Sharjah: Shrinking Arabian wetlands and waterbirds will be in focus as the world’s leading environmentalists and experts will come together in Sharjah to discuss ways to protect water bodies and the wildlife that depend on them.
The workshop is being organised by the Environment and Protected Areas Authority (EPAA) in Sharjah in association with the Wetlands International and BirdLife International.
More than 20 government representatives will be taking part in the workshop titled ‘Developing a regional strategy for monitoring coastal wetlands and waterbirds in the Arabian Peninsula,’ which will be held in the first half of September.
Hana Saif Al Suwaidi, EPAA chairperson, said the workshop will identify, document and monitor the changes in the ecological status of internationally important wetlands (Critical Sites).
“The workshop will analyse the current situation of regional coastal wetlands. This will support the first phase of the development of the regional programme, and strengthen strategic alliances between national, regional and international organisations in order to ensure more effective conservation of coastal habitats in the region and encourage data and capacity exchange,” said Al Suwaidi.
The two-day workshop aims to take stock of existing initiatives, capacity and agree on a regional waterbird and wetland monitoring strategy, identify gaps, needs and opportunities, joint products and timeline. The workshop will also discuss the way forward concerning the production of a regional situation analysis on the status of coastal wetlands.
There will also be discussions about an analysis of the status of coastal wetlands in the region. It is hoped that participants will reach an agreement on the estimated number of waterbird population.
This workshop seeks to develop a draft regional waterbird and wetland monitoring strategy based on the outcomes of the workshop. The workshop also seeks to gain support for the strategy, and communicate with regional stakeholders concerning the development of the situation analysis.
This strategy is considered important as it is in line with the 13th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (COP13), which will be hosted in the UAE in October 2018.
