EAD affirms its commitment to strengthening its efforts to create an environmentally educated society

The Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi affirms its commitment to strengthening its efforts to create an environmentally educated society

Abu Dhabi-UAE: Marking the 20^th anniversary of launching its Environmental Educational and Awareness programmes, the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD) today announced its new and updated plans targeting various sectors of society in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

The announcement was made in an event organised by the Agency to celebrate and highlight the educational and awareness programme achievements and success stories accomplished together with its partners, sponsors, school and universities and communities.

EAD's plan for the next phase includes introducing E-learning Platform, which is the first free and collaborative e-learning tool exclusively dedicated to the environmental sector. The tool aims to increase knowledge and environmental awareness, giving the opportunity for other institutions, nationals and internationals, to create and distribute their environmental content.

"Youth Environmental Programme", is another programme to be launched, empowering UAE youth to act as guardians for their natural environment, by providing them with training experience and opportunities to shadow experts, giving them the chance to express their opinions and ideas on topics related to environment and sustainability through various platforms and activities.

EAD will also launch the Green Stars System, an alternative to the Sustainable Schools Awards, to evaluate the performance of schools participating in the Sustainable Schools Initiative where they have successfully implemented the four components of the initiative. The new system will support schools to improve their sustainability and recognise them for their efforts; awarding schools at the end of a two-year cycle with an EAD certified rating.

Schools participating in the Leadership Schools Category will also be provided with financial support worth AED 10,000 to will help them to transfer the acquired experience in the field of sustainability to the newly participating schools in the initiative.

To promote environmental citizenship, EAD will launch the "Clean Abu Dhabi" application, which will provide an opportunity for the community of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, of different age groups, to collect and record data on plastic materials and single-use waste found on the beaches.

H.E. Dr Shaikha Salem Al Dhaheri, EAD's Secretary-General stated, "Promoting environmental awareness has always been one of our most important priorities. Since its establishment, the Agency has worked with its partners in the government and private sectors to increase awareness on environmental issues and help the community learn more about the richness of our natural heritage".

H.E. Dr Shaikha added, "Through the integrated approach that we adopted in targeting the various groups of society, we were able to achieve a qualitative shift in the level of awareness about important environmental issues, which contributed to raising the overall level of environmental awareness from 44% to 82% from 2012 to 2018. The positive behaviour towards the environment also increase from 55% to 79% during the same period, which has contributed to achieving the vision of the Abu Dhabi government to create an environmentally educated society".

"As we commemorate more than two decades of success, we would like to thank all of our partners in the government and private sectors and assure our commitment to continue striving to create a better and more sustainable future for all. We recognise the vital importance of engaging the next generation in our ongoing mission, as they are the true stakeholders in the country’s future with the power of making a real difference".

From our humble beginnings with the ‘Nature Bus’ in 1998, today EAD delivers environmental education programmes to over 85% of Abu Dhabi’s government and private schools. Its Sustainable Schools Initiative (sponsored by bp), and the Sustainable Campus Initiative (sponsored by Borouge), are award-winning programmes that aim to engage students as agents for environmental change. The U.N. recognises the Sustainable Schools Initiative as a ‘best practice programme.’ Students are encouraged to assess and address their ecological footprint, with over 150 Abu Dhabi schools and 21 UAE-wide colleges and universities taking part.

Another long-running and popular educational programme is the Enviro-Spellathon (sponsored by Shell), which was established in association with Emirates Nature-WWF, where today more than 1.8 million students across the UAE are actively part of it.

In addition, EAD is conducting environmental awareness programme and campaigns that target different groups of society such as the Green Business Network, a platform for businesses committed to environmental causes providing them with knowledge and experience to help each other to become more environmentally sustainable. Today, there are 63 members including governmental organisations.

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About Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD)

Established in 1996, the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) is committed to protecting and enhancing air quality, groundwater as well as the biodiversity of our desert and marine ecosystem. By partnering with other government entities, the private sector, NGOs and global environmental agencies, we embrace international best practice, innovation and hard work to institute effective policy measures. We seek to raise environmental awareness, facilitate sustainable development and ensure environmental issues remain one of the top priorities of our national agenda.

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EAD Press Office:

Environment Agency- Abu Dhabi
Tel: +9712 693-4637
Mobile:  +97150 442-5096
Email:    pressoffice@ead.ae
Website: www.ead.ae

© Press Release 2019