Dubai, 19 December 2005 -- The global winner of one, if not the world's, most prestigious environment prizes was announced today as Kofi Annan, the United Nations Secretary General.

The Zayed Prize International Jury was unanimous in their decision to award Mr Annan the 2005 Prize for Global Leadership for the Environment. Winners of the two other Zayed awards -- Scientific and or Technological Achievement in Environment and Environmental Action Leading to Positive Change in Society --were also announced today.

The 2nd Category Award - Scientific and or Technological Achievement in Environment - has been won by the 1,360 experts of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment which has catalogued the condition of the globe's ecosystems and their life-giving services.

The 3rd Category Award - Environmental Action Leading to Positive Change in Society - is jointly shared between Ms. Angela Cropper, co-President of the Cropper Foundation of Trinidad and Tobago and Mr. Emil Salim, the former Indonesian State Minister for Population and the Environment and the chair of the board of trustees for numerous Indonesian environmental organizations.

The Zayed International Prize for the Environment was established by Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and United Arab Emirates Minister of Defense, to acknowledge the environmental commitment of the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan. It is worth $ 1 million and is considered among the most prestigious environment-related awards in the world.