Expo 2020 Dubai to celebrate World Wildlife Day with experts at Terra auditorium

Dubai: Expo 2020 Dubai will celebrate World Wildlife Day tomorrow with a dedicated event comprising top conservationists, scientists and activists from across the world, shining a spotlight on local, regional and global efforts to preserve, protect and save endangered species, while inspiring similar action globally.

The UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) will hold the ‘Living in Harmony with Nature and Recovering Key Species for Ecosystem Restoration’ at the Terra auditorium.

Speakers will include Mariam Almheiri, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment; Mohammed Ali Saad, Veterinarian and Representative of the Conservation Programmes for the Arabian Oryx; Axel Moehrenschlager, Chair, Conservation Translocation Specialist Group (CTSG) of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN); Doreen Robinson, Head of Biodiversity and Land, former Chief of Wildlife, UNEP; and John Ewen, Senior Research Fellow at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL).

Melanie Mesa Blas, Director of the Guardians of the Kingfisher Project, and her son Napu, will also present grass roots initiatives that have preserved Guam kingfishers — a vulnerable species due to their low breeding number and habitat loss — from imminent extinction.

Sustainability, one of Expo 2020 Dubai’s three key subthemes, is integrated across the entirety of the World Expo, which has a robust record of protecting biodiversity on and around the site. These measures, along with how this legacy will continue even after Expo 2020 Dubai ends on March 31, will also be discussed during the event.