Ford Grants award USD600,000 to environmental projects across the Middle East in seven years

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More information about the Ford Motor Company Conservation & Environmental Grants can be found at www.ford-environmentalgrants.com, the programme's bilingual website.

The recipients of the 2006 Ford Motor Company Conservation & Environmental Grants (GCC/Levant Chapter) are:
• Recycling Project, submitted by Environment Society of Oman, in the category of Conservation Engineering. Grant awarded: USD10,000.
• Whale and Dolphin Research Programme submitted by Environment Society of Oman, in the category of Natural Environment. Grant awarded: USD12,000.
• Education and Awareness on Water Conservation in Schools, submitted by the Syrian Environment Protection Society, in the category of Environmental Education. Grant awarded: USD4,500.
• Interschool Environmental Public Speaking Competition, submitted by Emirates Environmental Group, in the category of Environmental Education. Grant awarded: USD10,000.
• Education Programme for Awarness on Biodiversity submitted by the University Balamand's Biodiversity Program, Tripoli, Lebanon in the category of Environmental Education. Grant awarded: USD8,000.
• Post-Conflict Environmental Awarness Programme in Lebanese Schools submitted by the Lebanese School Environmental Club Union in the category of Environmental Education. Grant awarded:USD9,000.
• Participative approach toward the creation of a Natural National Park submitted by MADA, Beirut, Lebanon in the category of Environmental Education. Grant awarded: USD9,500.
• Recycling of home waste into a natural fertilizer / Compost Barrels, submitted by Ibrahim Hamid Ali Mohsein, from Bahrain in the category of Environmental Education and Conservation Engineering. Grant awarded: USD3,000.
• Rehabilitation of desert areas in Saudi Arabia, submitted by Tariq Mohammed Amin Al Abbassi, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in the category of Natural Environment. Grant awarded: USD9,500.
• Study and Protection of Marine Turtles on the Syrian Coastline, Syrian Nature Protection Society, from Lattakia, Syria, in the category of Natural Environment. Grant awarded: USD4,500.
• Conservation of rare wild flowers native to Jordan submitted by Ahmed Mahmoud Jaber Al Sharida, in the category of Natural Environment. Grant awarded: USD1,000.
• Greening of arid areas in coastal mountains in Latakia, submitted by Hazim Ahmed Sulaiman and Rami Azzat Mohammed, Syria, in the category of Natural Environment.
Grant awarded: USD4,500.
• Environmental Awareness for the city of Damascus submitted by Syrian Environmental Association, Syria in the category of Environmental Education. Grant awarded: USD4,500.

Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures and distributes automobiles in 200 markets across six continents. With about 300,000 employees and 108 plants worldwide, the company's core and affiliated automotive brands include Aston Martin, Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercury and Volvo. Its automotive-related services include Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford's products, please visit www.fordvehicles.com.

Ford Motor Company's history in the Middle East goes back to nearly 60 years. The company's local importer-dealers operate more than 55 facilities in the GCC, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen, and directly employ more than 4,000 people, the majority of whom are Arab Nationals.