners, $40,000 for record breakers) and this year about 40,000 runners made it to the event. Our advice? Stay for a month and come for both marathons.

Update 2024: It’s not announced if the Jerusalem Marathon will go ahead this year but the Tel Aviv Marathon will be in March. 

Antalya Marathon, Anatolia, Turkey – March

The Antalya Marathon, officially International Öger Antalya Marathon, and for a short time known as Runtalya, is an international athletic event that takes place in Antalya, Turkey since 2006. It is one of the best marathons of the Middle East. Run along the sea, a most refreshing course that winds along one of the prettiest parts of the Mediterranean Sea. After the flat course race, rip off your shoes and head to the beach. A most sporting holiday with up to 10,000 others.

Antalya is a Turkish resort city with a yacht-filled Old Harbor and beaches with plenty of boutique hotels. It’s a gateway to Turkey’s southern Mediterranean region, known as the Turquoise Coast for its blue waters. And it’s a great destination for stargazing or launching a yacht to cruise along the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas.

Remnants remain from Antalya’s time in the past as a major Roman port. These include Hadrian’s Gate, built to honor the Roman emperor’s visit in 130 A.D and 2nd-century Hidirlik Tower, with stunning views of the harbor.

The Dead Sea Ultra Marathon, Ein Bokek, Israel – February

The Dead Sea is the lowest place on earth and one of the world’s wonders. Also known for Spencer Tunick’s naked Dead Sea. Cleopatra’s beauty secret too. The highlight of the race, then, is a run towards the sea on the border embankment of the Dead Sea Works that surrounds the southern part of the Dead Sea. It happens only once a year, in marathon and ultra marathon distances, and just for this race, that security forces allow this scenic route to be open along the dikes, giving runners breathtaking views that have so far been observed by employees of the Dead Sea factories. The Dead Sea is dying. Run this race to draw awareness to the devastation caused to it from water overuse and the Dead Sea factories on other side of the sea.

The dike serves as the border area between the Israeli side of the Dead Sea and the Jordanian Dead Sea and they serve as a barrier without a fence between the two countries that maintain a peaceful relationship. So straddle both sides on this once of a lifetime run. 

“Amazing location,” says one runner who ran the Dead Sea, “I think you’d struggle to find a cooler place to run! Not crowded, fantastic photos and drone photos included, plentiful aid stations. But the main plus is definitely the awe inspiring location.”

BDL Beirut International Marathon, Beirut, Lebanon – November

Hosted in Lebanon’s capital city, the Beirut Marathon offers both wheelchair and running races, hoping to inspire health and fitness in the Land of God’s Cedars. 

Beirut is considered the cool kid on the block in the Middle East. It’s a modern city, with modern free thinkers, like the kids nearby in Tel Aviv. Although the two can never meet as conflict with Hezbollah terror groups keeps the borders closed. 

Beirut has suffered some terrible setbacks from corruption, explosions and terrorism.  Running around this Mediterranean Sea city is a powerful way to bring life back to Beirut after devastating losses in the past couple of years. After the run there are plenty of hikes and eco-tourism options to follow around Lebanon. 

Istanbul Eurasia Marathon, Istanbul, Turkey – November

Crossing from Asia into Europe, this full marathon The Istanbul Eurasia Marathon race spans two continents and you cross a bridge to connect them. The Istanbul Marathon starts 300m behind the Bosphorus Bridge; the race course divides in Besiktas turnoff after passing the bridge, then goes down from Barbaros Boulevard to Besiktas, and follows the coastal road to reach Karakoy.

Founded in 1979 in an effort to host a marathon for visiting German tourists, it is one of the oldest races in the region and certainly a foundation for one of the best marathons in the Middle East. And no doubt, visiting Istanbul is an experience you will never forget. The prize money is pretty good, about $50,000 USD every year for the winners.

Lesser known marathons in the Middle East

Already tried these 10 best marathons of the Middle East? Don’t forget there are some other new and noteworthy marathons in the Middle East region: Cairo hosts a stunning race but you need to run 4 times in a loop, the Erbil marathon for peace in Iraqi-held Kurdistan in November.

Amman, Jordan hosts a marathon every year but I don’t love the city. It’s polluted and not walkable. If you want to visit Jordan, try the Petra Marathon in the south and which runs around antiquities; or the Dead Sea Marathon you access from the Israeli side, via Jerusalem. The run starts in Israel and then head over to Aqaba and Petra for tourism before going to Bir Sweir in Sinai, Egypt for a week. 

If you are near Jordan, you can also try the Riyadh Road Runners, a marathon in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia meant for social and professional runners. Women are allowed to run in regular running gear but adapted hijabs make it possible to run covered. There will be a women’s only group running starting in 2022. So join the race and when you run, run in solidarity with the women too. And remember, at ultra-long distances women can outrun men.

Want us to consider adding another to this list of the Best Marathons in the Middle East? Have a sporting event for us to cover, an event which makes sustainable travel even better? Drop us a line  run@greenprophet.com or a message us via Instagram. 

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The pressure for environmentally friendly energy solutions on the globe is now more than ever. With an increased demand for energy supply comes an equally high demand for sustainability and environmental responsibility. In 2013 the Center for Strategic and International Studies released a report that said global energy use will grow by 56% between 2010 and 2040 and that fossil fuels will continue to supply nearly 80 percent of world energy use through 2040.

