Hala Al Khayyat (Abu Dhabi)
His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler's Representative in the Al Dhafra Region, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, honored the 18 winners of the first session of the Sheikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Environmental Award 2023, in recognition of their environmental achievements and excellence in their fields of specialization.
In a statement on this occasion, His Highness affirmed, “The Emirate of Abu Dhabi is committed to following the approach of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God have mercy on him, in the field of environmental protection,” noting the importance of the award in enhancing the efforts made by the UAE to achieve sustainable development and support ideas and projects. Excellence in the field of environment and sustainability, and stimulating interest in scientific research in various environmental fields to adopt innovative scientific and practical solutions that will address current and future environmental challenges and ensure a sustainable future for all.”
His Highness praised the role of the award in stimulating excellence and creativity in the field of environmental preservation, protection and sustainability, encouraging initiative and leadership, enhancing interest in environmental work, and complying with related legislation.
His Highness Sheikh Hamdan congratulated all the winners of the award in its various fields, and called on them to continue to achieve their distinguished achievements, and to continue success and leadership in the future. His Highness expressed his hope that his award in its next session would witness more participation, and to motivate the community, institutions and establishments to enhance interest in environmental work, and maintain… Nature in our beloved country.
The ceremony was attended by Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Her Excellency Dr. Amna bint Abdullah Al Dahak Al Shamsi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, His Excellency Mohammed Ahmed Al Bowardi, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, His Excellency Engineer Awaida Murshid Al Marar, Chairman of the Department of Energy, and His Excellency Mohammed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism, His Excellency Major General Faris Khalaf Al Mazrouei, Commander-in-Chief of Abu Dhabi Police, His Excellency Mansour Ibrahim Al Mansouri, Head of the Department of Health, His Excellency Ahmed Jassim Al Zaabi, Head of the Department of Economic Development, and Ahmed Matar Al Dhaheri, Head of the Office of His Highness the Ruler’s Representative in the Al Dhafra Region, Fahd Salem Al Kiyoumi, Undersecretary of the Department of Government Empowerment, Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, Managing Director of the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, Khadim Abdullah Al Darei, Advisor at the Office of the Ruler’s Representative in the Al Dhafra Region, Dr. Sheikha Salem Al Dhaheri, Secretary General of the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, and Saeed Al Bahri Salem Al Ameri, Director General of the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority, Musabah Al Kaabi, CEO of the Low Carbon Solutions and International Growth Department at ADNOC, and a number of officials and participants in the award.
The award, which is organized by the Authority, in cooperation with the European Foundation for Quality Management, nominated 150 participants from individuals and institutions in various environmental disciplines in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. They competed in the three main categories of the award, under which 6 sub-categories were included. Only 86 of them qualified, and 68 participants qualified. desk evaluation requirements, while 40 participants reached the final evaluation stage, and 18 participants won the award.
His Excellency Mohammed Ahmed Al Bowardi said in his speech: “Caring for planet Earth is no longer a luxury. Rather, preserving its natural balance and biological diversity has become the focus of attention of decision-makers, scientists and activists in the environmental field through launching inspiring and innovative initiatives, which will contribute to shedding more light.” “On environmental challenges and their impacts, and drawing everyone’s attention to the necessity of working in the field of environmental protection.”
His Excellency recalled the words of the founding father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God have mercy on him, when he said: “Environmental protection should not be, and should not be viewed as, an issue limited to the government and official authorities only. Rather, it is an issue that concerns us all. It is the responsibility of everyone, and the responsibility of every person.” Individuals in our society, citizens and residents.”
His Excellency added, “We realize that we will not be able to address the exceptional challenges that our world faces today without discovering exceptional talents and bold ideas. Therefore, the Sheikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Environmental Award was launched to contribute to spreading environmental awareness and culture and motivating individuals and institutions for environmental creativity and innovation. Through this award, We sought to support scientists and specialized experts who are working to find new and distinct environmental solutions, in light of the challenges facing the world in the field of the environment, which require continuous and integrated efforts to reach effective solutions that help protect the environment.”
His Excellency pointed out that the award witnessed in its first session clear interest, demand and interaction, and succeeded in discovering a group of individuals and institutions in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi that always seeks leadership in the field of environmental preservation and protection, which confirms the foresight and vision of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who He directed the launch of this award, which enhances the image and status of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi at the local and international levels.”
The award, which is organized by the Authority, in cooperation with the European Foundation for Quality Management, nominated 150 participants from individuals and institutions in various environmental specializations in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. They competed in the three main categories of the award, under which 6 sub-categories were included. Only 86 of them qualified, and 68 participants met the requirements for the desk evaluation. While 40 participants reached the final evaluation stage, 18 of them won the award.
