President Mohamed Nasheed congratulated Kuramathi Island Resort, and Director of Universal Resorts Ali Noordeen for receiving TUI International Environmental Award, given by one of the Europe’s leading travel and tourism groups, TUI.
TUI Group this year awarded its prestigious award to “Eco Centre” at Kuramathi Island, managed by Universal Resorts, recognizing its exemplary contribution to the protection and conservation of nature and biodiversity.
Eco Centre at Kuramathi is one of the oldest environmental centres in the Maldives, opening in 1999, with the aim of explaining the fragile eco system in the Maldives and helping to protect it by informing and educating tourists.
In addition to educating tourists on reefs and ecosystem, Kuramathi “Eco Centre” conducts education and awareness programmes in the neighbouring island of Rasdhoo.
Underlining the importance of reefs for the protection of the islands, at the award ceremony held at Kuramathi Island this evening, President Nasheed acknowledged the contributions of Eco Centre to reef protection and nature conservation.
In his remarks, the President also underscored the Maldives’ plans to follow a low carbon development path and its goal to become carbon neutral by 2020.
Noting the maldives tourism industry’s receptiveness to the idea of low carbon development, the President said “if resorts are able to transform so rapidly as they are doing, we think we will be really able to achieve our objective [of becoming carbon neutral] much faster and much quicker than we thought we were going to do it.”
TUI awards its International Environmental Award to exemplary nature and biodiversity protection and conservation initiatives in holiday destinations served by TUI Group.
Award was presented to the resort by TUI Group’s Head of Environmental Management/Sustainable Development Mrs Mila Dahle.
