The Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD), in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Education Council, Ministry of Education, and with support from Abu Dhabi Municipality, will be showcasing all the entries it received, as part of its Annual Environment Competition, in an exhibition on the Corniche in Abu Dhabi from January 29 - February 11, 2012.

The Annual Environment Competition was developed by EAD in 2001 to motivate students to learn more about environmental issues as well as to provide them with a forum to express their concerns about today’s environmental challenges. The theme for this year’s competition, Forests: Nature at Your Service, raised awareness amongst the UAE’s youth about the importance of preserving mangroves and indigenous trees in the UAE.

The exhibition, which will be open and free to the public, will feature 2,421 entries from 415 schools and 35 entries from 14 universities. These entries were received from all over the UAE from students of all levels. They include inspiring art work, posters, short stories, essays, newspaper articles, posters, researched scientific reports and community awareness campaign proposals. Over the course of the academic year, EAD delivered several workshops to over 200 students to train them on how to develop researched scientific reports.

The competition entries are currently being evaluated by experts from various government, non-governmental and not-for-profit organisations in the UAE. The competition winners will be announced in a ceremony on February 7.

Within the exhibition, there will be a dedicated area for young children entitled Shaheen’s World. It will be open from 9 am - 1 pm and from 5 pm – 10 pm and will feature educational and fun interactive games, activities and giveaways.

The Annual Environment Competition, which is designed in a way that can be easily integrated as a part of classroom activity within the curriculum, is open to all students in every emirate from kindergarten to university level. The competition website www.envirocomp.ae offers useful educational resource material for students and teachers.

The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) is Abu Dhabi’s environmental regulator and assists the government on developing its environmental policy agenda. EAD works to preserve the Emirate’s natural heritage and biodiversity. It does this by helping to create sustainable communities, and protecting and conserving our ecosystems and natural resources by enforcing environmental regulations and delivering well-managed conservation programmes. EAD also works to ensure integrated and sustainable management of our groundwater resources, to ensure clean air, and to minimise climate change and its impacts.