Sama Dubai honoured for environmental leadership by Emirates Marine Environment Group

The award specifically recognises Sama Dubai's work in protecting the natural fauna at the Dubai Industrial City (DIC), a Dubai Holding project, by conducting project-specific environmental plans to ensure conservation of the environment and safeguarding biodiversity from the outset of the project. As a consultant on the project, Sama Dubai relocated critically endangered 'animals of special conservation interest' to other locations.

Emirates Marine Environmental Group hosts the annual awards to pay tribute to organisations that strive towards a more sustainable world with the goal of inspiring others to partake in similar initiatives. UAE environmentalists hope that the company's best practice benchmarks will advance the cause by getting other industry players to follow suit.

In his acceptance speech at the award ceremony, held at Dubai Municipality Club, Farhan Faraidooni, CEO of Sama Dubai, said:

"We are truly honoured by this recognition and applaud Emirates Marine Environmental Group for its support in driving forward the preservation of the UAE's unique wildlife, and helping to bring sustainable development projects into the limelight."

"At Sama Dubai, we recognize that our operations have a profound environmental impact. Our goal is to solicit increased participation in sustainable environmental practice. From the onset, our vision has been to create a company that focuses not only on the single-minded pursuit of returns, but on a broader agenda that includes respect for employees, engagement with the community and concern for the environment," explained Faraidooni.

Sama Dubai has been consistently setting industry standards on how to minimize project and developers' hazardous environmental impact in planning, design, construction, procurement and operations. The company continues to realize its commitment to the environment by controlling waste, preventing pollution, using resources efficiently and acting with consideration for the neighbors of its numerous projects with the aim of providing a positive legacy to the communities in which it operates.

"Sama Dubai has a tenacious commitment to its vision to operate both profitably and ethically. We believe that the best way to achieve this is to find the common interest which exists between growth and conservation as well as between our company and the community," added Faraidooni.

"Sama Dubai has done an exceptional job in leading the way forward in the domain of environmental sustainability and ecologically sound practices. The company has particularly excelled in maintaining biodiversity and conserving natural habitats, and the natural balance of its project sites and adjacent locations," said Ali Saqr Al Suweidi, Chairman and founder of EMEG.

"Sama Dubai's environmental experts directed and oversaw all aspects of the translocation execution and planning at DIC, including the initial research, capturing, handling, releasing, and continuous post-release monitoring of the species. Sama Dubai conducted a Baseline Ecological Survey followed by a comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in collaboration with EMEG prior to the translocation procedure," added Al Suweidi.

The transfer involved three spectacular species, some of which are unique to the UAE and found nowhere else in the Arabian Peninsula. Reptile and environmental specialists were consulted on ideal sites for the relocation of the Skink gecko (Teratoscincus scincus), Leptien's dhab (Uromastyx leptieni), and the Mountain Gazelle (Gazella cora). The rare species were then shifted to the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, Jebel Ali Wildlife sanctuary, Sharjah Wildlife and Breeding Center, as well as His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum's Conservation Reserve.

To ensure best environmental practices are followed, Sama Dubai works closely with local, regional and international government bodies and institutions, and non-governmental organizations, such as the Wildlife Protection Office (WPO), the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Dubai Municipality's Environment Department, the Ministry of Environment and Water, the Federal Environmental Agency, the Ramsar Convention, and EMEG.

'The Lagoons' mega-project, a Sama Dubai project which embraces environmental excellence as a cornerstone of the development, recently sponsored a team of Ramsar Convention experts as part of a joint effort to assess and evaluate the nomination of Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary as a Ramsar listed site. In conjunction with Dubai Municipality's Environment Department and relevant authorities and stakeholders, 'The Lagoons' is helping drive efforts to recognize and preserve the ecology of the Dubai Creek wetlands.

'The Lagoons' is being developed by Sama Dubai in an area adjacent to the Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary. Environmental management plans are being developed to mitigate environmental impact during the construction and operational phases of the project. 'The Lagoons' offers future residents the pleasure of living alongside the Dubai Creek's diverse bird life, flora and fauna in a development that has been conceived in harmony with the surrounding ecosystems.