President Lee Myung-bak of the Republic of Korea cited for transforming the Korea’s development path into a low carbon, resource efficient, and green economy.

H.E. Dr Rashid Ahmed bin Fahd, Minister of Environment & Water has announced the winners of the Zayed International Prize for Environment in its fifth cycle. They are as follows:

  • President Lee Myung-bak of the Republic of Korea won the Zayed Prize for Global leadership in environment.

In the midst of the recent economic and financial crisis Lee Myung-bak, President of the Republic of Korea, seized the moment to commit his country to ‘Green Growth,’ a new paradigm for economic development that binds together environment protection and economic prosperity, creating new growth engines and jobs through green technology and clean energy.  President Lee Myung-bak’s vision and leadership was a central driver in transforming the Republic of Korea’s development path into a low carbon, resource efficient, and Green Economy.

(L to R) Dr Mohammed bin Fahad, Chairman, Zayed Prize Committee, H.E. Dr Rashid Ahmad bin Fahad, UAE Minister of Environment & Water, Dr Habib N El-Habr, Director & Regional Representative UNEP

  • Sir Partha Dasgupta won the Zayed Prize for Scientific and technological achievements in environment.

Sir Partha Dasgupta is the Frank Ramsey Professor of Economics at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom and one of the most outstanding environmental economists of his generation. An Indian national, he has been one of the leading economists making the link between sustainability and economics in many ways well before such work was fashionable or fully understood.  Professor Dasgupta coined the term “inclusive wealth” to spotlight the way conventional measures of wealth—primarily GDP—fail to capture natural capital or environmental assets.

  • Dr Mathis Wackernagel and Prof  Najib Saab from Lebanon shared the Zayed Prize for Environmental action leading to positive change in society.

Dr Mathis Wackernagel has, through the co-founding of the Global Footprint Network (GFN) in 2003, translated the complexity of humanity’s impact on the environment and natural resources into a more understandable and actionable form.  The concept of ecological limits and relating the demands of human beings to the planet’s available ecological resources has attracted and is catalysing action among governments, business and civil society.  Under Swiss-born Dr Wackernagel’s leadership, the Footprint is now recognised as a leading and highly comprehensible indicator of sustainability.

Prof Najib Saab founded the groundbreaking and highly successful Al-Bia Wal-Tanmia (Environment and Development) magazine in 1996. The magazine triggered unprecedented environmental awareness at all levels, built a new relationship between the policy-makers and people of the Arab world with the issues of environment and sustainability, and placed the environment high on national and regional agendas.  The magazine and Saab’s vision also acted as a spring board for a wider pan-Arab initiative which catalyzed in 2006 the establishment of the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED).

The winners will be honoured by the Patron, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum at a special Award Ceremony on March 14, 2011 at Dubai International Convention Centre.

A statement from the Award committee said that the Jury decided that their achievements do fulfil the objectives of the Zayed Prize, in line with the philosophy of the late Sheikh Zayed and the vision of the H.H. the founder and Patron.

The prize value is $ 1,000,000, divided into three categories.

  • $500,000 for the Zayed Prize for Global leadership in environment. This category is given to an individual or organisation with a clear impact on the international policy in protecting environment and achieving sustainable development.
  • $300,000 for the Zayed Prize for Scientific and technological achievements in environment. This category is given to an individual or organisation that has a world-known contribution in the scientific search and eco-friendly technology that pushes environment efforts towards success. This reflects the country’s commitment to scientific search and clean technology.
  • $200,000 for Zayed Prize for Environmental action leading to positive change in society. This category is given to a world-known individual or organisation for what he\ they have done to promote environment works and change trends and concepts of volunteer work and civil community systems and coordinating among the private sector and government & non-government organisations in terms of balanced economic and environmental development.

Each winner receives a trophy with the prize emblem, Zayed Prize diploma in addition to the financial prize.