Dubai WoodShow goes green

Dubai - Over 250 exhibitors from 42 countries taking part in the exhibition

The 11th edition of the annual Dubai WoodShow opened on Monday with a focus on green buildings and sustainablity.
With over 250 exhibitors from 42 countries, the exhibition showcases both the latest wood products, as well as the latest manufacturing equipment. The 2016 edition of the show shed light on the region's growing sustainability sector, as consumers and developers alike look towards incorporating the latest green techniques and reducing the UAE's carbon emissions footprint.
"Sustainability is the future of this industry," said T. Madhusudhan Rao, director of sales and marketing at Danube, which is exhibiting its green products at the exhibition. "Across the globe, governments are taking the initiative to reduce carbon emissions, and counter the effects of global warming, and we want to be part of this drive."
"We started paying close attention to green products roughly 4-5 years ago and since then we have seen a shift in the way people are approaching the topic. Before it was only the government sector and their initiatives that focused on adopting green building technologies, but slowly the private sector is catching up, and in the next one or two years we foresee the private sector to be fully part of this drive towards sustainability."
Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, the UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment, revealed at the inauguration of the event that the UAE will formally sign the Conference of Parties (COP) 21 global climate agreement on April 22, adopted by more than 195 countries at last year's climate change summit in Paris. This agreement aims to reduce global warming and is expected to replace the Kyoto Protocol that ends in 2020.
"The UAE has seen huge developments in the fields of renewable energy, not only in the country, but also abroad where it has kicked off an ambitious funding programme to finance renewable energy projects in 28 emerging countries six years ago. The value of these projects is $840 million," he said.
The UAE imported approximately 412,400m³ of softwood lumber from European and North American exporters between January and July 2015, according to a recent Woodstat industry report. Romania is the biggest exporter of softwood lumber to the UAE with a volume of 233,000m³, while Germany came second with a volume of 101,000m³. The collective exports of Austria, Russia, Canada and Ukraine to the UAE were of the value of 78,000m³ of softwood lumber.
"The significant demand for wood in the GCC helps raise the profile of the Dubai WoodShow," said Dawood Al Shezawi, CEO of Strategic Marketing & Exhibitions, organisers of the Dubai WoodShow. "Lumber and wood manufacturers will showcase their expertise, network with international buyers, traders and investors and discover business opportunities."
- rohma@khaleejtimes.com