There is a lot of potential for eco-friendly solutions to be developed in the UAE, which is a promising sign for businesses and the wider economy. The industry needs only to look at the work that Aggreko have done in San Diego. Aggreko is the world’s leading supplier of temporary power, which is always looking at ways to reduce emissions. The Gaslamp Quarter Association requested for the energy suppliers to use alternative fuel for this year’s Mardi Gras celebrations in San Diego as part of their mission to make the event green. One such solution was recycling cooking oil into fuel — a small but extremely effective step.

Director of Aggreko’s Environmental Health and Safety Department, Huey Bourque, said: “At Aggreko, it is our goal to minimize the impact on the environment through careful equipment design, from minimizing spills to implementing the latest emission-control technology.”

With the recent appointment of Dr Sixtus Mulenga as Non-Executive Chairman of Aggreko Zambia, there looks to be a focus on such dedicated projects in Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Mulenga, who has over 35 years of experience in the industry said: “As Zambia works to further develop its mining industry, along with the capacity and coverage of its electricity grid, Aggreko can play a key role in supporting these initiatives, while also supporting a growing and diversified industrial sector.”

As global companies take pivotal steps in helping to sustain energy sources, economies can both support and reap the rewards from any advances. The increasing use of technology to create energy only means more demand for an expansion of the field, meaning more employment opportunities and project opportunities. These are worrying yet exciting times for countries that want to show their potential in energy efficient energy sourcing.

Image by Señor Codo, used under Creative Commons license

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It flies over mountains and through valleys, taking in the vast landscapes and diverse wildlife beneath it. Only this isn’t a bird, it’s a drone.

They’ve had some bad press and the public has been slow to embrace them but after the final of what’s been dubbed “The World Cup of Drones,” things might be about to change. The aim of the year-long Drones for Good contest was to find positive technological solutions to fight modern day issues.

A group of UAE students won the national category for coming up with a practical idea for a drone to improve government services in the Emirates. Their entry, the Wadi Drone, was designed to help local authorities track the country’s diverse flora and fauna in remote desert and mountain areas, where sending a person to do it could harm the natural environment or even be a risk to the person’s safety. Wadi means ‘valley’ in Arabic.

Already – the Wadi Drone is making the work of conservationists easier. It’s being used in the UAE’s Fujairah’s Wadi Wurayah National Park and there are plans to expand it to other areas throughout the country.

Catching wild animals on film

Using commercial drone technology and proprietary software, it flies for up 40 km at a time over the UAE’s mountainous park, wirelessly downloading photographs from 120 camera traps on the ground that capture images of wild animals at the park as they pass in front of a motion sensor. It’s already snapped images of Blandford fox, Gordon’s wildcat, hedgehogs, Caracal lynx and goats.

Related: drones that catch the flamboyances of flamingos

Previously the data was collected twice a year, but with the introduction of the Wadi drone, data can be collected once a month. The drone will also make monitoring easier in summer months, as previously a helicopter had to be deployed when it was too hot to trek.

The Wadi Drone winning team is comprised of four NYU Abu Dhabi students: Martin Slosarik, Ting-Che Lin, Vasily Rudchenko, Kai-erik Jensen, advised by visiting instructor and research associate, Matt Karau. In developing the drone, the team joined forces with the Emirates Wildlife Society and the Wadi Wurayah National Park.

Related: The mailman is a drone in this Arab country

Martin Slosarik, studying electrical engineering at NYUAD, told Green Prophet: “We developed the idea for this project in careful consideration of where drones can and should exist to do good for the benefit of society. It is a great honor to win the national UAE Drones for Good Award,” he said.

The team plan to use the AED 1million ($273,000) prize to fully implement the Wadi Drone project in Wadi Wurayah National Park and they hope to expand it regionally and internationally.

Martin added that the greatest outcome of the competition was not the handful of winning ideas but “the fact that dozens of individuals committed months to develop innovative solutions that envision a world in which drones and humans harmoniously co-exist.”

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Bahrain, in the Middle East is one of the most wasteful nations on earth, according to the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) 2014 Living Planet Report (download the PDF here), published recently. Bahrain as the ninth worst offender in terms of the environmental impact it has on the planet, per head of population.

But Bahrain is not lonely among its neighbors: Kuwaitis, the report highlighted had biggest “ecological footprint”. They consume more resources per person than any other country in the world followed then by Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

“We are on a totally unsustainable path … and are living beyond our boundaries,” says Marco Lambertini, general director for the WWF.

The rest of the top 10 offenders were Denmark, Belgium, Trinidad and Tobago, Singapore and the United States, with Bahrain and Sweden listed in ninth and tenth place, respectively. Funny, because Swedes consider themselves so eco-conscious. Maybe due to a bad conscience.

“The size and composition of a nation’s per capita ecological footprint reflects the goods and services used by an average person in that country, and the efficiency with which resources, including fossil fuels, are used in providing these goods and services,” the report summed up.

It continued: “If all people on the planet had the footprint of the average resident of Qatar, we would need 4.8 planets. If we lived the lifestyle of a typical resident of the US, we would need 3.9.”

Many of the poorer countries on the list, countries like India, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo had an ecological footprint that our world could sustain.

Resources monitored were based on trees being felled, groundwater pumped and CO2 being emitted faster than the earth can deal with it.

Ways Muslims can deal with excessive waste can include reusing water from prayer rituals by recycling it in gardens (for pious plants!), demanding more efficient modes of public transport and buying less packaged foods.

ChameleonsEye / Shutterstock.com

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