$1 Million from Zayed Environment Prize to 4 Pioneers
Zayed International Prize for the Environment awarded $1 million to four environmental pioneers, including Najib Saab, Editor-in-Chief of Al-Bia Wal-Tanmia magazine and Secretary General of Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED). At a ceremony held today in Dubai International Convention Center, Saab was honored for Environmental Action Leading to Positive Change in Society, by the prize patron, Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Ruler of Dubai.
Also honored was the laureate for Global Leadership, President of the Republic of Korea Lee Myung-Bak, “who seized the moment of the recent economic and financial crisis to commit his country to a low carbon, more resource efficient green economic path.”
Sir Partha Dasgupta, an Indian British economist who has been pivotal in making the link between wealth and the natural resource base or “natural capital”, was awarded for Scientific Achievement. Also honored for Environmental Action was the Swiss national Mathis Wackernagel, co-founder of the Global Footprint Network (GFN) which is catalyzing awareness and action on humanity environmental impact.
The ceremony was attended by top UAE officials, Arab and foreign environment ministers, ambassadors, diplomats and leading environmentalists, in addition to a large Korean delegate including 5 ministers and a number of CEOs. Also present were heads of regional and international organizations, media representatives, in addition to the Jury chaired by Prof. Klaus Töpfer, former Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), and members of the Prize technical advisory committee. Documentaries about the laureates were broadcast during the ceremony.
UAE Minister of Environment and Water Dr. Rashid Ahmed Bin Fahad declared that Najib Saab was awarded for Environmental Action Leading to Positive Change in Society "because his influential and highly successful Al-Bia Wal-Tanmia magazine triggered unprecedented environmental awareness at all levels, built a new relationship between the policy-makers and people of the Arab world with the issues of environment and sustainability, and placed the environment high on national and regional agendas."
After receiving his award, Saab said: “I am proud to receive an award named after Sheikh Zayed, who had a comprehensive vision about the relationship between environment and development, stemming from his wisdom and clairvoyance.” He hoped that winning this prize would contribute to increasing environmental awareness, encouraging initiatives and convincing decision makers in the Arab region to place the environment among their top priorities, especially in oil producing countries where talks about preservation are sometimes taken as antagonistic. Saab called upon governments to use oil incomes to invest in clean technologies that support transitioning to sustainable development practices.
“We cannot afford the continuous depletion of our natural resources,” he added. “Instead of talking about depletion of oil, let us direct our attention towards the water depletion crisis. The current development policies in the Arab world still depend on squandering natural resources beyond nature’s ability to regenerate them, which absolutely leads to bankruptcy.” He warned that “while governments can face financial bankruptcy by printing banknotes, they cannot face nature’s bankruptcy by printing water or air.”
Hoping that Zayed Prize will support AFED’s position as a regional organization seeking to improve environmental policies in the Arab world, Saab concluded: “Such achievements cannot be reached by individuals, and I thank Al-Bia Wal-Tanmia team who worked with me during the past years.”
President of the Republic of Korea Lee Myung-Bak was described by Minister Bin Fahad to have "seized the moment of recent economic and financial crisis to commit his country to ‘Green Growth', a new paradigm for economic development that binds together environment protection and economic prosperity, creating new growth engines and jobs through green technology and clean energy. President Lee's vision and leadership was a central driver in transforming the Republic of Korea's development path into a low carbon, resource efficient, and Green Economy."
Zayed International Prize for Environment was established in 2001 by Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to acknowledge the environmental commitment of the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan. It is worth $1 million, and is one of the most valuable environmental award in the world. Previous winners include Jimmy Carter, the former President of the United States, Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations, and Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Prime Minister of Norway and UN special climate envoy.
The International Jury for the Fifth Cycle of Zayed International Prize for Environment was chaired by Prof. Dr. Klaus Töpfer, former Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and former German Environment Minister. The Jury also included Dr. Rashid Ahmad Bin Fahad, UAE Minister of Environment and Water, Achim Steiner, Executive Director of UNEP, Dr. Mostafa Kamal Tolba, World renowned scientist and former Executive Director of UNEP, and Dr. Oktay Tabasaran, a pioneer of environmental science and the 5th World Water Forum Secretary General.
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