BONN/ABU DHABI, (Pakistan Point News - 18th Feb, 2020) The Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi, EAD, and the Secretariat of the Convention on Migratory Species, CMS, have extended their decade-long partnership, protecting Dugongs, African-Eurasian birds of prey and other migratory animals of regional importance, and the CMS Office Abu Dhabi will continue its UAE operations for another four years.
Established in the UAE capital in 2009, the CMS Office in Abu Dhabi is the only regional hub for the convention outside its headquarters in Bonn, Germany.
The partnership agreement was signed by Dr. Shaikha Salem Al Dhaheri, EAD Secretary-General, and Amy Fraenkel, Executive Secretary of the CMS Secretariat, during a high-level event on the opening day of the 13th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention, held in Gandhinagar, India, from 17th to 22nd February, 2020.
"We value our partnership with the CMS Office-Abu Dhabi in the UAE and are proud of all the important conservation outcomes we have achieved together across the range of many threatened migratory species since the partnership started in 2009," said Dr. Al Dhaheri.
Among the achievements are the successful development of scientific tools to better study dugongs and seagrass habitats, supporting grassroots initiatives in developing countries, and facilitating the adoption of strategic policies for the protection of species at high-level international fora. The history and achievements of the CMS-EAD partnership are described in a special 10th-anniversary section of the CMS website launched in December 2019.
Because of its contributions to the conservation of Dugongs and African-Eurasian birds of prey, EAD was recognised in Gandhinagar as a CMS Migratory Species Champion Plus.
"These Champion Plus awards serve to highlight the leading role that the EAD and the UAE are playing in migratory species conservation internationally," said Lyle Glowka, Head of CMS Office – Abu Dhabi, adding, "Their long-term commitment and generous support are immeasurable."
One of the important new initiatives spearheaded by the CMS Office-Abu Dhabi will provide a detailed, site-specific assessment of seagrass ecosystem services through community capacity-building. The €4.7 million project is funded by the International Climate Initiative of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety in Germany.
The IKI Seagrass Ecosystem Services Project will run until 2022 in five Dugong Range States. The information collected through this project will be used not only to create better policies but also to design economic development opportunities connected to Dugong and seagrass conservation.
