EEG organised its 4 th and final Panel Discussion virtually this year on 20 th September, titled “UAE A Biodiversity Haven”. The discussion highlighted the importance of biodiversity in the cycle of life, and the efforts made by the UAE to preserve its biological diversity.

This seminar, witnessed a strong presence from inside and outside the country. The esteemed participants where, Mrs. Habiba Al Marashi, head of the group, Dr. Amna Manna Al Otaiba - Director of the Environment, Health and Safety Department at Al Ain Zoo, and Mrs. Hessa Al Qahtani - Head of the Conservation Program Unit at Al Ain Zoo Mr. Greg Simkins - Director of Conservation at Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, and Mr. Brett Gervin, Principal of Arbor School - Dubai.

Mrs. Habiba strongly expressed in the seminar that Biodiversity is in crisis, she said, “there is an irreversible decline of genetic and species diversity and disintegration of ecosystems at global, regional, and local scales. According to an article, from the world economic forum, anthropogenic activities have led to the loss of 83% of all wild mammals and half of plants. Scientists are concerned that human activities are putting increased pressure and affecting biodiversity immensely”.

She then added, “UNEP states that we are losing species at 1,000 times greater than at any time in recorded human history and one million species face extinction, we risk facing a sixth mass extinction in Earth history.”

Mrs. Habiba stated that as an accredited NGO to the UNEP, it is important to organise these Panel Discussions to help raise awareness on the importance of biodiversity and the risks that face humanity. She also indicated how EEG manages to engage with the UAE community with the help of expert panelists that share their ideas about this topic. EEG is confident that through this platform, it was able to shed light and recognise the efforts done by organisations in the UAE to meet UN SDG. 13, 14 & 15. This panel discussion shed light on this crucially important topic and shared ideas, best practices and innovations, that helped give us more insight on how to conserve our ecosystems on a global, regional and local level.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of combating the loss of biodiversity and the corona virus outbreak is hard proof that biodiversity is significantly declining” said, Mrs. Al Mar’ashi. She continued, “Studies show that the more bio diverse an ecosystem is, the less likely it is for a pathogen to spread rapidly and pass between animals and humans. (UNESCO). It’s no longer an issue that only concerns ecology, but it’s also a wakeup call for us to avoid the next pandemic and maintain a healthy nature. Progress in this field has been made by various Chinese cities that put a temporary ban on the consumption of wild animals.”

She indicated that in order to raise awareness on this topic and to encourage interactions between members of the UAE society, and to relate this global environmental issue to regional and local situations, EEG has organized this Panel discussion which goal is to focus on the targets set out in the UN SDG 14 and 15, tackling the challenges and the progress being made in the conservation efforts of life on land and life on water in the UAE and to learn about the progress and new research being done in the field of ecological conservation, understand the challenges faced by the various institutions in implementing conservation practices and finally To discuss and share the knowledge about the wealth of terrestrial, avian and marine found within the UAE.

She proudly expressed that the UAE has a relatively rich biological diversity that is composed of a number of ecosystems and terrestrial and aquatic habitats, land and sea diversity is an integral part of UAE’s heritage. Many species are distinguished for their ability to withstand the UAE climate and weather and its ability to adapt to it.

She also added, “UAE’s terrestrial and marine environments are facing many challenges and pressures. Some of which are economic and urban development, increasing number of population that leads to habitat fragmentation, excessive land use and increased consumption of groundwater resources, as well as overgrasing and over exploitation of living marine resources. As a solution the “National Biodiversity Strategy” was prepared in cooperation and coordination with all stakeholders in the public and private sectors. For this purpose, the UAE also collaborated with the academic community and regional and international organisations, in line with the UAE vision and its national goals and the objectives of Aichi Convention on Biological Diversity.”

Mrs Habiba Al Mar’ashi concluded, “Through these efforts, the UAE has made important achievements at the regional and global levels. The UAE is ranked first in the Standard of Marine Reserves in the Environmental Sustainability Index, an important global indicator. The UAE has also achieved remarkable successes in the conservation and spread of endangered species in their natural environments inside and outside the country.”