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The Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi mulled over mechanisms to develop Abu Dhabi Emirate’s targets and action plan on biodiversity for the years 2014 to 2018.
A number of senior representatives from government entities were among the attendees who agreed to accelerate progress towards protecting biodiversity in the Emirate and managing protected areas as envisaged in the Abu Dhabi Environment Vision 2030.
The move is in line with the Emirate’s plan, which is being supervised by the General Secretariat of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
Dr. Mohammed Yousef Al Madfaei, Executive Director of the Integrated Environment Policy and Planning Sector at EAD, said, "A high-level biodiversity strategy is a key area of EAD’s focus, and to work in such close collaboration with our government partners allows us to effectively align targets and objectives. Protecting and conserving our biodiversity is a big component of the Abu Dhabi Environment Vision 2030, our biodiversity is a cornerstone of our communities, economics and heritage." Specific areas of focus for EAD and its partners defined during the workshop included, restricting habitat degradation, fragmentation, and loss to safeguard sensitive habitats, conserving biodiversity, with an emphasis on threatened and endangered species of flora and fauna, effectively managing fish stocks, improving and maintaining coastal and marine water quality and the protection of soils from degradation.
Dr. Shaikha Salem Al Dhaheri, Executive Director of the Terrestrial and Marine Biodiversity Sector at EAD, added, "The strategy and action plan will address the challenges posed by human influence such as habitat loss as a result of development activities, over exploitation of resources and pollution, as well as natural influences, such as climate change. Successful programmes, like the reintroduction and growth in breeding of the Greater Flamingo at Al Wathba Wetland Reserve, to the conservation, monitoring and transfer of the Arabian Oryx, demonstrate that EAD, with further collaboration with its partners, can achieve more milestones of this nature. By holding this workshop, all parties are now further aligned. We are looking forward to implementing this plan so that we can together protect and conserve Abu Dhabi’s natural heritage and biodiversity in parallel with the Emirate’s rapid development."
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