Abu Dhabi (Al Ittihad)
The UAE attaches utmost importance to preserving biological diversity, protecting and multiplying endangered species, and resettling them in their natural range areas inside and outside the country. The state has recorded great successes in terms of preserving endangered species, as a result of adopting an integrated legislative structure, which includes laws to protect these species and the nature of dealing with them, and keeping pace with international agreements and treaties, in addition to increasing the number of natural reserves and expanding them, and launching several breeding programs for endangered species. In addition to adopting several techniques to preserve the environment and different types of organisms. Endangered species are defined as the species of animals and plants that face the threat of extinction, and they are classified in the Red List of Threatened Species according to the classification of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, while the Red List of Endangered Species is known as a methodology or method concerned with assessing and monitoring the status of biodiversity on the planet. This list is supported by a group of international institutions, led by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), in particular the Species Survival Commission (SSC), the World Bird Council and others. These institutions work together to assess the status of living species in the world. National Sustainability», which was launched recently in conjunction with the preparations for the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change «COP28», which will be held from November 30 to December 12 of this year in Dubai Expo City, the efforts of the UAE in protecting the environment through a group Innovative initiatives and solutions. The “National Sustainability” campaign aims to raise awareness about environmental sustainability issues, encourage community participation, and support national strategies related to climate action, in order to achieve a positive impact on individuals’ behavior and responsibilities, leading to an environmentally conscious society.
Integrated legislative structure
The UAE enjoys a unique biodiversity that includes a group of plants and terrestrial and aquatic organisms. Accordingly, the country has issued many legislations to protect its biological diversity, such as Federal Law No. (23) of 1999 regarding the exploitation, protection and development of living aquatic resources in the UAE, and Federal Law No. ( 24) for the year 1999 regarding the protection and development of the environment, which prohibits hunting, transporting, killing or harming wild or marine organisms, or carrying out actions that would eliminate them and damage or destroy geological or geographical formations or areas that are home to animal or plant species or their reproduction and the introduction of species alien to the protected area and pollute the soil, water or air of the protected area, as it issued in this regard Federal Law No. (11) of 2002 regarding the regulation and control of international trade in animals and plants threatened with extinction and its implementing regulations.
Red List in Abu Dhabi
In 2021, the Environment Agency in Abu Dhabi issued the first Red List of Wildlife Species in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, which is an assessment of the threat status of terrestrial and marine species in the emirate. The Abu Dhabi Red List complements the National Red List of Threatened Species of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, and is in line with the development of these lists at the local, national and regional levels. The Abu Dhabi Red List assessed 244 species, including 101 plants, 49 birds, 9 marine species, 32 species of land mammals, 25 species of invertebrates, 26 species of reptiles, and two types of amphibians. Of the 244 species assessed, 74 are under different threat categories, such as Critically Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable. The Abu Dhabi Red List of Wildlife Species helps EAD prioritize conservation measures for some of the emirate’s most threatened species, which may include developing more systematic monitoring, conservation and action plans for specific species. The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi is implementing a number of the most successful projects in the world to resettle species that were on the brink of extinction, such as the Arabian Oryx and the African Oryx / Abu Harab /, and Abu Dhabi is now home to the largest group of Arabian Oryx in the world. The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi is implementing a number of the most successful projects in the world to resettle species that were on the brink of extinction, such as the Arabian Oryx and the African Oryx Abu Harab, whose numbers in the wild amounted to more than 550 heads. Abu Dhabi now houses the largest group of Arabian Oryx in the world. This is done through wildlife breeding centers run by the Authority.
Establishing natural reserves
The UAE’s efforts are numerous in terms of protecting endangered species, including the establishment and expansion of natural reserves, as these reserves enjoy biological diversity, rare animals and plants, in addition to coral reefs full of unique marine organisms. Significant in terms of conservation of endangered species. The UAE is home to 49 natural reserves, representing about 15.53% of the country’s total area. These natural reserves are divided into 16 marine reserves, representing about 12.01% of the marine and coastal areas, and 33 terrestrial reserves, representing 18.4% of the land areas in the country.
