The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) and Sharjah Environment Company, Bee'ah, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to promote more cooperation towards achieving the indicators of the UAE Vision 2021 National Agenda, pertaining to the environmental and green growth targets.

The MoU was signed by His Excellency Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, and His Excellency Thabit Salim Al Turaifi, Deputy Chairman of Bee'ah and Director General of Sharjah City Municipality, at the Ministry's headquarters.

Under the MoU, MOCCAE will hold regular meetings with Bee'ah to review work progress, ensure data accuracy and follow up on upcoming initiatives and schemes in Sharjah to help achieve the national indicators. The meetings will also see the two parties create, develop and update a waste database in the UAE, as well as organize joint workshops and training programs for knowledge transfer and sharing of experiences in waste management.

Bee'ah, under the MoU, will collaborate with MOCCAE to achieve the annual targets of the national indicator related to waste management in Sharjah. This stipulates reducing the current average of municipal solid waste per capita from 1.3 kg to 1.1 kg in 2021, and increasing the current percentage of treated waste of the total waste generated from 60 percent to 76 percent by 2021.  

The two parties agreed to assemble a joint committee to execute the MoU and facilitate cooperation and coordination efforts.

Speaking on the new partnership, His Excellency Dr Al Zeyoudi said: "The MoU with Bee'ah is in line with our vision to pioneer sustainable development of the environment, and our commitment to unify efforts and collaborate with public and private sectors to achieve the Sustainable Environment and Infrastructure indicator in the UAE Vision 2021 National Agenda."

Dr Al Zeyoudi noted that the MoU will serve as a cornerstone for collaborative efforts between the two parties to roll out plans and initiatives that will ultimately improve national indicators related to waste.

Thabit Salim Al Turaifi pointed out that Bee'ah seeks to strengthen cooperation with all entities and institutions to serve the interests of the emirate of Sharjah and learn from the successful experiments and expertise.

He added that Bee'ah, through this cooperation, will be able to achieve its goal to provide the best quality of services to the public and apply best practices in all fields, especially with regard to maintaining the cultural and aesthetic appearance of the city.

He noted that Bee'ah has made significant strides in recycling and waste disposal approaches as part of its sustained efforts to protect the environment. He praised the existing cooperation between the two entities and the efforts to achieve their mutual goals.

Al Turaifi said: "We are confident our productive synergies with the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment will enable us to meet the expectations to help achieve the UAE strategy and vision this time as well."