Clean Up UAE lands in Dubai, the fifth stop in the national journey rallying with the slogan "Our Environment, Our Country, Our Responsibility"

The 17^th session of the Annual EEG Clean Up UAE reached the Emirate of Dubai  under the Patronage and presence of the Ministry of Economy which included the Minister of Economy, His Excellency Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansoori, his undersecretaries, assistants and staff. The event was held in association with the Dubai Municipality, having already been successfully completed the campaigns in Sharjah, Ajman, Dibba Al Fujairah and Abu Dhabi.

With more than 4200 Volunteers spread over 7 Locations in the Emirate of Dubai adoring cotton shirts bearing the slogan of the campaign, equipped with cotton gloves, biodegradable plastic bags and containers for the collection of waste, the participants collected about 25 Tonnes of waste from the sites covering an area of 18 Kms bringing the total quantity collected from the 5 Emirates to 32.5 Tonnes.

The event began with The National Anthem, followed by the inaugural address of Mr. Abdul Aziz Midfa – Vice Chairman of Emirates Environmental Group in Arabic, followed by the English speech of Ms Habiba Al Mar’ashi - Chairperson of the Emirates Environmental Group and a welcome address from His Excellency Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansoori, Minister of Economy of the UAE. The dignitaries then hoisted the flag of the United Arab Emirates and the flag of the Clean Up UAE.

In his opening speech H.E. Mr. Abdula Aziz Al Midfaa – Vice Chair of EEG said “, "I would like to express my overwhelming happiness for the presence of thousands of participants who are with us today and those who have joined us in the other locations over the last week. Together, we are taking pro-active steps to protect and preserve UAE’s unique ecosystem. The excitement and enthusiasm grows exponentially every year as more and more people partake in this large-scale cross-sector initiative that effectively promoted social change in the last 17 years.”

The Chairperson of EEG, Habiba Al Mar’ashi stated that – the environmental legacy of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan is in good hands as His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed and his brother HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai and their brothers have all taken up on the vision to drive the UAE on the same path to ensure a sustainable and green environment for future generations.

As an accredited body of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), EEG is proud to announce that the Clean Up UAE 2018 campaign will serve as an effective implementation platform for the following sustainable development goals: Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities; Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production; 13: Climate Action; Goal 15: Life on Earth; Goal 17: Partnerships for Goals.

In his opening speech His Excellency Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansoori  from Ministry of Economy said “It gives me a great deal of pleasure to be once again in the Cleanup UAE. Like last year, I have been looking forward to this event, which is a great symbol of joint efforts and commitment of all the people living in the UAE.

Our country has a unique desert environment that harbours a large number of fragile ecosystems. And it has always been the sincere desire of our leaders, right from the beginning of the federation, to achieve growth and development while protecting the health and wealth of our environment.

Today, we have crossed many milestones in our journey of turning a piece of the desert into a dynamic, global, alluring and futuristic country. Led by the vision and values of our leaders, HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, H. H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and the eminent rulers of the 7 Emirates; we continue to grow our economic, commercial, physical, human, social and cultural assets. Through diversification into non-oil sectors, we have been able to provide a resilient foundation to people.

We know that growth almost always comes with some hidden costs, particularly ecological costs. In acknowledgement, the UAE has signed and ratified sixteen (16) international environmental agreements that govern the global environment. Environmental protection is the main objective of the UAE's developmental policies that are aimed at increasing green areas, developing water resources, improving marine environment and protecting it from pollution, preserving fisheries and livestock, developing strategies to protect biodiversity. The UAE has many federal laws, ministerial decrees and executive by-laws for the preservation of the environment. UAE Vision 2021 and the Green Economy initiative have been developed keeping in view the need to incorporate environment protection in our development map.

As the UAE celebrates the ‘Year of Zayed’, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the birth of the country’s founding father, HH the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, every person living in this country is encouraged to join efforts with organisations advocating for the environment, like the Emirates Environmental Group, who have made commendable progress in unifying all sectors of society under their slogan; - Together for a better environment. As a government entity, we are delighted to be engaged with EEG, - a home grown, self-supported civil society organisation. 

As HH Sheikh Zayed said, “With God's will, we shall continue to work to protect our environment and our wildlife, as did our forefathers before us. It is a duty, and, if we fail, our children, rightly, will reproach us for squandering an essential part of their inheritance, and of our heritage." We hope you will all take away valuable lessons from your participation in this event, which will continue to drive you through the years.

Mrs Al Mar’ashi thanked His Excellency Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansoori  for his unwavering support and commitment to the campaign and his Ministry for their support. She also thanked the Dubai Municipality, for their support of this event; the co sponsors – Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), McDonalds and Etihad Esco for their active involvement and commitment to act on their Corporate Social Responsibility; The Dubai Police for ensuring the overall support and safety in all the sites; Aster Clinic for the medical support; Fujariah Plastic Factory for biodegradable plastic bags; Abela & Co for water; Byrne Equipment Rental for the Portable Toilets and Al Jazeera International Catering for the snacks and Almarai for juices.

A special thanks to our Media partners: Gulf News, RAK Radio, Al Khaleej and Gulf Today.

-Ends-

Emirates Environmental Group (EEG): EEG is a professional working group under the umbrella of Dubai Chamber, it was established in 1991 and is devoted to protecting the environment through the means of education, action programmes and community involvement. The organisation is open to all nationalities. The EEG is actively encouraged and supported by concerned local and federal government agencies. It is the first environmental NGO in the world to be ISO 14001 certified and the only organisation of its kind in the UAE with accredited status to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). EEG is the member of the UN Global Compact and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

For more information contact us: 
Email: eeg@emirates.net.ae or campaigns@emirates.net.ae
Tel: 04-3448622; 04-3493488
Fax: 04-3448677; 
Please visit our bi-lingual website: www.eeg-uae.org 

© Press Release 2018