Dubai: Dubai Municipality's Environment Department will join the rest of the world in celebrating World Migratory Bird Day, which takes place on May 8 and 9.
A seminar will be organised on May 10 at the Municipality Staff Club and a photo exhibition on Migratory Birds will take place in the DM main building from May 11-13 and in DEWA office from May 16-20.
This year's theme for World Migratory Bird Day is "Save migratory birds in crisis — every species counts!"
"It aims to raise awareness on globally threatened migratory birds, with a particular focus on those on the very edge of extinction," said Hamdan Al Shair, director of the department. "A staggering 1,227, or 12.4 per cent of the bird species in the world are currently classified as globally threatened and 192 of these are considered Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List of threatened species, meaning they face an extremely high risk of becoming extinct," says Al Shair.
"Normally only one bird per century becomes extinct, but during the last 30 years, 21 species disappeared. Migratory birds rely on several different habitats, sometimes going thousands of kilometres apart for breeding and feeding. As a result, they are one of the best indicator species to assess habitat condition and ecosystems," he said.