Increase in endangered species
Within the framework of its initiatives to protect endangered species, the UAE has attached great importance to the breeding programs for endangered species by providing breeding centers with a prestigious reputation at the local and global levels, in addition to the organization of the competent authorities in the country many awareness campaigns on protecting endangered species and limiting practices against it, as well as carrying out studies and research to monitor, track and evaluate these species. The UAE has also relied on the latest technologies to protect endangered species, through satellite tracking techniques, in addition to the use of drones to survey large groups of breeding bird species and their enumeration, to obtain highly accurate results and within short periods of time compared to traditional methods. .
International agreements
The UAE has joined many international agreements aimed at protecting endangered species, the most important of which are the Convention Regulating Trade in Endangered Species of Plants and Animals (CITES), the International Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and its protocols on biosafety from genetically modified resources, and the emerging fair sharing protocol On genetic resources, the Convention on Wetlands of Global Importance (Ramsar), and the Convention on Conserving Wildlife and Its Natural Habitats in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, in addition to that, the country joined the International Treaty on Migratory Species, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and other global alliances.
National Red List
As part of the UAE’s strategy to preserve local biodiversity and protect endangered species, the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment launched in 2022 the National Red List of Endangered Species, which includes a comprehensive assessment of the status of species in the local environment. The National Red List aims to enhance the achievement of international competitiveness indicators, and comes in implementation of national strategies and plans such as the National Strategy for Biodiversity that was issued in 2014. The list aimed to assess the state of wild species in the country and measure the effectiveness of the policies applied to protect them and the needs and requirements necessary to preserve them. The list also contributes In achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals No. 14 and 15 regarding the conservation of wild species. The National Red List project included identifying endangered species and assessing the risk of extinction of wild species at the state level. The list included an assessment of the status of 1,167 living species in the local environment. There are other types of mammals in the country, but they are alien species. There are also reptiles and amphibians, with a total number of 72 species, including 57 land reptiles, 13 marine reptiles, and 2 amphibians. The project also assessed the state of selected marine species, including 126 bony fish, 80 cartilaginous fish and 66 coral species, in addition to 167 species of local birds in the country. The National Red List of Endangered Species provides data and statistics that contribute to the development and adoption of future plans and programs. Its role is to enhance the protection of local biodiversity and ensure its sustainability, and to preserve many endangered species. It also contributes to highlighting the value of the unremitting efforts made by the state in this field, in addition to It provides material of important scientific value to researchers and academics in the country, and it also represents a strong motivation to focus their future research on species whose data are not available in the current situation, which helps to feed the national database of endangered species.
The evaluations included in the list concluded that the average percentage of endangered mammal species in the country is 46.7 percent, and the evaluation and monitoring processes included in the Red List project showed a great diversity of wild mammals in the country according to the different environments in which they exist, where carnivores constitute 28.2 percent of the population. percent, and rodents 20.5 percent, while bats constitute 30.7 percent of the local species confirmed to be present, and the Arabian tahr is the only endemic species of mammals in the region, while there are five species of mammals endemic to the Arabian Peninsula in the country, which are the Arabian oryx and the Arabian gazelle The sand deer, the jerboa, and the Arabian rat. The list also showed that the country is home to a variety of marine mammals, with 18 species of cetaceans and one type of sirenian (sea cows) recorded, in addition to important groups of at least four types of marine mammals, including the humpback dolphin.
According to the National Red List, the UAE includes approximately 60 species of wild reptiles, with the percentage of reptiles in the country threatened with extinction reaching 19 percent, including one endemic species, which is the paper-toed gecko, in addition to two types of amphibians, and it also includes eight species of sea snakes and five species of sea turtles, and the results of the assessment of the state of reptiles in the country showed that 69 percent of them are considered less threatened with extinction.
459 species of birds
The list revealed that the local environment of the country includes 459 species of birds, and 167 species were evaluated, as birds in the country are distributed into two groups: regular birds and endemic birds. , while 14 percent of them are under threat of extinction, and 33 percent are less threatened. About 945 species of plants were recorded in the country, where 598 species of local vascular plants were identified and evaluated. It was found that 8 percent of plant species in the country are threatened with extinction, 3 percent are less threatened, while 62 percent of them are not threatened.
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