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Zayed International Prize Honours Top Environmentalists

Monaco

Dubai, 1 February 2014 – His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monacohas today been named the global winner of the prestigious Zayed International Prize for the Environment Award.  

A renowned conservationist and advocate for the earth’s marine and polar environments, His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco was honoured for the prolific environmental work carried out by the Prince Albert II Foundation, which he founded in 2006 after traveling to the North Pole and witnessing the effects of climate change on the Arctic’s weakening ice.

The Foundation has tackled a number of issues related to biodiversity, water security and energy efficiency. It took up the protection of the Bluefin tuna in 2008, and, as a result of its efforts, a moratorium on the fish has been implemented in Monaco – the world’s first ‘Bluefin tuna free’ country.

Winners of the other two Zayed awards—the 2nd category for Scientific and or Technological Achievement in Environment and the 3rd for Environmental Action Leading to Positive Change in Society—were also announced today.

The 2nd Category is jointly shared between:

  • Dr. Ashok Khosla (India), Founder of the Development Alternatives group
  • Dr. Zakri Abdul Hamid (Malaysia),Co-Chair of the 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment report

The 3rd Category is jointly shared between:

  • Paula Caballero Gómez (Colombia), Director of Economic, Social and Environmental Affairs for Colombia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
  • Dr. Luc Hoffmann (Switzerland), a renowned ornithologist, honoured for his work in philanthropy and the conservation of wetlands.

The Zayed International Prize for the Environment was established in 1999 by UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to acknowledge the environmental commitment of the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

It is the most prestigious and valuable international environmental award worldwide worth US$ 1 million

Previous Global Leadership winners include: Jimmy Carter, the former President of the United States, the British Broadcasting Corporation, Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Prime Minister of Norway and former President Lee Myung-Bak, of the Republic of Korea.

Former winners in the other categories include: Dr. Badria Al Awadhi, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, Ms. Angela Cropper, Environment Development Action in the Third World, Prof. V. Ramanathan, Prof. Jane Lubchenco, Tierramérica, Dr. Mathis Wackernagel, Sir Partha Dasgupta.

The winners will be honoured by the Patron, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, at a special Award Ceremony held in Dubai.