Abu Dhabi

Dugong and Seagrass Conservation Project Coordination Team (AD1).

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Project Overview

The Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund is the Executing Agency of the Dugong and Seagrass Conservation Project. The Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund is a significant philanthropic endowment established in 2009 in Abu Dhabi, UAE to provide targeted grants to individual species conservation initiatives; recognize leaders in the field of species conservation; and elevate the importance of species in the broader conservation debate. The Fund’s reach in species conservation is global, and its species interest is non-discriminatory. To date the Fund supported nearly 1,500 projects in more than 150 countries. As an Executing Agency of the GEF Dugong and Seagrass Conservation Project, the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund hosts the Project Coordination Team, which facilitates the coordination of the Project at the global, regional and national levels. The Project Coordination Team has established the legal, operational and financial framework between the Executing Agency and the 26 Project partners in the eight Project countries. The Project Coordination Team is also working on communications with Project partners to promote the Project globally.

Project Coordination Team

Maya Bankova-Todorova

Project Manager

Maya is our project manager. Able to keep a cool head under great stress, Maya keeps on plugging away at all the details of the project. She is originally from Bulgaria, but is increasingly able to call Abu Dhabi 'home.'

Kirk W. Duthler

Communication Manager

Kirk is a communication specialist with the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, Dugong and Seagrass Conservation Project and the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi. Having lived in worked in Abu Dhabi for more than 10 years, Kirk specializes in telling conservation stories in as many formats as he can get his hands on. Kirk holds an MA and PhD degree in communications form the University of Kentucky and a BA from Hope College. Kirk has an awesome family and leads a great life, thanks in part, to the great people of the UAE.