Fourteen environmental projects will share a total of $90,000 in grants from Ford Motor Company this year, as part of the company's Conservation & Environmental Grants program in the GCC and Levant countries.

The winning projects were chosen by an independent panel of judges comprising nine conservation and environmental experts and academics from the participating countries.

The 14 projects were chosen from six countries and the grants ranged from $1,600 to $18,000.

Since its inception in the region in 2000, the Ford Motor Company Conservation & Environmental Grants have awarded a total of $690,000 to nearly 90 projects.

Hussein Murad, sales & marketing director, expressed delight at the success of the grants since their beginning eight years ago.

'It is equally heart-warming to see so many community groups actively participating in preserving their local environment. Ford Motor Company is proud to support and recognise these initiatives,' Murad said.

'We are pleased to receive support and recognition from top environmental experts and institutions from around the region. Our independent panel of judges has welcomed prominent personalities in this field who have made valuable contributions to the success of the Grants till date,' he added.

Since their inception, the Ford Grants have seen support from WWF International and recently from the Arab Forum for the Environment and Development (AFED), adding further significance to the programme.

The Ford Grants are part of the global environmental protection efforts of Ford Motor Company.

The initiative, one of the largest of its kind in the world, grew out of the Henry Ford European Conservation Awards, which have helped more than 15,000 projects in the 80's and 90's. The Grants currently run in Central America, Europe, Middle East and Asia.

The Ford Motor Company Conservation & Environmental Grants provide financial support to ongoing grass-root level projects from individuals and non-profit groups in the GCC, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.

Projects may enter in the following categories: natural environment, environmental education and conservation engineering.

The recipients of the 2007-2008 Ford Motor Company Conservation & Environmental Grants (GCC/Levant Chapter) are groups from Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Syria.-TradeArabia News Service