JIMMY CARTER
President Jimmy Carter has been recognized for his futuristic vision and concern for humanity both as a president and a statesman. The Global 2000 initiative during his presidency is an indicator of his concern for the impact of globalization on stability and development in the world, especially in developing countries. President Carter recognized that political instability, poverty and disease are the major obstacles to development in developing countries. These global problems were recognized as being amongst the principal causes of global environmental degradation at the Rio Summit (1992) and subsequently by other global environmental forums, including the Global Ministerial Forum in Malmo(2000).
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Prof. El Kassas is recognized for his life-long dedication to the study of arid lands ecology, their biodiversity and the delicate and complex relations between human beings and the ecosystem in the management of natural resources, the protection of biodiversity and the linkage of water to management. His leadership and vision were exhibited during his presidency of the IUCN, especially in the preparation of the Earth Charter.
The Jury recognized the work of the World Commission on Dams (WCD) as a model for addressing such complex issues that are really cross-sectoral. Dams are not only major water management projects (over 45,000 dams have been built on the world’s rivers), but they have a considerable impact on socio-economic development and the environment. The Jury felt that the success of the WCD in addressing the environmental impact set a standard for addressing other complex environmental problems, such as the equitable management of shared water resources.
Ms. Yolanda Kakabadse was chosen for her leading role and efforts in the preparation of the NGOs Chapter in Agenda 21 at the Rio conference of 1992. Since then she has achieved pioneering work at grassroots level as founder and president of the foundation “Furturo Latinoamericano”. She served as Minister of Environment of Ecuador and in that capacity she continued her leading role in addressing environmental concerns at the national, regional and international levels. She is now the President of IUCN, leading efforts to integrate governments, NGOs and United Nations organisations efforts, while maintaining her links at grassroots level.
Mr. Stephan Schmidheiny was selected because, at a time when the private sector and industry were largely unaware of environmental concerns, he charted a new course through the publication of his book “Changing Courses”. It was mainly through his efforts that the World Business Council for Sustainable Development was established. This body, of which he was the President, has become an important partner in the pursuit of sustainable development and the shift of major industries in the world towards greening their production and future development strategies.
The Zayed International Prize for the Environment recognizes that, in this media dominated world, it is not just statesmen and women who drive awareness and change, but also the world’s broadcasters and newspapers. In this field, the Zayed Prize jury considers that one media organization stands apart for its commitment, breadth of coverage and dedication to addressing global, regional and national environmental concerns.
Professor Godwin Obasi (Nigeria)
Dr. Badria Al Awadhi is an outstanding lawyer, outstanding in Law and environmental issues , studied the International Law in London University. In 1975, she had PhD from London on Legal Aspects of Maritime Pollution In The Arabian (Persian) Gulf, At the international level, Dr. Badria is a member in a number of International organizations such as International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), International Law Association, International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), International Council of Environmental Law (ICEL), established at Kuwait University in 2001.
In the late 1980s, Prof. Jamal M. Safi recognized the poor health and environmental and protection situation in the Palestinian territory (Gaza Strip and West Bank). Unlike many others he decided to care abut this situation, and, as a consequence, he founded the Environmental Protection and Research Institute in Gaza City. He started to submit proposals for applied and fundamental research projects which were suited to contribute to the improvement of the health and environmental protection situation in his country. His grant applications to different international organizations were highly successful during the last about thirteen years.
Mr. Kofi Annan has done more than most to catalyze political and public opinion to an understanding that the environment is a fundamental pillar of sustainable development. They note the various reports, requested by the UN Secretary-General in the run up to the 2005 World Summit in New York including “A More Secure World: Our Shared Responsibility” and “In Larger Freedom”. The Zayed jury also noted the personal leadership of the Secretary-General at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 in South Africa that addressed the Water, Energy, Health, Agriculture and Bio diversity (WEHAB) themes.
The work of 1,360 experts from 95 countries, the assessment is a landmark study on the condition of the world’s ecosystem services from fisheries and freshwaters up to the carbon capture of the world’s forests. It also underlines the economic importance of natural or nature’s capital and demonstrates that the degradation of ecosystems is progressing at an alarming and unsustainable rate. Indeed it estimates that 60 per cent of the ecosystem services that support all life on Earth are being degraded or used unsustainably.
Mrs. Cropper’s visionary leadership and selfless public service were recognized by the Jury to have catalyzed numerous activities for equity, peace and sustainable development at both international and local levels.
Professor Emil Salim has had a distinguished career in public service as Minister of State for Administrative Reform, Vice Chairman of the National Planning Board, Minister of Transportation, Communication and Tourism, Minister of State for Development Supervision and the Environment, and Minister of State for Population and the Environment.As Indonesia's First Minister of Environment, he inspired many new conservation initiatives in Indonesia, and helped to ensure that the environment was incorporated in development decisions.He earned his Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley, in Economics.
