الهدف الخامس عشر – تقرير

The University announced the timetable of the work of the «First International Conference on the Sustainability of Natural Resources: Sustainable Management of Solid Waste», which is organized by the Faculty of Engineering at the University, during the period from 6-9 Rabi Al-Awwal of next year 1441 AH, with the aim of contributing to the preparation of a vision on the sustainable management of solid waste at the national and global level, indicating the volume of natural and economic resources wasted and estimating the environmental cost of waste. 

Where the reception of research abstracts wishing to participate in the work of the conference will begin on the 26th of Shaaban, through registration on the university’s website at the link: https://events.qu.edu.sa/ sdc2019/, and on the tenth of next Ramadan the acceptance of abstracts will be announced, provided that the door for early registration will be closed on 12 Shawwal 1440 AH, and the reception of full research papers will begin on the fourth of Dhu al-Hijjah, and the announcement of their acceptance on 16 Muharram 1441 AH, This is before the conference is held in the month of Rabi I. 

For his part, Prof. Dr. Khalid bin Bani Al-Harbi, Vice President for Development and Quality and Chairman of the Organizing Committee, stressed that this international conference came at this time in line with the Kingdom’s vision, which promotes the concepts of sustainability, especially with natural resources to preserve them, and invest them in the right way that ensures their sustainability and survival for future generations, God willing, pointing out that the rates of per capita consumption globally in general, and in the Kingdom in particular for some goods and services come within the highest rates, which in turn generates a huge volume of Solid waste, which in turn drains these important resources. 

Al-Harbi added that the concept of sustainable development comes to frame this handling of resources in a moderate way to ensure their sustainability and preservation for future generations, hence the importance of applying sustainable management of solid waste to achieve the optimal exploitation of natural resources and make the most of them, and from this point of view comes the importance of encouraging these initiatives aimed at improving sustainable waste management, optimizing the application of modern technologies in this field, and raising community awareness of the nature of risks resulting from their mismanagement. 

The Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Conference believes that raising the level of performance in waste management achieves the sustainability of natural resources and the optimal exploitation of them, and reduce their depletion, stressing the importance of holding such specialized scientific meetings aimed at highlighting everything new in this vital field, where Qassim University sensed the importance of this topic and adopted the establishment of the first international conference on the sustainability of natural resources and highlight the sustainable management of solid waste from the standpoint of its leading societal role to contribute to raising the efficiency of natural resources management to achieve Optimal community development. 

The conference will discuss the necessary measures to transform into sustainable food systems in which waste is reduced and food waste is reduced, stimulate integration between partners from different disciplines to manage waste in a sustainable manner, in addition to studying opportunities to stimulate investment in the development of waste recycling technologies in the Kingdom, studying the obstacles to investment in the field of waste manufacturing industries, as well as building and establishing a system of awareness, education and environmental training with the participation of individuals and communities, and linking research and studies in Saudi and international universities to the requirements of development and facing challenges. National. 

The conference includes several axes, where the first axis deals with sustainable practices of waste management at all stages “from generation and separation from the source, collection, transportation, conversion, and ending with disposal”, and at all levels “planning, management, operation, maintenance, and investment”, while the second axis deals with how to manage food loss and food waste at the level of production and consumption, the third axis discusses the topic of investment in waste recycling and manufacturing industries, while the fourth axis deals with the rational management of waste from a legal and cultural perspective. 

The University sought to organize this conference due to the high rates of per capita consumption in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia of some goods and services, which come within the highest rates globally, which increased the volume of solid waste generated, and the natural resources in the Kingdom are exposed to depletion and deterioration due to high consumption rates that contradict the application of the concepts of sustainable development, in addition to the need to transfer and localize modern global technologies in the field of waste management in accordance with the conditions of the Kingdom, and the need to address the challenges caused by waste, which is the responsibility of each A member of the community. 

The University also aims to raise community awareness of the risks posed by waste generation, encourage initiatives aimed at improving sustainable waste management, and provide an opportunity to exchange experiences and knowledge among specialists in waste management and sustainable development.