The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, EAD, has announced it organised the Stakeholder’s Forum of Marine Protected Areas remotely last week.
The forum highlighted the system and objectives of marine reserves management and introduced the most important environmental aspects and components of marine reserves in Abu Dhabi.
The forum, in which 57 representatives from government agencies in the Emirate participated, included an overview of the work of monitoring and evaluating wildlife in marine reserves in Abu Dhabi, and an overview of activities and uses in marine protected areas. Also discussed was the mechanism for communicating with partners on site, and an open discussion on the "Cooperation and the Roles of Partners in Marine Reserves."
Ahmed Al Hashemi, Executive Director of EAD’s Terrestrial and Marine Biodiversity Sector, spoke at the forum and addressed the importance of the strategic partners’ contribution and their complementing roles, as well as enhancing efforts to conserve species, tightening control, and enforcing environmental legislation and laws within marine reserves. Al Hashemi also spoke about the importance of enhancing environmental awareness through implementing environmental awareness programmes and promoting ecotourism projects.
During the forum, Al-Hashemi discussed how EAD manages six marine reserves within the Sheikh Zayed Protected Areas Network, which represent 13.9 % of the total marine environment in Abu Dhabi. These include Ras Ghanada Marine Reserve, Bul Syayeef Water Reserve, Al Saadiyat Marine National Park and Mangrove National Park. Each reserve is home to a number of the best and most important marine habitats in the Emirate, as they contain habitats rich in biodiversity in terms of the number and density of local species. The reserves also contribute to the containment of endangered species on a local and global level.
Al Hashemi emphasised that these natural reserves preserve important ecosystems, and the species are important for sustainability for current and future generations, as they act as living laboratories that monitor the health of the environment. Over the past years, EAD has carried out significant achievements in managing these reserves and implemented conservation and protection programmes in protected areas that preserve the components of biological diversity in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. These achievements have ensured the effective contribution to promoting social and economic development.
EAD’s efforts have shown positive results for several habitats and species and have contributed to the stabilisation of the population of important organisms, such as sea turtles and dugongs. Moreover, EAD has contributed to the safety of different environments, such as coral reefs and mangroves, as well as strengthening the country’s position on the global environmental action map.
Marine reserves in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi are; Saadiyat Marine National Park, Al Yasat Marine Protected Area, Mangrove Marine National Park, Bul Syayeef Marine Protected Area; Marawah Marine Biosphere Reserve, and Ras Ghanada Marine Protected Area.