Bangladesh's LEDARS awarded Zayed Sustainability Prize

Local Environment Development and Agricultural Research Society (LEDARS) a non-government organisation based in Satkhira, has received the Middle East-based Zayed Sustainability Award-2023 for its special contribution to supply drinking water in the Sundarbans and coastal areas in Bangladesh.

President of United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Monday handed over the award to Mohon Kumar Mondal, Executive Director of LEDARS, at a colourful Award Giving Ceremony held in Abu Dhabi. Nine other international organisations were also awarded the prize in different categories.

The LEDARS will get financial support of 600,000 USD in addition to a certificate and a crest for achieving the prestigious international award.

The ceremony was attended among others, by Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior; Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidential Court; Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Member of Abu Dhabi Executive Council; Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan; Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, Advisor for Special Affairs at the Ministry of Presidential Court; Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Co-existence.

In his remarks at the Awards Giving Ceremony, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed said, the UAE continues to lead on important global initiatives at the heart of their mission to create a better future for all, both within the UAE and beyond the nation’s borders.

"The bold ambition of the Zayed Sustainability Prize remains at the forefront of these efforts. It creates a pathway for delivering life-changing humanitarian aid and solutions to communities around the world,” he mentioned.

The US$3 million Prize is the UAE’s pioneering global award in sustainability that recognizes and rewards small and medium-sized enterprises, nonprofit organizations and high schools around the world that are delivering impactful, innovative and inspiring solutions in health, food, energy and water. Through its 96 former winners, the Prize has transformed the lives of more than 378 million people around the world since 2008, including in Vietnam, Nepal, Sudan, Ethiopia, Maldives and Tuvalu, says a press release.

The LEDARS that received the Zayed Sustainability Award in the water category developed an Integrated Water Resource Management Model with different highly efficient, low cost and user-friendly technologies like- Bio-sand filters (BSF), Pond-sand filters (PSF), rainwater harvesting systems (RWHS), protective ponds, canal re-excavation, Reverse Osmosis (RO), Deep tube well, providing safe drinking water and supporting the cultivation of paddies and vegetables throughout the year on lands that were previously barren.

The LEDARS initiatives created access to safe drinking water for at least 15,881 families in the disaster-prone southwest coastal areas of Bangladesh, the press release added.

The non-profit and non-political organisation believes that receiving this distinguished award will help scale up activities to more people in vulnerable areas. Through this, LEDARS will be able to play a leading role in improving the quality of life of the climate-affected people of the southwest coastal area.

Earlier, the LEDARS also received the Excellent Third Prize of World Water Showcase in 7th World Water Forum in Korea, 2015 and Channel I-Standard Chartered Bank Agrow Award 2020. Besides, LEDARS was considered as a finalist organisation for the Local Adaptation Champion Award 2022.

Sheikhs and senior officials, heads of states, ministers, and other senior-level dignitaries from the UAE and abroad, in addition to past winners, and the 2023 finalists were also present at the ceremony.