The Emirates Environmental Group (EEG) and Emirates Diving Association (EDA), two Dubai-based non-profit organisations dedicated to protecting the local environment, have been awarded US$7,000 and US$5,000 respectively from this year’s Ford Motor Company Conservation & Environmental Grants programme.
EEG will use the Grant to fund a workshop that will educate teachers on the impact of humans on the environment; it is hoped that the lessons will be passed on to thousands of students. EDA will use its grant to train and educate divers on the conservation of coral reefs on UAE’s East Coast. This is the second time both organisations have won a Ford Grant.
Selected by an independent panel of nine regional environmental experts, the projects were two of the 13 projects that won a Ford grant this year. More than 60 applications were submitted from around the region, all vying for a share of the US$90,000 available fundingthis year. Since its inception in the region in 2000, the Ford Motor Company Conservation & Environmental Grants have funded 68 projects with total grants worth US$510,000.
The Grants awarded this year rangedd from US$5,000 to US$10,000. Winners received their grants at a special presentation ceremony held recently in Dubai, attended by senior Ford Motor Company management from Detroit, and Ford, Lincoln and Mercury dealers, VIP customers and NGO's.
At the ceremony, Jim Benintende, managing director, Ford Middle East, said: "It's been amazing to discover the dedication of people who, for little or no reward, offer time and expertise to the cause of preserving the environment. The Grants help foster that spirit and we applaud those efforts by exposing them to a wider audience and letting people know what these dedicated individuals are doing to preserve natural resources and cultures for future generations.”
Emirates Environmental Group (EEG) is a voluntary, non-government organisation (NGO) devoted to protecting the environment through education and community involvement. Active since 1991, the group is the first environmental NGO in the world to be accredited with the ISO 14001 certification for its environment management system. Aside from its accreditation from the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), EEG recently also received its accreditation from the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) Governing Council.
Established in 1995, Dubai based Emirates Diving Association (EDA) protects marine life in the UAE. One of its goals is to help people understand the importance of the marine environment through educational campaigns.
The GCC/Levant Ford Motor Company Conservation & Environmental Grants provide financial support to ongoing projects from individuals and non-profit groups, working for the natural environment, environmental education and conservation engineering.
The Ford Grants celebrates their fourth successful year in the GCC and Levant countries in 2003. Established in the Middle East in 2000, the Ford Grants have donated more than US$300,000 to conservation and environmental causes in the region.
The Ford Grants invite individuals, community groups and non-profit-making organisations to apply for Ford funds to assist small-scale, ongoing projectsMore information about the Ford Motor Company Conservation & Environmental Grants can be found at www.ford-environmentalgrants.com, the programme's bi-lingual website.
Editor’s notes:
The recipients of the 2005 Ford Motor Company Conservation & Environmental Grants for 2005 (GCC/Levant Chapter) are:
• Public Survey on the Environment in the Arab World (Stage 2), submitted by the Environment & Development (Al Bia Wal Tanmia) magazine, Beirut, Lebanon, in the category of Environmental Education.
Grant awarded: US$6,000.
• Re-introducing Gazelles in Jordan’s Ajloun Nature Reserve, submitted by the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature, Amman, Jordan, in the category of Environmental Education.
Grant awarded: US$7,000.
• Protection of Exposed Roots in Trees, and Preventing the Erosion of Soil in Mountainous Areas, submitted by Tarek Mohammed Amin Al Abbasi, Riyadh, KSA, in the category of Natural Environment.
Grant awarded: US$10,000.
• Study and Protection of Marine Turtles on the Syrian Coastline submitted by Mohammed Juny of the Syrian Nature Protection Society, from Lattakia, Syria, in the category of Natural Environment.
Grant awarded: US$5,000.
• Environment News Website, submitted by Abdul Hadi Al Najjar, Homs, Syria, in the category of Environmental Education.
Grant awarded: US$5,000.
• “Recycling" Comedy Play, submitted by Hussein Tubayshat, Mahmoud Saymeh and Ahmed Al Koufahi, from Amman, Jordan, in the category of Environmental Education.
Grant awarded: US$5,000.
• Teachers Capacity Building Workshop on Ecological Footprint, submitted by the Emirates Environmental Group, UAE, in the category of Environmental Education.
Grant awarded: US$7,000.
• Awareness Campaign for School Students in Tyre Coast Nature Reserve submitted by the Tyre Coast Nature Reserve, Lebanon, in the category of Environmental Education.
Grant awarded:US$5,000.
• Zoo Education as an Approach in Carnivore Conservation submitted by Mounir R Abi-Said, Lebanon, in the category of Environmental Education.
Grant awarded: US$10,000.
• Reef Monitoring Project submitted by the Emirates Diving Association, UAE, in the category of Environmental Education and Natural Environment.
Grant awarded: US$5,000.
• Water Conservation Pilot Project (Re-use of Gray Water in Landscaping) submitted by Tareq Ghazi Al-Zabet, Qatar, in the category of Conservation Engineering.
Grant awarded: US$10,000.
• Field Guide to Flora of Jabal Al Arab submitted by Chikhali Mwaffak, Damascus, Syria, in the category of Natural Environment.
Grant awarded: US$5,000.
• Nature Encyclopedia for Children submitted by the Bahrain Natural History Society, Bahrain, in the category of Environmental Education.
Grant awarded: US$10,000.
