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The Al Ain Wildlife Park & Resort (AWPR) is hosting a two-day workshop which will gather some of the world’s leading conservation and re-introduction experts to start drafting a set of guidelines for conservation that take into account the effects of climate change on the re-introduction of species back to their natural habitats.
Reintroduction has been successfully used to conserve a number of threatened plant and animal species-examples include the Arabian oryx and Houbara bustard in the Middle East.
The two-day workshop welcomes experts from countries around the world working together to develop and revise guidelines on reintroduction processes in light of the effects of climate change. Major institutions such as University of Oxford, Massey University (New Zealand), Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (Rome), Aberdeen University, Endangered Wildlife Trust (South Africa) and the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi will be represented at the workshop. The workshop will be chaired by Dr. Mark Stanley Price of the University of Oxford, a field biologist who worked on the initial oryx releases in Oman.
The Reintroduction Specialist Group (RSG), whose Secretariat is based at EAD Abu Dhabi, was formed to promote the reintroduction of endangered populations of animals and plants back to the wild and plays a significant role in conservation efforts worldwide. The group manages a global network of volunteers and aims to provide reintroduction practitioners with tools such as reintroduction guidelines, networking resources and publications. It is one of over 100 specialist groups that are part of the Species Survival Commission (SSC) under the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), an organization dedicated to developing and practicing progressive conservation techniques. This meeting will review the existing reintroduction guidelines in the light of the new paradigms of habitat and ecosystem restoration, new understandings of population genetics and two major prevailing conservation issues, the increasing impact of invasive species and the effect of climate change of the distribution and viability of wild species and habitats”.
Dr Frederic Launay, Chief Executive Officer of AWPR and RSG Chairman said: “The conservation and re-introduction of species is an important component of our work at AWPR. The Abu Dhabi authorities have demonstrated leadership in the reintroduction of species, most notably the Arabian oryx and Houbara bustard and have generously hosted the RSG secretariat at EAD. We are extremely proud of our efforts thus far, and will continue to pioneer new and relevant approaches to conservation with our institutional partners here in Abu Dhabi and internationally.”
Dr. Mike Maunder, Chief Collections, Conservation and Education Officer at AWPR and RSG Deputy Chairman and Plants Chairman said: “Climate change is a growing reality, and the effects on the survival of threatened species will be significant. Accordingly, it is vital that we revise the existing RSG guidelines as a practical tool for conservationists. It is our intent that the new guidelines will contribute to the effective conservation of threatened animal and plant species here in Arabia and beyond. We are honored to host this group of leading experts in Al Ain, and to be part of such an important international project that has great relevance to conservation in the arid regions of the world.”
AWPR has a strong tradition of breeding species for the purposes of reintroduction into the wild, and actively participates in conservation efforts in many parts of the world. In March 2009, AWPR in conjunction with the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi contributed to a successful initiative to reintroduce to Jordan the Arabian oryx, which disappeared from the area decades ago. AWPR is part of an international initiative to reintroduce the Scimitar-horned oryx into protected areas in Niger, Chad and Morocco. In November 2009, the park hosted a four-day summit that brought together experts and ecologists from more than 15 of the world’s leading conservation organizations to develop a conservation road map to help save the Scimitar-horned oryx from extinction.
Established in 1968 by late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, AWPR is currently home to over 4,300 animals, 30% of which are considered to be threatened. AWPR is playing a leading role in the conservation of wildlife and species through several re-introduction and breeding programmes.
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