David Tusing ventures into the desert with a team of conservationists on a mission to rehabilitate animals that are being forced out of their habitat. There he meets a man who has dedicated his life to the preservation of the UAE's natural beauty.
Somewhere in Al Murra, about 30km from Dubai city, the road comes to an abrupt end. At this peculiar spot, the desert begins and stretches as far as the eye can see. Ex-army Major Ali Saqar Al Suwaidi steps out of his 4x4 into the blistering midday heat and pauses to survey the vast expanse before him.
"All this area will soon be developed. Everything will change," he says, his tone tinged with sadness. "That is why now we are working very hard.We cannot waste time." Ever since he founded the Emirates Marine Environment Group (Emeg), the 47 year old has literally made the desert his home.
Rehabilitating animals
Today, he spends his days rehabilitating animals whose natural homes are being threatened by encroaching bulldozers. From lizards and snakes to hares, foxes and gazelle, Major Al Suwaidi and his team of experts and volunteers have rescued more than 5,000 animals in the past two months alone.
"Development is a good thing, but this is the price we have to pay," he says, pointing out a group of engineers surveying the area. "But we must not stop until we have moved every one of these animals to a safe place.We must help them because it is not their fault." At the end of the road is also a tiny air-conditioned cabin, which serves as a halfway house for the rescued animals, most of them large lizards, covered in cloth sacks to prevent them from injuring each other.
It was during his time in the army, having to survey desert landscapes while on training, that Major Ali - as he is popularly known found his calling. In 1996, he decided to resign from the force and plunged himself into the rescue of animals.
"Because I was in the army, I knew the desert well. And when development plans were announced for different areas, I realised the animals were going to lose their homes," he says. "So we began requesting government agencies to start taking some action."
Supporting life
Through his organisation's pioneering effort, Major Ali has helped overturn the conventional view that deserts are inhospitable terrains incapable of supporting life.
Today, according to the rulebooks at the Environment Department of Dubai Municipality, all developers are obligated to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment before claiming a land for construction. All projects must also receive a "No Objection Certificate" (NOC) from the department before work can begin.
"Dubai Municipality has been very supportive with all our projects," says Major Ali. "They inform our organisation whenever a new project is announced and we immediately begin the rehabilitation in those areas." Every morning, Major Ali and his team set out into this new 320sq km site marked for development in Al Murra one of the settings for their rehabilitation projects. At random spots deep in the desert, volunteers have posted iron rods with tiny yellow flags with numbers beside holes that have been dug by lizards.
"This is the Bedouin style of catching lizards," he explains, pointing to one of the holes with a net draped over it, held by a couple of stones. We always succeed with this style.
"They come out between 7am and 10am in the morning to get heat and food and then move back into their holes," he says, as a volunteer disentangles a slightly confused reptile, which had walked into the trap.
Bedouin food
"We have to come and check every hour because we can't keep them out in the sun or they will die. After we catch the lizard, we will cover the hole so another one does not make a home there.
"These lizards used to be the staple food of the Bedouin. But we have so much to eat now. So there is no need to hunt them," says the ex-major, whose mother was a Bedouin. "A lot of people still catch them to keep as pets, which is illegal. Catching or killing any of them can lead to imprisonment for up to four years and a huge fine." As he continues his tour of the sandy terrain, revisiting pre-marked spots, Major Ali suddenly hits the brakes of his 4x4 a gazelle had quickly hopped across his path and disappeared behind the dunes. "You are lucky you saw that," he says, smiling proudly. "We are moving a lot of them also to a safer place. We have rescued more than 200 of them so far." Just then, a small whirlwind begins to twirl around his car. "We call that Quer Al Jinn, which means the wind of the jinn. When we were young, our parents used to tell us not to go close to them because a jinn is travelling in it," he says.
Animals rescued by the Emeg are rehabilitated at the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, a 225sq km private sanctuary owned by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
The Emeg's desert project, however, is just one of the group's many endeavours. Animals more suited to a coastal desert environment are also moved to a 35km strip of coastline running from beyond Jebel Ali to the Abu Dhabi border, in an area called Ghantoot. This is also where the Emeg office is currently located.
While the office houses a laboratory and data storage facilities, the coastline is pockmarked with smaller ponds where different species of fish are bred and studied. While a designated area of the coast is a favourite nesting ground for sea turtles, the sanctuary also has accommodation where visiting schoolchildren can stay during summer camps.
Educating children
"We regularly host awareness camps for school and college students. It is important they all know the situation we are in, so they can take up the responsibility themselves," says Major Ali, who is also an accomplished pearl diver.
"We also teach them about pearl diving. Sometimes I teach them the songs our forefathers used to sing when they went diving. I don't want it to be forgotten." Sitting under a majlis, the ends of his kandoorah flapping in the breeze, Major Ali points to the direction into the sea where his father and grandfather used to dive for pearls. Nearby, land reclamation for the massive Dubai Waterfront project is already well on its way.
"My dream is to keep this piece of land and use it to teach the new generation how important it is to save the environment," he says. "Hopefully, they will let us keep this place. Insha'alla." If you wish to volunteer for the Emirates Marine Environmental Group or find out more about the organisation, call 04 453 1120 or e-mail emeg@emirates.net.ae
© Emirates Today 2007
