• To run from 6 to 9 October

Abu Dhabi-UAE:  Under the patronage of the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD), the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) today opened its four-day Leaders’ Meeting in the UAE capital.

The conference has brought together more than 350 conservation experts, including the IUCN Secretariat and other IUCN commissions, Red List authority coordinators, UAE-based conservationists, SSC partners, as well as members of academia. During the meeting that will conclude on 9 October, leaders will seek to produce a declaration emphasising conservation action for species as a shared responsibility, and calling on countries to adopt and implement an ambitious and effective post-2020 global species target.

In her opening address to a gathering of world-renowned species conservation experts, Her Excellency Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, Managing Director of EAD, hailed the emirate’s long-standing partnership with SSC.

Her Excellency said: “This initiative demonstrates the incredible power of cross-country collaboration to create environmental impact – something SSC knows a great deal about. After all, conservation transcends borders - and it is our collective responsibility to work together in securing a future for the next generation and beyond.”

Hosting the meeting reaffirms EAD’s mission to preserve the quality of life, while raising global awareness on current environmental challenges, climate change, conservation, sustainability, and the need for transparent regulation to safeguard the environment and its endangered species.  

She added: “At a time when some are questioning the very existence of the environmental threats that are damaging our Earth, we must work to provide unbiased evidence that empowers sound decision-making for the sake of our planet.”

With over 9,000 volunteers contributing to IUCN SSC activities across 161 working groups, this week’s meeting aims to further strengthen vision, strategy, collaboration and teamwork for improving the status of species globally.

Highlighting EAD’s progress in improving environmental quality, Her Excellency Dr. Shaikha Salem Al Dhaheri, Secretary General of EAD, said: “EAD continues to make significant efforts to conserve the region’s rich biodiversity and preserve the quality of life for all our people. Our work to protect terrestrial and marine biodiversity now covers almost 30 percent of land and sea areas in the emirate of Abu Dhabi.”

She added: “Our scientists have discovered several species over the years, the most recent are new types of Digger Wasps, which were sighted just last week at the Al Wathba Wetland Reserve and in Wadi Maidaq in Fujairah.”

Her Excellency said: “There are numerous initiatives for us to be proud of, including the Scimitar-horned Oryx Reintroduction Programme, which helped bring the beautiful species back to its historical home in Chad.”

Dr. Jon Paul Rodríguez, Chair of IUCN Species Survival Commission, said: “The meeting will be four productive and intense days of networking, articulation, learning from past experiences, as well as improving skills, exploring how best to measure the effectiveness of SSC actions on biodiversity conservation and apply the outcomes of that process to improve and guide our future work.”

The agenda includes plenary discussions that address success stories in species conservation, ways to expand conservation planning, strengthen sustainable use of biodiversity and envision the future role of the SSC network.

“This meeting helps ensure that species conservation efforts across the IUCN network and the world are evaluated and expand the capacity of specialist groups and IUCN members to asses-plan-act for conservation, in order to achieve the goal of assessing 160,000 species by 2020 and decrease the number of species threatened with extinction,” added Dr. Jon Paul Rodriguez.

The event will also comprise discussion and training sessions covering a range of topics, including the 2021-2024 IUCN Species Strategic Plan, engaging on international treaties, species monitoring, wildlife health, conservation genetics, as well as species conservation translocations, human-wildlife conflicts, and invasive species.

The shared responsibility to conserve Arabian species will also be addressed during the Leaders’ Meeting and will provide an opportunity for UAE-based environmentalists and conservationists to share EAD’s efforts in species conservation.

-Ends-

For more information or to set up interviews, please contact:

IUCN Species Survival Commission:

Aritzaith Rodríguez, aritzaith.rodriguez@ssc.iucn.org , +54 9 11 2386 5487

Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD):

Sobhia El Masri, selmasri@ead.gov.ae , +97150 442-5096

About the IUCN Species Survival Commission

With over 9,000 members, the Species Survival Commission (SSC) is the largest of the six expert commissions of IUCN and enables IUCN to influence, encourage and assist societies to conserve biodiversity by building knowledge on the status and threats to species, providing advice, developing policies and guidelines, facilitating conservation planning, and catalysing conservation action.

www.iucn.org/theme/species/about/species-survival-commission  or follow IUCN SSC on Facebook and Twitter

About the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi

Established in 1996, the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) is committed to protecting and enhancing air quality, groundwater as well as the biodiversity of our desert and marine ecosystem. By partnering with other government entities, the private sector, NGOs and global environmental agencies, we embrace international best practice, innovation and hard work to institute effective policy measures. We seek to raise environmental awareness, facilitate Sustainable Development and ensure environmental issues remain one of the top priorities of our national agenda.

www.ead.ae  or follow EAD on Facebook and Twitter

© Press Release 2019

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