Abu Dhabi, April 15th, 2008 (WAM) -- Minister of Environment and Water H.E Rashid Ahmad bin Fahad has called for a meeting of the Al Basama Al Beeiya (Ecological Footprint) Initiative steering committee on April 17, following a detailed briefing last week on the project.

Bin Fahad, who took charge of the ministry in February, was briefed on the progress of the Al Basama Al Beeiya by Razan Al Mubarak, who heads Emirates Wildlife Society - Worlwide Fund for Nature (EWS - WWF), and Hamdan Al Sha'er, Director, Environment Department, Dubai Municipality and Board Member, EWS-WWF.

While expressing his appreciation of the Al Basama Al Beeiya (Ecological Footprint) Initiative and its objectives, the minister also promised continued support to take the Initiative forward.

The Ministry of Environment and Water (MoEW), the Abu Dhabi Global Environmental Data Initiative (AGEDI), EWS-WWF and the Global Footprint Network (GFN), an international non-profit organization, are core partners in the Al Basama Al Beeiya Initiative. The GFN compiles the Ecological Footprint data of over 150 nations for the Living Planet Report (LPR) published biennially by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

In their presentation to the minister, Al Mubarak and Al Sha'er touched upon the roles and responsibilities of each partner within the Initiative's three-year long Memorandum of Understanding and presented an overview of the research process and its achievements, including the preparation of an interim report on population and energy in January this year.

Thanking the numerous public and private sector bodies in the UAE who have cooperated with the Al Basama Al Beeiya team in this important national project, the minister suggested that the Al Basama Al Beeiya Steering Committee meet as soon as possible to mobilise further national support for the Initiative.

He said the Steering Committee meeting that has been called will take stock of the Initiative's achievements so far and discuss the key issues and their implications for the country. Following the minister?s call for the meeting, the Environmental Protection and Development Authority - Ras Al Khaimah, which is represented on the steering committee, has offered to host the meeting in Ras Al Khaimah.

Since its launch last October, Al Basama Al Beeiya has made considerable progress in securing the support of key national stakeholders to its objective to measure and understand the UAE?s ecological footprint.

The Ecological Footprint is a sustainability in

Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2008.