01 April 2022
The United Arab Emirates has reached a new record of Green Flag Award winners for their 2022-23 season
Abu Dhabi Municipality won a total of 20 Awards alongside Al Dhafra Municipality (five) and Ruwais City (one) to bring the total to an amazing 26 parks and green spaces holding the international standard in the country.
Image 1: Abu Dhabi Managers gather to celebrate on Al Bateen Beach
A team of four UK judges made the visit to Abu Dhabi this year, having been unable to complete previous assessments as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Mary Atkins, Chris Worman MBE, Lucy Heath and Joe Heyden assessed the parks day and night in the course of a few days to ensure results could be announced on Thursday at a special ceremony on Al Bateen Beach, Abu Dhabi.
The judging team said:
"Abu Dhabi municipality should be rightly proud of the parks they have submitted for the Green Flag Award this year. The judges were impressed with the fundamental improvements in all areas, especially community engagement, underpinned by effective team work"
Image 2: Lake Park in Abu Dhabi won the Award for the second year
Hamad Muhsen Abdulla Eng., Head of Technical Studies Section for the Department for Municipalities and Transport at Abu Dhabi Municipality said:
“We are extremely pleased to achieve the Green Flag Award for 20 of our parks across the municipality this year. Our teams have worked very hard to meet the strict criteria of the Award, and we do this to ensure that the residents of Abu Dhabi have access to parks that meet the international standard."
"I am very proud of our management teams, all of our staff and our contractors for this historic achievement.”
Image 3: Judge Chris Worman is greeted by a young volunteer in Al Jazeera Park
The Award has been slowly growing in the Emirates since 2015, which is the first country in the Middle East to adopt the programme. Work has been ongoing between a number of cities - with Abu Dhabi leading the way from the beginning.
Later this year - further applications are expected to be made by Dubai Municipality, Al Ain Municipality and Khor Fakkan Municipality, and there are plans to train more Emirati judges in the country as early as 2023.
Image 4: Central Park in Ruwais, Al Dhafra region
Carl McClean , International Development Manager for the Green Flag Award for Keep Britain Tidy said:
"The work going on in parks within the United Arab Emirates is truly impressive. Since 2015 we have seen vast improvements in the approach to park management, community engagement and sustainability that has definitely been driven by the Green Flag Award criteria. Well done to everyone involved in the management and day to day operations in these parks. They really are world class."
Image 5: Children gather as part of the judging visit to Al Shamka 5 Park
View the Winners
You can view all the 2022-23 winners in the UAE via the Winners Map below (opens in new browser tab)
FURTHER INFORMATION
The Green Flag Award® is a non-profit international accreditation programme that recognises and rewards well managed parks and green spaces. Today the Green Flag Award proudly flies above more than 2,000 places in 16 countries around the world.
To find out more in general, or apply for an Award, whichever country you are based in; please feel free to explore our website and get in touch.
If you know of a park or a country not yet involved in the Green Flag Award that might be interested, please Contact Us
