L’autruche d’Afrique du Nord (Struthio c. camelus) ou autruche à cou rouge est l’une des quatre sous-espèces d’autruches existantes. L’espace sahélo-saharienne est une zone de prédilection pour ce grand oiseau. Il y a un siècle, cette race d’autruches était localisée dans près de 18 pays limitrophes du Sahel et du Sahara. Aujourd’hui, leur espace vital est réduit à 6 pays.
The partnership aims to fulfil Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi’s objective of raising awareness of key regional environmental issues and initiatives among as wide an audience as possible.
Emirates Airlines has announced a collaboration with Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) to air two nature documentaries, Back to the Wild and Zayed’s Antarctic Lights, for inflight passengers. The films have been included in the inflight entertainment package on Emirates flights since October.
Emirates Airlines has collaborated with award winning Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) to air nature documentaries inflight. Two EAD documentaries – Back to the Wild and Zayed’s Antarctic Lights – have been included in the inflight entertainment package on Emirates flights since October.
Al Ain Zoo, which is home to nearly 4,000 animals from around the world, 30 percent of which are endangered, also offers great support for conservation efforts by participating in 59 breeding programmes.
Since its establishment more than 52 years ago, Al Ain Zoo has been able to achieve great success in conserving wildlife, protecting animals and providing them with the environment to live in peace and safety, as well as nurturing endangered animals from wrongful human practices and urbanisation.
The current global pandemic has created a multitude of setbacks in so many facets of life. For the conservation community, one of the most heightened difficulties was the loss of field seasons. During the spring and summer months, many researchers and academics travel to field sites for data collection, but when travel is restricted or even banned, how can research and conservation continue?
ABU DHABI — The Environment Agency — Abu Dhabi (EAD) announced that the first wild-born Addax calf (Addax nasomaculatus) was born recently in Chad.Within two days of the birth of the first calf, another was born. Both calves belong to a group of 15 Addax initially translocated from Abu Dhabi in November 2019 and released into the wild in Chad in January as part of EAD efforts to protect biodiversity locally and internationally.
Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park in Arizona recently opened a five-acre Safari Park expansion, featuring pygmy hippos, Grévy’s zebra, onagers, caracals and clouded leopards.
Among the achievements that the world presents on Endangered Species Day, which falls on May 15, the Al Ain Zoo is celebrating its success in preserving wildlife and its role in presenting the UAE as a global supporter of nature conservation and biological diversity.
I knew before accepting the position that succeeding John Newby as the CEO of the Sahara Conservation Fund (SCF) would involve filling some very large shoes. This was not a decision I took lightly. I had previously met John 25 years ago when I was just starting out in conservation, working as an intern at IUCN in Gland, Switzerland. In the intervening decades we have both been engaged in conservation efforts, largely in Africa.
My path to this position included undertaking and improving the methods of analysing aerial sample counts of protected areas, assessing motivations behind community conservation and ecotourism, successfully reintroducing a group of 10 juvenile western lowland gorillas – all orphans from the bushmeat trade – back into the wild, environmental education, and ecological monitoring. Over the years I heard mention of John’s work across Africa, always in positive terms.
Having the opportunity, now, to work alongside John, and gradually be introduced to his vast network in the Sahelo-Saharan landscape, the captive breeding community, and conservation arena is a significant responsibility. As is taking the helm of SCF, an organization that John built from the ground up. In time I hope to develop the organization to fulfil a greater role in the conservation of threatened desert species, landscapes, and arid land ecosystems. This is needed more than ever, as new threats emerge in the region, adding to the already complex list of causes of wildlife population decline.
Achieving sound conservation across the Sahelo-Saharan region cannot be accomplished alone. SCF’s work receives unparalleled support from the Ministère de l’Environnement, de l’Eau et de la Pêche in Chad and Ministère de l’Environnement, de la Salubrité Urbaine et du Développement Durable in Niger. SCF hopes to build on existing and sound partnerships as well as develop new relations with organizations that are aligned with SCF’s mission. Fortunately, the organization has very solid foundations, a strong and dynamic board of trustees, and sound technical staff on the ground and in the Paris office.
I just have one question. I wonder, what size John’s shoes are?
The Egyptian Vulture is facing an important decline worldwide, and the Balkans have not been spared: from the hundreds of pairs historically present in the peninsula, about 70 pairs only are remaining, the population being victim of a 7% decline yearly for the past 30 years.
This rapid decline is hard to prevent as it is due to a complex combination of factors. Threats are multiple and differ from one region to another, putting pressure on the vultures on their breeding ground as well as along their migration routes.
Within the framework of the Egyptian Vulture NEW LIFE project, SCF is investigating the main threats vultures are facing on their wintering grounds, mainly in Niger, and particularly mortality from electrocution, accidental poisoning through the use of veterinary medicine for cattle or agricultural products (mainly Diclofenac) known to be fatal for vultures when feeding on contaminated carcasses, the or along the same line, the use of poisons, mainly strychnine, known for its high toxicity and used to control wild carnivores, or direct killing by poachers aiming at selling vulture parts for magical (or belief based) uses.
For all these issues the team is investigating in the field as well as among administrations so that information can be gathered that should enable identification of the priority level of each threat and so prioritize our actions.
As first results, even though the severity degree for every threat cannot be estimated with exactitude, poaching was found to be acute in the region, possibly the most important threat. Indeed, cases had already been registered (cf. Paschalis case ) and the practice of this illegal activity has been confirmed by locals during interviews.
As for the other threats listed above, they seem unlikely to be responsible for decimating large numbers of birds. Indeed, the country has only few electric infrastructures, mainly concentrated around cities, minimizing, or even excluding EV electrocution possibilities. As for poisoning, more investigation is still needed but as far as we know no EV cadavers, evidence of an accidental death, have been found, relegating such threats to a second level.
Also, based on the previous results and simultaneously with further investigation and follow-up activities, preventive work will be conducted with the view to raise awareness among local communities. Their understanding and support is crucial to the long-term success of such conservation endeavour.
