“The Status of Food Waste Management in West Asian Countries and Ways to Reduce Food Loss and Waste” Workshop was recently concluded at the Arabian Gulf University (AGU).
The workshop was organised by the Professional Diploma Programme in Waste Management at the College of Graduate Studies (CGS) in AGU, in cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) West Asia Office as part of the requirements for obtaining a professional diploma certificate in waste management accredited by the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) in the UK.
Since its inauguration in October 2021, the programme hosted an elite group of international officials and experts from AGU and the UNEP’s West Asia Office with the aim of transferring their expertise to the students enrolled in the programme.
Dr Sumaya Yusuf Hasan, Founder and Coordinator of the Program, and Assistant Professor of Environmental Engineering in the Department of Natural Resources and Environment at AGU, explained that the programme attracted distinguished international expertise in waste management, providing insights into policies and applications necessary for optimal waste management, stating that the seventh course of the diploma programme focused on managing biodegradable waste and food waste.
During the workshop, Dr Hasan discussed the opportunities and challenges for sustainable management of food loss and waste, outlining the problem of food waste and loss as a prominent issue for the GCC countries. She further highlighted the drivers of the problem such as urban development, population growth, lack of awareness, irresponsible consumption, and unsustainable lifestyles, while she also underlined the importance of prevention and reducing the source of food waste as the most effective solution.
“The GCC countries produce approximately 100 million tonnes of waste annually, 87 percent of which is buried in landfills, while food waste amounts to approximately 45 million tonnes annually. Globally, one-third of food intended for consumption is wasted annually,” she added.
On her part, Prof. Sarah Asmar, Sustainable Lifestyle Expert at the UNEP, presented an overview of the situation of food waste and loss in West Asian countries. She highlighted global statistics on food waste and initiatives to prevent and reduce it, including the designation of the International Day for Awareness of Food Loss and Waste.
Prof. Asmar also discussed efforts to reduce food waste during Ramadan through campaigns targeting the service and restaurant sectors in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, adding that these campaigns contributed positively to reducing food waste by 60-65 percent by educating consumers about sustainable consumption patterns.
According to official statistics, food waste amounts to about one billion tonnes annually, costing an estimated USD 1 trillion, while nearly a billion people suffer from hunger. The official figures also showed that food waste contributes to 8-10 percent of greenhouse gas emissions annually.
