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UAE – It has been a year since His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was unanimously elected President of the UAE by members of the country’s Supreme Council. However, his work on improving the environment and sustainable development began long before his presidency.
After taking the helm of the country, his efforts have had a profound impact on the country’s related initiatives. Sheikh Mohamed, an ardent advocate of all things green, declared 2023 the Year of Sustainability (YOS) in January. The move galvanized collective action through a nationwide commitment to sustainable practices.
Last month, the team at YOS launched an initiative recognizing mothers as recycling masters. It highlights how Emirati mothers reuse objects to create a sustainable legacy.
YOS is just one of the initiatives championed by Sheikh Mohamed. He was instrumental in establishing the Abu Dhabi Environment Agency and led major conservation efforts to protect falcons, bustards and Arabian oryx in the UAE and internationally.
In January 2008, he announced that the Abu Dhabi government would contribute some AED54 billion ($15 billion) to Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s alternative and renewable energy initiative and the world’s first Developer of carbon-neutral, zero-waste cities.
Below are a few of the initiatives he advocated to ensure the country remains on the path to a sustainable and environmentally friendly future.
1. Zayed Sustainability Prize
In 2008, Sheikh Mohamed launched the Zayed Sustainability Prize at the World Future Energy Summit. It became the UAE’s groundbreaking global award for sustainability excellence.
The awards recognize non-profit organizations (NPOs), small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and high schools for impactful, innovative and inspiring sustainable solutions in the Health, Food, Energy, Water, Climate Action and Global High School categories.
Since the inaugural awards ceremony in 2009, there have been 106 honorees worldwide, impacting more than 378 million people with sustainable development solutions and school projects, and the number is growing rapidly.
2. Mohamed bin Zayed Protection Fund
He launched the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, which provides small grants for on-site, hands-on, on-site species conservation projects for the world’s most threatened species.
Through innovative microfinancing, the fund empowers conservationists to fight the extinction crisis without being weighed down by bureaucracy and red tape. To date, it has awarded more than 2,000 grants to various species around the world.
In 2019, the fund supported 170 projects in more than 60 different countries on six continents, sharing more than AED5 million (US$1,502,029) in funding among them.
Abu Dhabi-based sovereign investor Mubadala Investments has formed a three-year partnership with the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund to support conservation initiatives around the world. Through the partnership, Mubadala Investments will provide $1.5 million annually to the MBZ Fund to support endangered flora and fauna in Africa and Asia.
3. Arabian Oryx Reintroduction Program
The late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan issued a directive establishing a plan to protect the Arabian oryx. Sheikh Mohamed has since launched a similar program in 2007 as part of the Abu Dhabi government’s vision to create a regional herd that mirrors all plans for the relocation of Arabian oryx in its range countries.
The Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Arabian Oryx Reintroduction Program has played a key role in protecting the Arabian Oryx from extinction and increasing its numbers in the wild. This resulted in its status being changed from “endangered” to “vulnerable” on the 2011 IUCN Red List. This is considered one of the most important achievements in the field of species reintroduction on a global scale.
In 2020, the Abu Dhabi Environment Agency (EAD), in partnership with the Al Dhafra Municipality, released a new population of Arabian oryx into the Houbara Reserve. The Houbara Conservation Area is located in Bennouna and is managed by the EAD and covers an area of ​​over 774 km2.
More than 800 Arabian oryx live freely in the reserve. In addition, the Qasr Al Sarab Reserve has released herds of Arabian oryx.
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