Dubai: Winners of the Emirates Appreciation for the Environment Award, which recognises the efforts of individuals and entities in environment conservation and sustainability, were announced on Monday.
Mohammad Ahmad Al Bowardi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Defence and Managing Director of the Abu Dhabi Environment Agency, was named the Environmental Personality Award on Monday for his “clear influence and his contributions to the national environmental policies and achievements of the country”.
The Emirates Appreciation Award for the Environment is a biannual award launched by the Zayed International Foundation for the Environment to recognise and promote the values of sustainable living and environmentally conscious initiatives in the UAE community. It is held under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
“Al Bowardi is really a big environmental advocate and he’s been a supporter and an initiator of a lot of efforts not just in the UAE but globally. He has been working on this for a long time and he’s still on the board of many environmental bodies. He’s a model to follow and we are happy to see that he is the winner of the Environmental Personality Award for the second cycle,” Dr Rashid Ahmad Bin Fahd, Minister of Environment and Water, told Gulf News.
Bin Fahd said Al Bowardi’s lifelong contributions to preserve the environment should serve as an example to everyone. Al Bowardi also serves as the chairman of the Abu Dhabi Technology Development Committee and the Committee for Developing and Implementing the Water and Agriculture Strategy for Abu Dhabi. He is also the Vice-Chairman of Dolphin Energy and the Deputy Chairman of the Mohammad Bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund and the International Fund for Houbara Conservation. He will receive a Dh200,000 prize.
The award is divided into five categories whose winners are: Dubai Aluminium received the Industrial Enterprise Award for large industries; Emirates Float Glass and Berger Paints Emirates received the same award for small and medium industries; Athen School in Ras Al Khaimah received the Educational Institution Award for schools, while the British University in Dubai received the same award for the universities and institutes category. The Invention/Innovation Award has been given to the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology Cloud Seeding Project, while the Media and Environmental Awareness Award was given to Sharjah Media and Ahmad Musabah Al Nuaimi, a teacher in Al Tafawuq School in Al Ain.
Professor Abdul Rahman Al Sharhan, Secretary-General of the Award, said a total of 120 nominations were received and 79 made it to the next stage before the winners were selected. He said the Environmental Research Award was withheld this year as no nomination met the required standard and conditions of the award.
Al Sharhan said the award ceremony will be announced this year.
