Abu Dhabi DED celebrates UAE Environment Day

The National Environment Day, themed ‘Living Desert’, is being organized under the patronage of the President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Ghanem Mohammed Al Fendi Al Mazroui, the CEO of DED’s Support Services Sector stated the UAE Environment Day is an opportunity for the DED and its employees to highlight their responsible role towards the environment. “With the Environment Day themed this year around the desert, which in turn embodies our identity, culture and natural resources, it was vital to give it a great attention and help support our Wise Leadership’s efforts to preserve the environment.”

Al Mazroui adds, “We are keen to embody those national celebrations within our corporate social programmes. In this month, we have been staging various activities that commenced with awareness and communications campaigns targeting employees to boost knowledge of the National Environment Day and how it is important.”

“The DED’ employees embarked this Sunday on a campaign to clean the desert in Al Nibagh area, Al Ain, in cooperation with Waste Management Centre and Environment Agency. During this event, brochures were distributed and DED’s employees planted a tree in the premises of the Department to support this drive while communicating a message that the UAE’s desert is a living and giving environment”, he concluded.

Saeed Maktoum Al Qubaisi, Director of Public Services at DED stated that the Department joined forces with the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi, to organize on Tuesday a symposium themed “Living Desert”. Dr. Shatha Al Jibouri, a senior coordinator for the Agency’s Awareness Programmes, presented a snapshot about the deserts in the UAE, the biodiversity, and the natural conservations, while highlighting the challenges and dangers UAE’s deserts are facing.

“To complement the DED’s activities aimed to celebrated the National Environment Day 2011, an awareness campaign on 22 and 23 of this month will be launched to drive “UAE Free from Plastic Bags” campaign”, Al Qubaisi added.

As part of its commitment towards environment protection and sustainability, the DED recently launched the second phase of Waste Recycling Project. This phase follows several initiatives undertaken with an aim to preserve the environment, such as the agreement inked by DED with Environment Friends Society for paper recycling at the outset of 2010, and other campaigns to reduce the consumption of energy in all its buildings, such as “Please switch off the lights before you go”, and “Our green monitor” to switch off computer monitors automatically.

Besides, the DED’s Studies Directorate is hosting “Ways to develop waste recycling industry in Abu Dhabi” session on February 28^th. The event will see participants from Waste Management Centre- Abu Dhabi, Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi, Higher Corporations for Specialized Economic Zones-Abu Dhabi, as well as other related government agencies and waste recycling facilities in the Emirate.