Current Projects

Be’ati Watani

Sustaining interest in the environment
One cannot disagree that the most important audience we need to educate on the need for sustainable actions in the environment are children. They are the future consumers, educators, business people and governments that will determine policies and practises to sustain our tenure on earth.

Be’ati Watani is an English and Arabic environmental education resource,  a first of its kind for UAE schools, the programme has been endorsed by the Ministry of Education and is promoted as a highly recommended extracurricular activity by Dubai’s Knowledge and Human Development Authority. Read more...
/ ©: EWS-WWF
Be’ati Watani - www.beatiwatani.com
© EWS-WWF

Blue Flag

The Blue Flag is a voluntary eco-label awarded to beaches and marinas. The programme is run by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), a non-profit, non-governmental organisation with member organizations in 55 countries. Currently, the programme covers 3,450 beaches and marinas in 41 countries across Europe, South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, New Zealand, Brazil, Canada and the Caribbean.

Blue Flag works towards sustainable development at beaches and marinas through strict criteria dealing with water quality, environmental education and information, environmental management, safety and other services. Read more...
/ ©: Blue Flag
© Blue Flag

Earth Hour

Since its inception by WWF 3 years ago, Earth Hour’s non-partisan approach captured the world’s imagination and became a global phenomenon.

Nearly one billion people turned out for Earth Hour 2009 – involving 4,100 cities in 87 countries on seven continents.

Last year, 400,000 in the UAE participated in Earth Hour. Read more...
/ ©: WWF
WWF Earth Hour Logo
© WWF

Eco-Schools

HSBC Eco-Schools Climate Initiative
Eco-Schools is an international programme for environmental education, management and certification that aims to raise students’ awareness on sustainable development issues through classroom study as well as school and community action.

On October 18, 2010, EWS-WWF, in partnership with the UAE Ministry of Education and HSBC, launched Eco-Schools in the UAE with the HSBC Eco-Schools Climate Initiative. Read more...
/ ©: EWS-WWF
Partners for the Eco-Schools initiative
© EWS-WWF

Ecological Footprint

Initiating an understanding on the measurement of UAE’s ecological footprint
The United Arab Emirate’s Ecological Footprint (EF) shows that similar to the rest of the developed world, residents of the UAE use more than their 'share' of the world's natural resources and that this present lifestyle level is not sustainable.

In fact, the UAE has one of the highest Ecological Footprints per capita in the world, and if every individual lived like an average UAE, four and a half planet Earth’s would be needed to sustain the demand. Read more...
/ ©: WWF-Canon / Chris Martin BAHR
According to WWF's Living Planet Report, humanity’s Ecological Footprint – the demand people place upon the natural world – has increased to the point where the Earth is unable to keep up in the struggle to regenerate.
© WWF-Canon / Chris Martin BAHR

Heroes of the UAE

Raising awareness on Climate Change and the need to reduce consumption of energy and water
EWS-WWF in partnership with the Environment Agency of Abu Dhabi (EAD), launched 'Heroes of the UAE Campaign' , urging all residents to reduce their energy and water consumption and, in doing so, help lower the country's ecological footprint and participate in global efforts to tackle climate change. This campaign aims to reach households, schools, companies and the governmental sector with important information, tips and tools to reduce the ecological footprint Read more...
/ ©: EWS-WWF
Heroes of the UAE logo
© EWS-WWF

Marine Turtle Conservation

Marine turtles are one of the longest living groups of animals to have ever existed, having far outlived the dinosaurs. But human activities have now placed them under increasing pressure and marine turtles in the Middle East and around the globe are today threatened, mostly through habitat loss and indirect capture in fisheries, and are in dire need of conservation action. Read more...
turtle tagging, turtle, hawksbill / ©: EWS-WWF
Tagged hawksbill turtle
© EWS-WWF

Sustainable Fisheries

Unsustainable fishing is a worldwide problem, with currently over 85 % of the world’s fish stocks classified as overexploited. We live in a world that wants more and more seafood, making overfishing and its associated environmental impact one of the biggest sustainability challenges.

Here at EWS-WWF, we believe it is high time for a sustainable seafood campaign in the United Arab Emirates, a country blessed with 239 fish species, and a coastline of over 650 km along the southern shore of the Gulf, of which 100 km are along the Gulf of Oman. Read more...
gargoor / ©: EAD
Catch from a Gargoor, traditional cage trap used in the UAE
© EAD

Wadi Wurayah, a Mountain Protected Area

Saving UAE's last wilderness

Wadi Wurayah in Fujairah was officially declared the first Mountain Protected Area on March 16, 2009 by HH Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammad Al Sharqi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Fujairah. The creation of the UAE's first Mountain Protected Area brought this three-year project, sponsored by HSBC Bank Middle East, and managed by EWS-WWF and Fujairah Municipality to a successful conclusion. The project is now entering the next and very important phase, implementation of the Management Plan. Read more...

/ ©: Emirates Wildlife Society -WWF
The United Arab Emirates has established the Wadi Wurayah Fujairah as the country’s first protected mountain area.
© Emirates Wildlife Society -WWF

Building a future in which humans live in harmony with nature.

Photos and graphics © WWF or used with permission. Text available under a Creative Commons licence.