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Géant Hypermarket in Dubai today extended financial support of AED150,000 to fund environmental education and an awareness program led by Emirates Wildlife Society in association with World Wide Fund for Nature (EWS-WWF).

Géant raised the proceeds by selling 600,000 plastic carry bags to its customers since February after their decision to charge 25 fils for every plastic bag as part of their initiative to encourage shoppers to reduce consumption of plastic bags for the sake of environment. XPRESS was informed that the decision effectively halved the consumption of plastic bags at the supermarket.

"We are extremely supportive of organisations that make an effort to contribute to the wellbeing of the planet. Plastic bags kill animals and wildlife in the UAE every year, and all efforts to reduce this waste are steps forward", said Razan Al Mubarak, managing director of EWS-WWF. Géant is the first UAE hypermarket/supermarket to champion a reduction in the use of plastic bags, encouraging customers to reuse old bags, bring tote bags with them or buy their reusable jute bags in store.

Jean-Marc Lebrun, group general manager, Géant said: "While plastic bags are versatile, convenient and cheap to use, they are extremely harmful to the environment. We decided that the best way to stop our customers using bags unnecessarily was to attach a minor cost to them, and due to customer participation, the result is a reduction in the use of plastic by over eight tons the past three months. We thank our valuable customers for their great support and effort to help save the environment. The proceeds from plastic bags will now go towards EWS-WWF
who will help us raise environmental awareness amongst the community."

According to a recent report, one in two camels die from ingesting plastic waste dumped in the UAE desert. Apart from being unsightly, discarded plastic bags disrupt waterways, block sewers, and chokes soil, which depending on their thickness take many years to break down. Plastic bags also kill thousands of animals each year in water and on land.

The Ibn Batutta branch of the French chain of supermarkets is now encouraging customers to instead opt for AED 5 reusable jute bags available at the outlet.

Emirates Wildlife Society (EWS)
EWS is a national environmental NGO. EWS is established under the patronage of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, to implement conservation actions for the protection of local biodiversity. In the UAE, EWS works in association with WWF. The EWS is governed by a Board of Directors that also serves as the WWF UAE Project Office Board. EWS-WWF has been active in the UAE since the beginning of 2001 and has initiated several conservation projects in the region.

EWS-WWF
The WWF UAE Project Office was established in February 2001. Although it was the first WWF office to be set up in the Middle East, WWF’s association with the region can be traced back to the early 1960s where WWF helped establish the 'Arabian Oryx World Herd', which succeeded in breeding the Oryx in captivity and returning them to reserves in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Oman. Thanks to 'Operation Oryx' the Arabian Oryx was saved from extinction.

WWF
WWF was born into this world in 1961. It was the product of a deep concern held by a few eminent gentlemen who were worried by what they saw happening in our world at that time. Since those early days WWF has grown up to be one of the largest environmental organisations in the world.

Currently there are more than 2000 WWF conservation projects underway around the world. The vast majority of these focus on local issues. They range from school nature gardens in Zambia to initiatives that appear on the packaging in your local supermarket. From the restoration of orangeutan habitats to the establishment of giant panda reserves.
Published: May 06, 2008, 13:55 Géant donates AED 150,000 to environmental program Vikram Singh Barhat, Staff Reporter

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