IN the spirit of reconnecting with nature for World Environment Day tomorrow (June 5), Ford Motor Company has launched the 17th Conservation and Environmental Grants program, with $100,000 being made available to the successful entries. Accepted from Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Yemen, the touted projects focused on three main areas: Environmental Education, Protection of the Natural Environment and Conservation Engineering. Having been very well-received in the most recent edition of the grants program, two further categories will receive financial support for the winning projects: Best in Research – projects that show use of research in finding, and implementing, solutions to a specific environmental issue – and Best in Community Engagement, for the project that best demonstrates community engagement during its undertaking. Individuals or organizations with on-going non-profit projects focused on any of the main categories are invited to apply by downloading the form here, and email it to [email protected]. Closing date for applications is July 13, 2017 at 9pm AST (Arabian Standard Time). The winners will be announced in September of this year. "The continued success and quality of projects that are submitted for consideration each year truly highlights the importance of the Ford Conservation and Environmental Grants program," said Jacques Brent, president, Ford Middle East and Africa. "We are proud to support the committed individuals and organizations whose aim it is to preserve our environment for future generations." Earlier this year, the big winners of Ford's Conservation and Environmental Grants were those which championed raising awareness of, and inevitably saving, the Green Mangroves in Qatar; seeking to save the traditional beehives of Morocco by developing and managing them with organic production method; and comprising a database and mapping system for sites of natural significance and degraded environmental resources in 70 communities across Lebanon. Past projects that have benefited from the Ford Grants include whale and dolphin research projects in Oman, saving coral reefs in Kuwait, growing environmental clubs in schools all around the region, cleaning up beaches in Jordan, cleaning up rivers in Lebanon, protecting mangroves in Saudi Arabia, saving Arabian Leopards in the mountains of Oman, irrigation system for Algeria, water conservation awareness in Morocco, use of industrial plants to fight soil pollution in Tunisia, and conservation of endangered tree species in Egypt In its 16 years of existence, Ford Grants has become one of the largest corporate initiatives of its kind in the region, created to empower individuals and non-profit groups that are donating their time and efforts to preserve the environmental well-being of their communities. Since its inception, the Ford Motor Company Conservation and Environmental Grants program has received support and recognition from various governmental and non-governmental environmental authorities from around the Middle East, including the World Wide Fund for Nature, the Emirates Wildlife Society, the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) and UNESCO Doha. Recipients are chosen by an independent panel of judges consisting of academics and leaders from regional environmental organizations. The judges are seasoned environmentalists or academicians from the region carefully selected based on geographical coverage, age and gender equality. They look for initiatives that demonstrate a well-defined sense of purpose, a commitment to maximizing available resources, and a reputation for meeting objectives and delivering planned programs and services. World Environment Day is the biggest annual event for positive environmental action and takes place every June 5. Since it began in 1972, global citizens have organized many thousands of events, from neighborhood clean-ups, to action against wildlife crime, to replanting forests. The theme for 2017 is ‘Connecting People to Nature', which implores us to get outdoors and into nature to appreciate its beauty and importance, and to think about how we are intimately we depend on it. Ford's Conservation and Environmental Grants program echoes those sentiments, providing necessary funding and visibility to individuals and non-profit groups donating time and effort to preserve the environmental well-being of their communities. It is hoped a multiplication of similar grassroots efforts that will serve as catalysts of change across the globe will be encouraged to harmonize humanity and nature so that both can thrive.
