Five UAE sites identified as areas of global ecological importance during EBSA workshop

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Abu Dhabi, UAE –Ā The UAE has identified five sites as areas of global biological and ecological importance during a recent regional workshop on Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs) in the North-Western Indian Ocean and the neighbouring Gulf region. The workshop was hosted by the UAE Ministry of Environment and Water with AGEDI as a collaborator, in addition to representatives from the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Jordan, Sudan, Eritrea, Pakistan, India and various international and regional organisations. The identified sites ā€“ the Southwest Waters of Abu Dhabi and the Marawah Marine Biosphere Reserve in Abu Dhabi, Jebel Ali in Dubai and Sir Bu Naā€™air Island, and Khor Kalba in Sharjah ā€“ were evaluated based on the criteria established during the ninth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Contribute to a global snapshot of biodiversity with National Geographic’s Great Nature Project

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From 15-25 May 2015, people all over the world are documenting biodiversity as part of a global snapshot for NationalĀ Geographicā€™s Great Nature Project. Grab a camera or phone and take photos of wildĀ plants and animals, then upload and share them on greatnatureproject.org. The goal of the global snapshot, which is repeated annually, is to documentĀ biodiversity all over the world during a specific window of time. Over time, this will provide data that can be used to answer scientific questions or provide useful information to decision-makers. Use the initiative to help keepĀ track of whatĀ wasĀ documented, see what amazing biodiversity other people observe, and even get help identifying different species.

 

Third session of the Plenary of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

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Abu Dhabi, UAE –Ā AGEDI joined a UAE delegation to the third session of the plenary of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), which was held from 12 to 17 January, 2015, in Bonn, Germany. IPBES aims to be the leading intergovernmental body for assessing the state of the planet’s biodiversity and its ecosystems. Discussions focused on communications and stakeholder engagement strategies, budget, strategic partnerships, rules of procedure, and on institutional arrangements for the UN collaborative partnership. Four regional sessions on regional assessments were also held.

AGEDI contributes to the 5th National Report for Biodiversity

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The UAE published its 5th National Report for Biodiversity on the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) website in June. The report, which incorporates AGEDIā€™s outcomes from AGEDIā€™s Local, National and Regional Biodiversity Rapid Assessment Project, reflects the status and trends of biodiversity, as well as the UAEā€™s efforts conserve it.

Read the report here.

National Geographic’s Great Nature Project

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The Environment Agency ā€“ Abu Dhabi has expressed gratitude for the publicā€™s support of National Geographicā€™s Great Nature Project which has ended in success with people from across the UAEĀ and the region (resulting in over 500 images) capturing the diverse biodiversity in the country to share with the rest of the world by uploading photos on popular social media sites.

Visit the Great Nature Project website:Ā http://greatnatureproject.org/

EAD joins National Geographic to help promote The Great Nature Project

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The Environment Agency ā€“ Abu Dhabi (EAD) has joined the world’s largest nonprofit scientific and educational organisation, National Geographic, to help promote The Great Nature Project, an ambitious initiative designed to inspire biodiversity conservation efforts among the public, globally and across the UAE. EAD will champion the project in the UAE, and along with AGEDIĀ and the Mohammed Bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, will consolidate efforts to drive awareness on the project through their collective local, regional and international networks.

Local, National and Regional Biodiversity Assessment Project successfully delivered

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Read more about the Biodiversity Assessment projectĀ that reflects all the valuable contributions from over 140 entities across the region here.

Experts meet for the Local & National Species and Ecological Processes Workshop

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The Marine and Terrestrial Species and Ecological Processes Technical Workshop was held at Environment Agency ā€“ Abu Dhabi Headquarters.Ā TheĀ workshops provide experts the opportunity to review and fill the many spatial data gaps, validate the spatial species data collected and assembled on maps and briefly review spatial ā€˜ecological processesā€™ areas. For more information about this project contact [email protected]