UNESCO SCIENCE REPORT

UNESCO SCIENCE REPORT
Maghreb. Established in 1997, it specializes in communication
technologies and now hosts about 80 companies, including
13 multinationals (Microsoft, Ericsson, Alcatel Lucent, etc).
Several other technoparks have been established since,
including those in Sidi Thabet (2002, for biotechnology and
pharmaceuticals), Borj Cedria (2005, for environment, renewable
energy, biotechnology and materials science), Monastir (2006,
for textiles) and Bizerte (2006, for the agro-industry). In 2012,
the government announced the creation of a new technopark
in Remada specializing in ICTs. Meanwhile, the Ecosolar Village
of Zarzis–Jerba should soon be operational. It will create jobs
in renewable energy production, seawater desalination and
organic farming; this technopark also plans to position itself as a
training platform for the entire African region. Tunisia intends to
raise the share of renewables in the energy mix to 16%
(1 000 MW) by 2016 and to 40% (4 700 MW) by 2030, within its
Solar Plan 23 adopted in 2009.
The longer term goal is to develop an internationally
competitive research system. In November 2013, the
government signed an agreement with France Clusters, which
groups French technoparks, for the provision of training
and advice on the creation of new technoparks in Tunisia.
Elgazala and Sidi Thabet Technoparks are both members
of the International Association of Science Parks. Gafsa
Technopark, which specializes in useful chemical substances,
has been designed in partnership with the Korean International
Cooperation Agency; it is being funded by the government, the
park management companies and the tandem formed by the
Chemical Group and the Compagnie des phosphates de Gafsa.
The adoption of a new Constitution by parliament in June
2014, followed by the smooth handover of power, first in
the October parliamentary elections then by the incumbent
23. See: www.senat.fr/rap/r13-108/r13-108.pdf
president to his successor, Beji Caid Essebsi, in late 2014,
suggest that the country is well on the way to political
stability. Moreover, science has not been forgotten in the
new Constitution. Article 33 expressly states that ‘the state
provides the means necessary to the development of
technological and scientific research’.
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
A good business climate
The United Arab Emirates has been reducing its
dependence on oil exports by developing other economic
sectors, including the business, tourism, transportation and
construction sectors and, more recently, space technologies.
Abu Dhabi has become the world’s seventh-biggest port.
The global financial crisis of 2008–2009 affected Dubai’s real
estate market, in particular. Companies like Dubai World,
which supervised a government investment portfolio in urban
development, ran up substantial external debt.
With the slump in oil prices since mid-2014, current economic
growth is being buoyed mainly by the sustained recovery of
Dubai’s construction and real estate sectors, together with
significant investments in transportation, trade and tourism.
Dubai has launched a megaproject for the construction of the
world’s biggest shopping centre and no fewer than 100 hotels.
It is also erecting a ‘greenprint’ for sustainable cities (Box 17.6)
and investing in a fully functional 3D building (Box 17.7). A
project to develop a national railway is also ‘back on track’
after being brought to a halt by the global financial crisis.
The United Arab Emirates has a reputation for having one
of the best business climates in the region. In mid-2013, the
United Arab Emirates Federation adopted a new Companies
Law that comes closer to respecting international standards.
Box 17.6: Masdar City: a ‘greenprint’ for the city of the future
Masdar City is located about half an
hour from Abu Dhabi. This artificial city
is being constructed between 2008 and
2020 as a ‘greenprint’ for the city of the
future. The aim is to build the world’s
most sustainable city, one capable of
combining rapid urbanization with low
consumption of energy, water and waste.
The city blends traditional Arabic
architectural techniques with modern
technology to cope with high summer
temperatures and capture prevailing
winds. Masdar City has one of the largest
installations of photovoltaic panels on
rooftops in the Middle East.
The city is sprouting around the Masdar
Institute of Science and Technology, an
independent research-driven, graduatelevel
university set up in 2007 with a focus
on advanced energy and sustainable
technologies. Companies are being
encouraged to foster close ties with the
university to accelerate the commercialization
of breakthrough technologies.
By 2020, it is estimated that Masdar
City will be home to 40 000 people,
plus businesses, schools, restaurants
and other infrastructure.
There are some who argue that the
money might have been better
spent on greening the country’s
existing cities rather than on
creating an artificial one.
Source: adapted from: www.masdar.ac.ae
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