Mohammed bin Rashid bin Mohammed bin Rashid honors the projects that won the Dubai International Award for Best Sustainable Development Practices

Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, “may God protect him,” and within the activities of the World Government Summit 2026, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum honored the winners of the “Dubai International Award for Best Sustainable Development Practices” in its fourteenth session, which is organized by Dubai Municipality in cooperation with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-Habitat. In appreciation and encouragement of the best innovative global ideas, projects and practices aimed at enhancing the growth of cities and improving the quality of life and living environment around the world.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum stressed that the Dubai International Award for Best Practices in Sustainable Development has, over the 31 years of its launch, consolidated the position of the UAE and Dubai as an incubator for creative minds, and a platform for formulating pioneering and new standards and practices in designing future cities, and developing innovative urban solutions in the field of sustainable urban planning that places people, their quality of life, their well-being, and achieving their stability at the heart of the city planning process and sustainable urban development paths.
His Highness said: The vision of Dubai’s leadership aims for the award to be an inspiring global reference that motivates individuals and institutions from around the world to create innovative solutions, ideas, projects and urban policies that contribute to the development of livable human societies, enhance the growth of cities and raise the levels of quality of life, well-being and sustainability in societies and cities of the world. We in Dubai believe that achieving a better future for human societies and future generations begins with believing in the importance of change today and thinking about building more resilient and sustainable cities. And suitable for living.
The winning projects in the award categories included: The project “Regenerating the Mallorquín Swamp – Nature Positive Urban Transformation in Barranquilla: Revitalizing Local Ecosystems and Restoring Public Spaces for Inhabitants”, from the Republic of Colombia, in the category of Best Practices in Urban Regeneration and Public Spaces.
The Cascais Harvest Haven – Urban Agriculture Strategy in Terras de Cascais project from the Republic of Portugal won the Best Practices in Urban Food Systems Conservation category.
In the category of best practices in addressing climate change and reducing pollution; The “Marine Waste Management – Blue Circle” project from the People’s Republic of China won, while the “Decent Life” project from the Arab Republic of Egypt won the best practices category in the field of urban infrastructure planning and management.
Director General of Dubai Municipality, Engineer Marwan Ahmed bin Ghalita, said: The award consolidates Dubai’s leading position as a global center and a leading reference for designing exemplary and comprehensive cities and communities of the future, which give priority to sustainability, innovation, human well-being and quality of life. It also embodies the commitment of the UAE and Dubai to strengthening international cooperation to lead sustainable urban development paths in human settlements and protect the environment, and to develop the concepts of urban and physical planning for cities, which focuses on improving the quality of life in communities and human settlements.
He added: The award is an international honor that celebrates elite ideas, projects and practices that achieve balance between environmental, health, urban and technological systems, and flexible infrastructure capable of adapting to various changes and challenges. It represents an opportunity to inspire new innovations that serve areas of sustainable development and make cities and communities a better quality of life.
The award attracted more than 3,000 entries from 152 countries around the world, which is the largest participation in the award’s history, which confirms the extent of the development and growth that the award has witnessed, and consolidates its position as a global platform for celebrating projects and ideas directed at developing the urban environment in cities and communities, and enhancing the quality of human life and well-being.
The project “Regenerating the Mallorquin Swamp – Nature-Positive Urban Transformation in Barranquilla: Revitalizing Local Ecosystems and Restoring Public Spaces for Population” from the Republic of Colombia was crowned in the Best Practices in Urban Renewal and Public Spaces category, as it rehabilitates more than 740 hectares of wetlands and urban green spaces through mangrove reforestation and phytoremediation, which totals 250,000 trees, most of them mangroves, in addition to the creation of more than 200 One thousand square meters of public space.
The project “Cascais Harvest Haven – Urban Agriculture Strategy in Terras de Cascais” from the Republic of Portugal won the Best Practices in Urban Food Systems Conservation category. The strategy is based on a comprehensive vision to transform 17.6 hectares of urban and peri-urban land into a sustainable and integrated food system, integrating 34 community gardens, 5 orchards, 67 school gardens and training farms that support the participation of more than 5,000 beneficiaries, especially low-income families. The project also produces 40 tons of organic food annually.
The “Marine Waste Management – Blue Circle” project from the People’s Republic of China won the category of best practices in addressing climate change and reducing pollution, as the project is a smart system for managing marine waste and ship pollution based on data, blockchain and artificial intelligence in 14 coastal cities, with a wide cooperation network that includes more than 13 thousand waste collection vessels, which enabled the collection of 19,600 tons of marine waste by 2025, as well as enhancing marine plastic recycling pathways to produce low-carbon industrial materials.
The “Decent Life” project from the Arab Republic of Egypt won the category of best practices in the field of urban infrastructure planning and management. The project is a major national initiative to improve the quality of life in the Egyptian countryside and serve more than 60 million citizens within Egypt’s Vision 2030, with a comprehensive development of infrastructure that includes water, electricity and sewage networks, and raising the efficiency of roads, schools and health centers in more than 4,500 villages within 20 governorates. The project was implemented in three phases according to poverty levels. The first phase covered 1,477 villages, while the next two phases aimed to implement more than 27,000 service and development projects.