© Government of Dubai, Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing
Nidal Abou Zaki ========================================================================
Sustainability by example How the UAE is leading regional efforts to build a sustainable future ======================================================================== Recent years have witnessed a dramatic surge in the number of initiatives being undertaken by the UAE government and the private sector towards achieving a common goal – sustainable growth and development. The UAE has come a long way in its pursuit of sustainable development and it is by no means accidental that a relatively young country has been able to achieve so much, so fast. From the outset, the country’s founding fathers led by the UAE’s first president, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who was one of the foremost Arab environmentalists, fully recognized the urgent need to protect our environment and preserve our natural resources for future generations.
A recipient of the “Gold Panda Award” from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in 1997, the first time the organization awarded its highest accolade to an international leader, and the ‘Environmental Advocate 1998’ from the Arab City Organisation, Sheikh Zayed led by example in manifesting his concern for the environment and sustainable development. He instituted various agricultural development initiatives, declared a hunting ban on endangered animals, established a federal environment committee, and introduced several other environmental and sustainability-driven programs. Building on the rich legacy of the UAE’s founding father, present-day leaders are now taking the UAE’s sustainable development agenda to a
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whole new level. Last year, a long-term national initiative was launched by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and ruler of Dubai, to establish the UAE as one of the world leaders and a centre for the export and re-export of green products and technologies. In announcing the “Green Economy Initiative”, Sheikh Mohammed emphasised the importance of achieving a green economy as one of the key elements of the UAE Vision 2021, which lays down the UAE’s vision to be among the best countries in the world by 2021. The UAE backs up its claims with specific actions by initiating projects that have captured the world’s imagination. The Masdar City project in Abu