ABU DHABI, (Pakistan Point News - 06th Jan, 2019) A UAE newspaper has said that the presence of birds adds beauty to the planet and that it’s sad that many bird species around the world are threatened by habitat loss, climate change, fisheries bycatch, illegal wildlife trade and a host of other threats.
In what would rattle collective human conscience, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) earlier stated that from 1970 to 2014, 60 per cent of all animals with a backbone - fish, birds, amphibians, reptiles and mammals - were wiped out by human activity.
"In this background, the UAE deserves praise for extending maximum support to conservation projects," said The Gulf Today in an editorial on Sunday, adding, "Support for research and conservation projects on two bird species once believed to be extinct and another whose total population is believed to be as low at 50 are among newly-announced grants being made by the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, and this is an adorable initiative.
The Jerdon’s Courser (Rhinoptilus bitorquatus) was first recorded by a British surgeon, Thomas Jerdon, in 1848 in Andhra Pradesh, India, and was seen occasionally until 1900. With no more sightings, it was believed to be extinct until a study by the Bombay Natural History Society and the US Fish and Wildlife Service re-discovered it in 1986 in an area promptly designated as a wildlife sanctuary.
The species has not been seen since 2009, despite dedicated searches between 2010 and 2015. The good news is that a Species Recovery Plan has been developed that includes research, monitoring, conservation education and habitat management to ensure its long-term survival.
Research into another bird once believed to be extinct, the Bermuda Petrel or Cahow, (Pterodroma cahow), the national bird of the island archipelago of Bermuda, is also receiving support from the Fund.
The species was numerous prior to the arrival of European ships at the end of the 15th Century, with an estimated half a million pairs nesting.
The Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund is also supporting a project devoted to another petrel species, the Black-capped petrel, (Pterodroma hasitata), a close relative of the Bermuda Petrel, with four known colonies in Haiti, the Dominican Republic and the island of Dominica, in the Caribbean.
Funds are being given for satellite-tagging to study the movements of the birds at sea.
"The Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund deserves a salute for having given a total of over $18 million to 1,924 conservation projects, covering over 1,200 species and sub-species of plants and animals," concluded the Sharjah-based daily.
