TUI AG awarded this year’s International Environmental Award to the Maldives. The winner is the Eco Centre on the Maldives island of Kuramathi in the Rasdhoo atoll. The prize is worth 10,000 euros and this year has been awarded for work in protecting the coral reefs. The Eco Centre, headed by Dr Reinhard Kikinger, has been fully committed for more than 10 years to protecting the coral reefs in the Maldives. Coral reefs are one of the world’s most biodiverse systems, but at the same time are also one of the most sensitive ecosystems. The International Environmental Award was granted today in the presence of the President of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed.
Following the coral bleach after the el Niño, Ali Norordeen, Director of Universal Resorts, founded the Eco Centre in 1999. His aim was to explain the fragile eco system in the Maldives and help to protect it by informing and educating the Tourists.
Background:
The TUI International Environmental Award, awarded for the first time back in 1991, is conferred on environmental and nature protection initiatives that have made a crucial contribution in an exemplary fashion to the protection and conservation of nature and biodiversity in the holiday destinations served by World of TUI. The criteria for selecting award winners are aspects such as the preservation of nature and the biodiversity in the holiday destinations, the sustainable use of resources, the raising of public awareness to this topic, and consideration of the interests of the local population. Previous award winners include local environmental initiatives from Turkey, Greece, Kenya and Menorca, but also the "Blue Flag" campaign organised by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), the CIPRA Alpine Federation, and EUROPARC, the Federation of European National and Nature Parks.