Dr. Brundtland is a Norwegian politician, diplomat and physician and an international leader in sustainable development and public health. She is a former Prime Minister of Norway and has served as the Director General of the World Health Organization. She now serves as a Special Envoy on Climate Change for the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon. Dr. Brundtland was educated as a Medical Doctor at the University of Oslo in 1963, and Master of Public Health at Harvard University in 1965. From 1966 to 1969, she worked as a physician at the Directorate of Health, and from 1969 she worked as a doctor in Oslo’s public school health service.
Prof. Jane Lubchenco is a world leader in environmental sciences. She discovered fundamental ecological and evolutionary relationships among animals and plants in complex coastal systems. She has studied the effect of aquaculture on world fish supplies and how biotic and abiotic local interactions can have a strong influence on the large-scale properties of ecosystems. Her recent work has shown how coastal oceanographic features can affect local community structure and dynamics. 
Prof. V. Ramanathan is among the most distinguished climatologists in the world. He identified the famous chlorofluorocarbons, stratospheric ozone and other pollutants as significant factors in the anthropogenic greenhouse effect (man made factors leading to global warming). He also demonstrated the positive amplifying effect of water vapor absorption on global warming, the global cooling effects of clouds on climate. More recently, he made significant contributions to the discovery of the widespread Atmospheric Brown Clouds (ABC) phenomenon.
Environment Development Action in the Third World was established in the Senegal in 1972. For more than 30 years it has demonstrated success in improving the environment and people's lives throughout the Continent of Africa. It has successfully transferred leadership through three generations of excellent leaders. ENDA has established itself as one of the leading sustainable development organizations in the world. It is a member of RING, the world network of leading sustainable development organizations. ENDA has a positive impact at local, national and regional levels. Working with the poorest of the poor in rural and urban areas, ENDA has achieved great success under very difficult circumstances.
Tierramérica is a specialized information service on Environment and Development, produced by the international news agency, Inter Press Service (IPS). It is sponsored by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and The World Bank (WB). The Tierramérica Administrative Board includes the UNEP, UNDP, WB and IPS. The history of Tierramérica began in 1995. In its first phase the project produced a bi-monthly supplement distributed by 12 newspapers in 11 countries, achieving a circulation of one million. With its attractive design, Tierramérica received the award for excellence of The Society of Newspaper Design in 1996.
In the midst of the recent economic and financial crisis Lee Myung-bak, President of the Republic of Korea, seized the moment to commit his country to “Green Growth,” ť a new paradigm for economic development that binds together environment protection and economic prosperity, creating new growth engines and jobs through green technology and clean energy.
Partha Dasgupta The Frank Ramsey Professor of Economics at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom and one of the most outstanding environmental economists of his generation. An Indian national, he has been one of the leading economists making the link between sustainability and economics in many ways well before such work was fashionable or fully understood.
Dr. Mathis Wackernagel has, through the co-founding of the GFN in 2003, translated the complexity of humanity's impact on the environment and natural resources into a more understandable and actionable form.
Prof. Najib Saab founded the groundbreaking and highly successful Al-Bia Wal-Tanmia (Environment and Development) magazine in 1996. The magazine triggered unprecedented environmental awareness at all levels, built a new relationship between the policy-makers and people of the Arab world with the issues of environment and sustainability, and placed the environment high on national and regional agendas.
A renowned conservationist and advocate for the earth’s marine and polar environments was honoured by the jury for the prolific environmental work carried out by the Prince Albert II Foundation, which he founded in 2006 after traveling to the North Pole and witnessing the effects of climate change on the Arctic’s weakening ice.
Dr. Ashok Khosla A pioneer in the academic study of environmental issues, Dr. Khosla was recognized by the Zayed International Prize for his global leadership in advancing knowledge and practice on environmentally sustainable development approaches.
Dr. Zakri Abdul Hamid Dr. Hamid is a researcher, educator, administrator and diplomat spanning the science-policy interface.The Zayed International Prize recognized his wide-ranging contributions to the environmental and sustainable development agendas, including through his roles in the 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, the scientific subsidiary body of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies.
Dr. Luc Hoffmann An ornithologist and renowned philanthropist, was honoured for his work in the conservation of the world’s wetlands. He conducted some of the earliest studies of waterbird populations and wetland ecology.Among other things, Dr. Hoffmann served as Director of Wetlands International and Vice-President of IUCN and established the Fondation Internationale du Banc d’Arguin in West Africa.He was a key figure in the original fight to save Spain’s Coto Dońana wetland reserve and a driving force behind the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, the world’s only international environmental treaty for a single biome.
Paula Caballero Gómez Director of Economic, Social and Environmental Affairs for Colombia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs – was recognized by the Zayed International Prize as having been instrumental in the early conceptualization and promotion of Sustainable Development Goals.