Saudi-Arabien Wirtschaftshandbuch Saudi Arabia Business ... - Ghorfa

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envIronment
In recent years, great efforts have been made in Saudi Arabia
to significantly improve environmental conservation
measures and develop an awareness for the environment
among the population. This is reflected in the passing of
many environmental laws, improvements in the climate
controls and research and the regular measurement of air
pollution. Environment issues are the responsibility of a
number of public and private offices. The most important
office at the national level responsible for environmental
protection is the Meteorology and Environment Protection
Administration (MEPA). Saudi Arabia has undersigned
the most important international environment
conventions, for example the UN-convention on climate
change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol.
During the course of the 7 th development plan (1999-
2004), Saudi Arabia invested 313 billion US$ in projects
aimed at improving the level of environmental protection.
The current 8th plan (2005-2009) has set aside
384 billion US$ for environment projects; this equates
to an increase of around 23%. The planned projects and
programs focus on conserving natural resources, further
development of the environmental infrastructure, protecting
the flora and fauna, and promoting an awareness
for the environment.
One central aspect of the environmental measures is the
improvement of the waste management system. Following
the growth in the population and the improvement in
the standard of living, the quantities of household waste
have risen continuously and reached a volume of 10.4
million t in 2004; this equates to an approximate 440kg
of waste per person per year (in comparison: United Arab
Emirates 425kg; Europe 240kg). The development plan
provides for the construction of eight further plants in addition
to the three existing organic household waste recycling
plants. Also, the number and/or capacities of the
recycling plants for paper, glass, tins and metal waste will
also be further increased.
The treatment of medical waste produced in particular by
hospitals, health care centres, and producers and dealers
of medical devices, which is constantly on the rise (1999:
25.500t; 2004: 30.100t), will also be addressed. Work is
currently underway on drafting an integrated concept for
treating medical waste.
As far as the rising volumes of industrial waste are concerned
(from 2.1 million t (1999) to 2.7 million t
(2004)), the recycling industry does not have the capacity
to recycle it all. The main reason for this is that, for
cost reasons, there is no comprehensive waste separation
and collection system for industrial waste.
In the past few years, progress has been made in Saudi
Arabia in the treatment of communal and industrial
waste water. Around one third of the households today
are connected to the communal waste water network. In
total, the existing sewage works are only capable of treating
22% of the communal and industrial waste water that
is generated. However it is remarkable that the treatment
of waste water is completely guaranteed in the industrial
towns of Jubail and Yanbuc. The construction of new
waste water treatment plants and the further development
of the waste water network is an important environmental
policy measure for the near future.
Saudi Arabia purchases almost all its environmental
equipment from abroad. There is also a huge market potential
for German companies here because, due to the
existing deficits in the environmental protection field,
the demand for this kind of technology, engineering work
and equipment will continue to grow.
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BilDunGS- unD GeSunDheiTSSekTOr
Als wichtige Säule der sozial-ökonomischen Entwicklung
widmet der Staat dem Bildungssektor besondere
Aufmerksamkeit. Sichtbar ist dies z.B. am wachsenden
Anteil der staatlichen Bildungsausgaben am BIP. Dieser
stieg von 3,5% (1970) auf 9,5% (2006) und über 10%
(2007). Die Lese- und Schreibfähigkeit erreichte dank