ONE DAY Ministry of Housing and Environment. Male Maldives

Transcription

1 OZO ONE DAY 2010 Ministry of Housing and Environment Male Maldives

2 MALDIVES CELEBRATES INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE PRESERVATION OF THE OZONE LAYER 2010 World Ozone day is celebrated every year on 16 September since This Day marks the importance of Ozone layer and its role in the environment. The theme of celebration is "Ozone Layer Protection: Governance and Compliances at their best" This year is a significant year for us as we have embarked our journey into the phasing out of HCFC 10 years ahead of the actual date set by the Montreal Protocol. Therefore, various activities were conducted on 16 th September Among the many things a school debate amongst the students of the Centre for Higher Secondary Education and Faculty of Educations was held on Ozone Layer Protection Vs Economic Developmet. An Environmental Awareness session for all the schools in the capital, Male, was conducted on 18 th September 2010 to create more awareness among school children. This one-day session includes presentations on Environmental Health, Climate change, Ozone layer and Biodiversity. In addition to these activities, schools have taken the initiative to conduct school level activities among students. These include; essay writing, a drawing competition, etc. Additionally, a special edition of Phemphis, an Environmental Newsletter, was released with a special message from UNEP and the Minister of Housing and Environment Mr. Mohamed Aslam. A booklet 25 Important Questions & Answers everybody should know about the Ozone Layer was also released on 16 th September 2010.

3 OZONE DAY BICYCLE RACE The Ministry of Housing and Environment conducted various activities to mark this year s Ozone Day. One of the most significant events of this celebration was Ozone Day Bicycle Race held on 8 th October in Hulhumale. The race was organized in collaboration with Maldives Olympic committee. The Ozone day bicycle Race aimed at creating awareness about the harmful gases the vehicles releases into the atmosphere and create more understanding about the Ozone Layer was participated by more than 100 participants from different age categories. The Ozone Bicycle Race conducted with support from Maldives Olympic Committee was categorized into 5 groups; Under 12 mixed, Under 14 mixed, Under 19 mixed, Above 19 female and Above 19 male. The race also broke a National record in bicycle race which is the youngest participant ever to take part in a bicycle race 7 year old Mohamed Human Hussein. 1 st, 2 nd and 3 rd were selected from each category. Prizes to the participants were delivered by the Honorary Chairman of the Maldives Olympic Committee Mr. Mohamed Zahir Naseer, Vice Chariman of the Olympic Committee Dr. Hussain Haleem and Senior Administrative Officer of Housing Development Co-operation Ms. Khadheeja Mohamed. The first prize from each category received Certificates, medals, MRF2000/- and a brand new bicycles.2 nd and 3 rd places also received certificates medals and many other prizes all of which was sponsored by different organizations in the Maldives.

4 OZONE DAY SCHOOL CHILDRENS DEBATE MNBC one (Television Channel in Maldives) aired the School Children s debate on 16th September to mark the world Ozone day the debate was held amongst the students of Centre for Higher Secondary Education and Faculty of Educations. The topic of this debate was Ozone Layer Protection Vs Economic Development. It was aimed to create awareness to students on ozone depleting substances its protection and the how it is linked with economic development of the country and its contribution towards the carbon neutrality goal announced by the president of Maldives. The arguments brought to table from both the schools were very valuable both to students and the audience who went to watch the debate live. With the success of this debate we hope to hold further more debates like this one amongst other different schools in the Capital Male as well as other Schools in islands of Maldives on Ozone related topics.

5 ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS SESSION FOR SCHOOLS International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer may seem simply like another one day affair on the calendar which passes like so many others, but the fact is that this day is aimed to educate and encourage environmentally friendly activities on a daily basis. It reminds us that it is our responsibility to take action for our planet. It is our hands to choose to accept this huge mission. In a world that only seems to be growing, and people becoming more isolated due to technological advances.

6 SPECIAL ADDITION OF NEWSLETTER PEMPHIS Minister of Environment H.E. Mr. Mohamed Aslam, in a special message to mark this year s Ozone Day has said that the steps that the Maldives is taking with regard to the environment are bold and unconditional and hope to be inspirational to other nations as well. Minister in his message also said We are again reminded of the great challenge ahead of us in saving the planet. The road ahead is not easy, but with continued support from the associated agencies we have no doubt about achieving our targets. He further went onto say that The Our commitment to mitigate climate change underlines how crucial it is especially for low lying island states and other vulnerable nations to ensure that action is taken in time to avoid wiping out of entire civilizations in small island states and many other vulnerable countries. In his message to the special edition of the Monthly Newsletter Phemphis published by the Environment Ministry Mr. Atul Bagai, Senior Regional Coordinator, UNEP DTIE OzonAction Programme said The Maldives is in the frontline of the global environmental issues. It is perhaps the most vulnerable country in the world as a number of scientists have warned that if nothing is done to reduce global carbon emissions, the country would soon sink beneath the rising seas. He further stressed on Maldives decision to stop the consumption of HCFCs earlier than the phase out deadline is considered the first major concrete step to make the carbon neutral declaration a reality.

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8 OZONE BOOK A special book 25 Answers on Ozone Layer was published and released on 16 th September 2010, the book was written by our own staff Muhusina Abdul Rahmaan. It consists of 25 questions with easy answers for anyone to understand easily. The main purpose of this book is to create a basic understanding of the ozone layer to anyone who reads it the book was distributed freely to almost everyone who came to the ozone bicycle race.