CAIRO: Nakheel, a UAE-based real estate developer, named renowned Egyptian scientist Dr Farouk El-Baz as its expert advisor for Blue Communities, the company said in a statement to the press. Blue Communities is the new sustainability initiative launched Jan. 19. Nakheel has committed AED 500 million over the next five years to Blue Communities to fund research and development activity and to promote active engagement with international experts on the issues of sustainable development, construction, management and governance of coastal communities around the globe, said the firm. El-Baz is the first such expert to be engaged by the initiative. Although he may be best known for his work with the United States space program, he has devoted his scientific talents during the past two decades to better understanding climatic impact on environments -particularly desert environments. "It is my pleasure to be the first expert advisor to the Blue Communities, one of the visionary initiatives of Nakheel. It is extremely important to constantly seek solutions for sustainable developments, especially those along coastal environments, said El-Baz. "The Earth is called the Blue Planet for a very good reason, and the Blue Communities initiative endeavors to assure living in harmony with the sea, he added. Abdulrahman Kalantar, managing director of design and development at Nakheel said, "Having a renowned scientist of the caliber of Dr Farouk El-Baz on board as an expert advisor for the Blue Communities is an added value to this initiative. This clearly shows Nakheel's commitment to sustainable coastal developments for future generations. El-Baz's role will focus on technical support and strategic planning and studies in order to foster sustainable coastal Blue Communities. Because nearly two thirds of the world's population lives in coastal communities, and a large amount of development is taking place at coastal locations around the world, there is a growing need for significant investment in research, development and the positive transformation of these environments.
