UAE | Environment
Deal to protect birds of prey aims to help food chain
Food security will improve in African and Eurasian countries including the UAE, as about 70 species of birds of prey which support food chains will be saved from extinction, thanks to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in the capital on Wednesday.
- By Binsal Abdul Kader, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:56 October 22, 2008
Abu Dhabi: Food security will improve in African and Eurasian countries including the UAE, as about 70 species of birds of prey which support food chains will be saved from extinction, thanks to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in the capital on Wednesday.
The MoU was signed by 28 countries on the last day of a meeting organised by the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD), along with the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) and UK's Department of Food and Agriculture.
Dr Rashid Ahmad Bin Fahd, UAE Minister of Environment and Water, signed this agreement on behalf of the UAE Government. The signing ceremony was attended by the Yemeni Minister of Water and Environment, Dr Abdul Rahman Al Eryani, who signed on behalf of the Republic of Yemen, and Alain Azouaou, the Ambassador of France to the UAE.
Coordinated measures
"More countries signed the agreement than we expected, which has made it a great achievement for any conservation agreement," an EAD official told Gulf News.
"This will definitely improve the food security in Africa and Eurasia as all major countries from every region is now involved in protecting the crucial link in the food chain," said Dr Salim Javed, Head of Bird Monitoring and Conservation.
Countries that signed the MoU include Guinea, Kenya, Gambia, Angola, Mali, Madagascar, Djibouti, DR Congo, Republic of Congo, Burundi, Togo, Sudan, Senegal, Chad, Armenia, Norway, Netherlands, Portugal, Finland, UK, Mongolia, Hungary, Pakistan, France Yemen and the UAE.
The signatories have agreed to take coordinated measures to achieve and maintain the favourable conservation status of birds of prey throughout their geographical ranges and to reverse their decline when and where appropriate action can be taken by the authorities.
They will adopt, implement and enforce legal, regulatory and administrative measures appropriate to conserving the raptors and their habitat.
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