15 November 2022
Two new cities are celebrating several Green Flag Award winners in the United Arab Emirates, making it the country with the most flags flying for parks and green spaces outside of the British Isles.
Dubai scooped three Green Flag Awards for Al Barsha Pond Park, Al Nakheel Park and Al Nahda Pond Park.
Al Ain celebrated six parks: UNESCO World Heritage Site Al Ain Oasis, Al Dhahir Park, Al Wadi Park, Al Salamat Park, Al Jahili Park and Al Ainy Park.
This announcement follows earlier success in the year when the cities of Al Dhafra, Ruwais and Abu Dhabi were awarded 26 winners between them. The United Arab Emirates are now pioneering the expansion of the Green Flag Award internationally with an impressive 35 winners in total.
A map of all the winners the United Arab Emirates can be viewed here: United Arab Emirates winners map 2022
Image 1: Ms. Hajar Alketbi and Mr. Ahmad Al Zarooni Director of Public Parks and Recreational Facilities from Dubai Municipality are joined by UK judges Philippa Reece and David Winslow
CEO of the Public Facilities Agency in Dubai, Mr. Bader Anwahi said:
"We are incredibly excited to achieve the first Green Flag Awards for three of our parks and gardens. Our teams at Dubai Municipality work hard to make this a world leading city; delivering renowned quality of life for our citizens and great facilities for tourists too. It's an honour to now receive this international recognition."
Image 2: Al Ain Oasis gained UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 2011.
Executive Director of sub-Municipal Operations at Al Ain Municipality - Salem Rashed Al Ketbi said:
"Al Ain is a great place to live, work and visit. We are pleased to receive these awards of recognition for our parks and gardens. Since the pandemic, our parks have been getting busier and more popular, and it is now fantastic that they are being accredited as some of the best in the world."
The judging in Al Ain and Dubai was conducted through judges co-operation from both the United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates. Eng Hamad Muhsen Abdulla, Eng Salama Saeed Alketbi both from Abu Dhabi Municipality joined UK park managers Philippa Reece and David Winslow as well as UAE based Carina Gallagher.
Image 3: The judging team
Carl McClean, International Development Manager for the Green Flag Award said:
“Congratulations to all the winners in the United Arab Emirates this year. It is very impressive to see this level of increase in a single year from one country. We hope to strengthen the development of the program in the Middle East in future years, and train more judges to share their parks experience through the Green Flag Award standard."
GLOBAL WINNERS
For an interactive global map of current winners, visit: https://www.greenflagaward.org/award-winners/
At the time of publication, the global winners of the Green Flag Award in 2022 are:
|
Country |
Total | Notes |
| Australia | 7 | 2021-22 figure |
| Belgium | 8 | |
| Finland | 12 | |
| France | 3 | |
| Germany | 3 | |
| Ireland | 104 | |
| Mexico | 2 | 2021-22 figure |
| Netherlands | 2 | |
| New Zealand | 25 | 2021-22 figure |
| Portugal | 5 | |
| South Korea | 1 | |
| Spain | 4 | |
| Sweden | 2 | |
| Turkey | 5 | |
| United Arab Emirates | 35 | |
| United Kingdom | 2,208 | |
| USA | 1 | 2021-22 figure |
|
TOTAL |
2,427 | |
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 2,400 places in 17 countries around the world.
The programme is managed internationally by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, alongside a network of National Operators in several countries. See the website Network page for more information.
To find out more in general, or apply for an Award, whichever country you are based in; explore the Green Flag Award website: https://www.greenflagaward.org, or alternatively click here for a contact form.
