Abu Dhabi: The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment organised a national workshop on combating illegal wildlife trafficking to help further stem smugglers from routing threatened and endangered animals through the UAE.
Talks by a string of stakeholders were anchored by UAE’s commitment to the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Fauna & Flaura (Cites) which regulates the trade of 5,600 species.
Enormous strides have already been made in the fight buoyed by major large-scale seizures of large shipments of items such as elephant ivory tusks by Dubai Customs at Dubai International Airport in recent years.
The event was hosted by Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi in partnership with General Civil Aviation Authority and in cooperation with environmental groups.
As part of the workshop, stakeholders deliberated on how national legislation and cooperation of key institutions in the UAE could help to shut down the routes exploited by wildlife traffickers and ensure the prevention of the illegal practice in the UAE.
Mariam Hareb, Assistant Undersecretary of Water Resources and Nature Conservation Sector at the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, said in a statement that the “transportation industry plays a significant role in preventing illegal wildlife smuggling; capacity building is a critical component in ensuring compliance with our international commitments”.
The ministry, in cooperation with relevant authorities, regularly confiscates shipments of illegally traded species listed in Cites, as part of its commitment to international obligations to conserve nature and biodiversity.
The UAE is one of the first countries to have four representatives at the global initiative United for Wildlife, including Emirates Airlines and Etihad Airways which signed the Declaration of the United for Wildlife International Taskforce on the Transportation of Illegal Wildlife Products at Buckingham Palace last month.
James Hogan, Etihad Airways president and chief executive officer, said: “Our role in this workshop further demonstrates our commitment to the Buckingham Palace Declaration that we signed last month. We will continue to work with and support all relevant authorities, including the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, to help bring an end to the abhorrent practice of illegal wildlife trade.”
Monitoring and assessment of important and threatened species is being undertaken by the ministry.
