Environment Agency Abu Dhabi engages thousands of students in ‘reducing the foodprint'

Abu Dhabi (WAM): The number of participating students from public and private schools and universities in the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi's 2014 edition of its Annual Environment Competition (AEC) has dramatically increased, reflecting a fourteen-fold increase in the number of entries within thirteen years. The Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD) launched the competition in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC), encouraging all public and private schools and universities across the UAE to participate. The inaugural AEC in 2000-2001 saw 47 schools register and 247 entries. However, in this academic year, 646 schools and universities registered and 2,087 entries were submitted. This year, the competition also reached to other emirates, with participation from 97 schools from Dubai, 69 from Sharjah, 35 from Ajman, 26 from Fujairah, 18 from Umm Al Qaiwain and 40 from Ras Al-Khaimah. Commenting on the competition, Fozeya Ibrahim Al Mahmoud, Director of Environmental Outreach at EAD, said, "The growing popularity of the competition has transformed it into a unique platform that enables students to creatively express themselves and their views around the major environmental challenges facing the UAE and the world." "The success of the competition is truly a result of the active collaboration between EAD and its partners at the Ministry of Education, ADEC, as well as the educational zones in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, and the Western Region," she continued. This year's competition theme, "Think.Eat.Save" is inspired by the theme that was set by the United Nations Environment Programme for World Environment Day. The theme encourages people to reduce their ‘foodprint.' Food waste does not only have social and economic impacts, but an environmental impact too as food waste is associated directly with the loss of biodiversity, water and energy. Food waste is also considered a primary source of landfill gas and one of the main contributing factors to climate change. EAD will be announcing the Annual Environment Competition winners in May. – Emirates News Agency, WAM