Global standards
For her part, Dr. Sheikha Salem Al Dhaheri, Secretary General of the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, Chairman of the Award’s Supreme Committee, stressed the importance of the internationally recognized standards that were set for the award, as a successful partnership was concluded with the European Foundation for Quality Management, which is one of the most important global references in performance excellence. This resulted in the Authority, as the first body in the world, developing standards related to environmental sustainability and based on international best practices.
Add a task
Russell Longmire, CEO of the European Foundation for Quality Management, and the main strategic partner of the award, said: “This award is an important addition to the list of leading awards in the field of environment and sustainability, as we confirm our continued commitment to supporting efforts to preserve the environment and achieve a sustainable future.”
He added that through our partnership with the award, we developed its evaluation criteria and tool, in cooperation with a team of experts from the European Foundation for Quality Management in the Middle East and the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi. Many introductory workshops were held and specialized evaluators and participants were trained, in addition to managing the award’s evaluation cycle.
Protect diversity
During the ceremony, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan awarded His Excellency Mohammed Ahmed Al Bowardi the Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Environmental Medal of Honor, in recognition of his great efforts in serving the nation over nearly 4 decades, during which His Excellency worked to translate the wise vision of the wise leadership in preserving the environment and protecting the country. Biodiversity and achieving sustainable development. He made clear contributions and outstanding efforts in launching many environmental initiatives in the field of preserving nature and living species, not only at the local level, but also at the international level.
10 participants
In terms of results, the Sheikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Environmental Medal, which is awarded to honor the success stories of community members in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi who have a positive impact on the environment, won 10 participants, within three sub-categories of the medal. For the “Optimum User of Natural Resources” category, Saif Saif Ghanem Al Suwaidi achieved first place, and Saeed Salem Saeed Al Rumaithi took second place. In the “Environmental Entrepreneur” category, Arbella Jane Willig won first place, Mohammed Abdullah Mubarak Al Buainain Al Mazrouei won second place, while Fatima Saeed Ismail Al Ali and Mohammed Moheb Hassan Dowidar won third place. In the “Environmental Influencer” category, Ghaya Saad Nasib Al-Ahbabi got first place, Lara Rodad got second place, while Majed Abdullah Aboud bin Saad and Kathleen Russell got third place.
As for the Scientific Research Award in the Environmental Field, which focuses on the best scientific research, whether individual or collective, in the field of environment and sustainable development, through which innovative scientific and practical solutions to current and future environmental problems and challenges were presented, 3 research teams won in the subcategory “Category Environmental Research,” where the first place was achieved by a research entitled “Extracting clean energy from mixing wastewater of different salinity for the purpose of sustaining water treatment for use in increasing groundwater reserves.” The research that achieved second place was entitled “Modeling the quality of water in the Arabian Gulf using satellites.” While third place was won by a research entitled “Secondary plant compounds of the Damas tree as a natural and safe source of phenolic compounds and antioxidants.” As for the subcategory “Research Institution Category,” two research institutions competed in it, but none of them qualified.
The Outstanding Environmental Performance Award, which focuses on the best practices or pioneering activities in the field of environment and sustainable development for private institutions and industrial facilities, was won by 5 entities in the two sub-categories of the award. Within the “Private Enterprise Category” subcategory targeting private companies, the aviation sector, and others, Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC) won first place, Veolia Emirates Environmental Services came in second place, while Aldar Properties won third place. As for the subcategory “Industrial Facilities Category”, which targets factories and industrial facilities, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company “ADNOC” won first place, and Dolphin Energy Limited won second place.
Medal and reward
As a form of appreciation for individuals, research and institutions winning the Sheikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Environmental Award, the winning individuals in the Sheikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Environmental Medal category received a medal, a certificate of appreciation, and a financial reward. The first place winner received a financial reward of 80,000 dirhams, and the second place winner received 60,000 dirhams. The third place winner will receive 40,000 dirhams.
While the research team that won the Environmental Scientific Research Award in the subcategory “Environmental Research Category” received a medal, a certificate of appreciation, and a financial reward. Each research team that won first place received a financial reward of 250,000 dirhams, second place received 200,000 dirhams, and third place received 150,000 dirhams.
Appreciation and shield
The industrial establishments and establishments that won the Environmental Performance Award received a certificate of appreciation and a shield, and they can benefit from facilitating and accelerating environmental licensing and approval procedures, classifying the winning establishment as one of the establishments with low environmental risk, reducing the number of environmental inspection visits, and facilitating the process of issuing licenses for a period of one year for industrial establishments. They have the right to place the award’s logo on their documents, publications, website, and in advertising campaigns until the results of the next session are announced.
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