Energy and Environment
The Amazing Male Date Palm
20 Mar. 2005 khaleej Times
AL AIN — Scientists at the Date Palm Research and Development Programme of the UAE University have succeeded in raising a male date palm plant called "Al Ain City Male" a very scarce plant which starts flowering in just 13 months. The Al Ain City male date palm tree has the distinction of carrying 97.5 per cent pollen compared to 75 per cent in other date palm males.
The project is a joint collaboration between the UAE University and the UN Development Programme. Dr Hilal Al Ka'aby, National Director of the project, said the success in raising the tree was all the more noteworthy since laboratories around the world had tried in vain to do it. The Date Palm Research and Development Programme aims at supporting the growth of date palm commercially in the UAE by developing facilities and offering research and expertise in this specialised area which is of national interest.
For more information: http://datepalm.uaeu.ac.ae |
MDGs serve as the new framework for sustainable development by setting social equity goals and targets that aim at contributing to economic development while ensuring environmental sustainability under MDG 7. Integrating sustainable development principles into national policies is critical to successful implementation and promotion of environmental sustainability. UNDP’s assistance to the UAE both at the federal and emirate levels includes:
Date Palm Production
UNDP/UNOPS collaboration with the UAE University stems from the importance of date palm as a national resource and for combating desertification and increasing green areas. The Date Palm Research and Development Programme seeks to produce and enhance date palms varieties through tissue culture methods. One of its goals is to provide scientific and technical information on in vitro propagation in the form of technical leaflets, bulletins, and also in the form of annual technical reports. The achievements made so far have gained tremendous recognition and the programme now serves as a vital source of knowledge and expertise in the region and beyond. It regularly shares its expertise and know-how with other countries such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran and Namibia. Key results include:
a. Annual production of date palm plants by the laboratory increased from 20,000 in the past few years to 150,000 per year. 400,000 date palm plants have been produced since the start of the project. In 2005, the University started selling date palm plants and there has been a significant response and demand for date palm plants from government organisations, the private sector and the public;
b. Several new date palm varieties have been introduced and produced on a large-scale;
c. Technical assistance has been provided to several national initiatives (including proposals on organic farming, biotechnology, agricultural strategies, and the UAE Date Palm Friends Society);
d. Establishment of the Sheikh Khalifa International Date Palm Award;
e. Establishment of the regional centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology;
f. Human resource development (including 1 PhD and 4 Masters level);
g. Technical research (varieties introduced and disseminated and ISO certification).
For more information please visit the project’s website at http://datepalm.uaeu.ac.ae
Numerical Weather Prediction Facility
The project assisted the Meteorological Section to establish a Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) facility. The project enabled the Section to provide, in addition to the present weather forecasts and information, short and medium range forecasts up to 120 hours to different branches and other end-users, as required. The following outputs are expected at the end of the project:
a. Training nationals to become NWP modellers;
b. Visualising and displaying all the Section’s products in an easy and simple way;
c. Running and maintaining the high performance and products of the Section through expertise and specialized meteorologists;
d. Upgrading and computing capabilities of the NWP.
Establishment of Hydro Meteorological Data Base
This project, one of UNDP’s largest in the UAE aims at assisting the Department of Water Resources Studies (DWRS) of the Office of the President in the establishment of:
a. Geo-Hydro-Meteorological Data with additional modules System;
b. Mesoscale Numerical Weather Prediction Model with high resolution form 3-2 km;
c. Training national specialist to operate, maintain and upgrade the two systems.
Current Active Projects under Energy and Environment
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United Arab Emirates 
