Through its belief in the mission of earth and environment the UAE is celebrating the World Environment Day with the rest of the world, which is marked on the fifth of June each year, and its slogan for this year is – Raise Your Voice, Not the Sea Level-, which will be confirmed in the islands and small countries, especially those which are threatened by the high level, whether of oceans, seas, or the gulf, due to the increased temperature of the atmosphere.
His Excellency Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, valued the efforts of leaders and institutions of the State in the field of environment, the latest of which was the issuance of a decree by his Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister, Ruler of Dubai, to establish six nature reserves in Dubai, as the preparation of this legislation comes with the purpose of protecting the natural environment for some regions in Dubai, and preserve their natural resources, along with the contribution in the development of environmental tourism in the Emirate through establishing new reserves, in addition to activating the role of Dubai Municipality in the management of natural reserves, and enabling them to achieve the goals set out in the Law of Establishing Natural Reserves in Dubai.
Recently, the establishment of the Emirates Center for Energy and Environment Research was approved during the first meeting of UAE University Council for the academic year 2013-2014, which was chaired by his Excellency Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Chancellor of UAE University. The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research also participated with the rest of the State’s institutions in the international campaign – Earth Hour- which aims to save energy and preserve the planet earth, through posting the logo of the campaign on its website and social networking pages.
The UAE always embraces many environmental activities with relation to the educational side, at the Arab, regional, and global levels, and eight experts in the field of environmental education from different parts of the world have recently met in Abu Dhabi to showcase their knowledge and expertise in the World Forum- Education for Sustainability- near the end of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development 2005-2014.
There are many higher education institutions in the UAE interested in the environment, and they offer Master’s degrees in Water and Environmental Engineering, such as Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, and Master of Science in Excellence in Environmental Management which was launched by Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University.
It is worth mentioning that the UAE always seeks to create a better environment for the human, practice behaviors that will improve the environment so as to become a pattern and a way of life, spread awareness about the sustainability of environmental systems to enhance food security, and address waste and unsustainable consumption patterns to preserve the natural resources such as water, energy and food.
