Dubai: Dubai Municipality is promoting ecotourism in the emirate under the theme ‘To My Dubai Wildlife’.
The Environment Department has set up an ecotourism promotional platform at the Mirdif City Centre, which was launched on September 25 and will be held till October 3, from 10am to 10pm, the civic body said in a press release on Thursday.
The initiative, under the theme, ‘Discover and Protect’, aims to encourage public to explore the natural environment and protect its resources without compromising the environmental systems of natural organisms and plants and their vital systems of different species and types of plants and animals. The public is made aware by encouraging them to participate in workshops, the municipality said.
Hussain Nasser Lootah, director-general of Dubai Municipality, said: “The municipality is keen to promote a culture of environmental awareness in various fields. The municipality strives to strike a balance between sustainability of natural resources and achieving sustainable development goals.”
Aliah Al Harmoudi, director of Environment Department, said: “We want to stop the unwarranted exploitation of natural resources and the discharge of liquid and solid waste into natural water channels, which affects wildlife and biological balance. If tourism activities are not organised, they may lead to environmental degradation.
“Ecotourism is the most important factor for achieving better economic, social and recreational conditions for any country in the world. Dubai is one of the most important favourite destinations in the world as it is unique with many landscapes and creatures in its natural reserves. The emirate has a total of eight reserves.”
The eight natural reserves are Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary, Jebel Ali Marine Sanctuary, Hatta Mountains, Marmoum Desert Sanctuary (Al Qudra Lake), Al Wuhoush Desert, Dubai Desert (Al Maha), Jabal Nizwa and Ghaf Nizwa.
“The reserves in Dubai contain many exotic trees and native plants, in addition to the various forms of wildlife like animals, reptiles, birds and many of them are endangered. Therefore, the correct awareness about ecotourism, which is provided to each visitor during the promotional event, is designed to protect this environment from any human errors resulting from the lack of knowledge of the nature of the area, in addition to giving the visitor the best possible service,” said Al Harmoudi.
