Today, Alia Mazroui, Director of the UAE Program for Rain Enhancement Science, outlined the objectives of this ground-breaking initiative to an international audience at the Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture, an event being held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority, and staged at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.
With the Program already attracting interest from institutions and individuals from around the world, Mazroui explained that "the UAE Program for Rain Enhancement Science, launched at this year’s Abu Dhabi Sustainability, was an important part of the UAE government’s innovation strategy. As water security has become an increasingly important issue, we wish to encourage institutions, research teams and individual scientists to investigate new means of increasing rainfall not only in the UAE, but in arid and semi-arid areas all over the world.”
"So far, the program has succeeded in attracting significant offers of participation from some of the leading international experts in the field. We are looking forward to working with some of the most important scientists and researchers in the field of rain enhancement,” added Mazroui.
Under the management of the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS), the Program offers a grant of US$5 million dollars over a three-year period to be shared by up to five winning research proposals, selected by a two-stage merit review decision process. The first round of awards will be announced in January 2016.
The competition requires local and international, public and private, non-profit and for-profit organizations and individuals to submit their pre-proposals before March 16.
The UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science is an initiative launched under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Centre for Meteorology and Seismology. The Program, which is overseen by the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, was launched at the beginning of this year with the aim of placing the UAE at the international forefront of rain enhancement science by stimulating investment in research in this field for the benefit of the UAE and other arid and semi-regions around the world.
The Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture (GFIA) is one of the largest and most important international events in the agricultural sector. It attracts innovators, investors, scientists and researchers to review the latest innovations and new technologies that have the potential contribute to the development of agricultural techniques in the UAE and around the world.
|