UAE environmental project gets USD8,000 Ford grant

Identifying the importance in educating the next generation, the Natural Resources Research Centre has dedicated efforts and funds in raising awareness among children on the wildlife, bio-marine species and animals that live on the Arabian Peninsula. The US$8,000 grant awarded by Ford Motor Company to the Centre will help with the production of a children's education magazine that would be distributed in the UAE.

Representing the Centre, Ms.Hind Saleh received the cheque at a special ceremony held recently in Dubai.

The Natural Resources Research Centre is a voluntary non-profit organization whose main objective is the preservation of the environment and natural resources. It also focuses on the diverse effects of global warming and its implications on wildlife and natural habitats in the region. Producing educational programmes, organizing fieldtrips, workshops and educative exhibitions for children are a few of the many activities the group conducts.

Members of the Ford Grants' independent jury panel comprising leading environmentalists from across the region, also attended the awards along with representatives from the WWF International's UAE Chapter and senior officials from Ford Middle East.

Hussein Murad, Sales and Marketing director of Ford Middle East, said: "The Ford Motor Company Conservation & Environmental Grants support conservation in a noteworthy manner, giving people that are serious about the environment an opportunity not only to get funding from Ford, but also to give them visibility and recognition, and show the terrific projects that they have been working on."

A total of 12 groups and individuals, representing six out of the nine participating countries, received financial assistance from the 2005 Ford Grants. The largest individual grant was US$13,000 and was awarded to the Environment Friends Society in Bahrain for the development of an environmental education centre.

"Since the launch of the Ford Motor Grants in the GCC and Levant countries, we have received positive and encouraging acknowledgment from the leading environmental institutions and news media from the region as well as globally, including ongoing support from WWF International," added Murad.

"Being recognized as a company committed to help organizations and individuals focused on the preservation of the natural environment can definitely be considered as one of our biggest achievements," he concluded.

First introduced in the region in 2000, the Ford Grants have distributed to date a total of US$420,000 to conservation and environmental causes in the GCC, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.

Specialising in four main areas - the natural environment, environmental education, conservation engineering, and the preservation of historical and cultural heritage - the Ford Grants invite individuals, community groups and non-profit-making organisations to apply for Ford funds to assist small-scale, ongoing projects.

Now a global initiative covering over 50 countries around the globe, The Ford Grants evolved out of the Henry Ford European Conservation Awards, which have helped more than 15,000 projects since their inception in 1983.