(MENAFNEditorial) Under the generous patronage of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, the 17th Annual International Conservation Workshop for Arabia's Biodiversity, organised by the Environment and Protected Areas Authority (EPAA), is underway at the Breeding Centre for Endangered Arabian Wildlife in Sharjah from February 8th to 11th.
The emirate of Sharjah is the first to bring together experts from around the world to assess the status of endangered species in region according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. The four-day workshop, held in collaboration with the IUCN, aims to expand its cooperation with regional and international bodies, and provide information and analyses on the status, trends and threats to species in order to inform and catalyse action for biodiversity conservation.
On Day 1 of the workshop, Dr Craig Hilton-Taylor, Head of the IUCN Red List Unit in Cambridge, UK, introduced the regional application of the IUCN red list categories and criteria; he stressed the importance of producing a Regional Red List assessment of all the terrestrial mammal species in the Arabian Peninsula, as well as a status review of all its marine mammals- the latter being a brand new topic to the annual event.
Commenting on the workshop, HE Hana Saif Al Suwaidi, Chairperson of the EPAA in Sharjah, said, "This year's workshop is particularly special as it discusses the conservation of both land and marine mammals in the region, and the need for a Regional Red List in line with the IUCN's global Red List of Threatened Species. This event falls in line with the EPAA's continuous commitment to the environment and to raising awareness of biodiversity conservation in the UAE and the region as a whole."
The workshop addresses two parallel themes: the taxonomic theme, which reviews the conservation status of terrestrial mammals in the Arabian Peninsula, and the veterinary theme, which focuses on disease surveillance for the region (dealing specifically with the threat of tuberculosis), ruminant nutrition, and mass capture and its complications.
The event is led by Dr David Mallon, Co-Chair of the IUCN/SSC Antelope Specialist Group and Senior Scientific Advisor for the Conservation Workshops in Sharjah; Dr Phillip Seddon, Professor of Zoology and Director of the Postgraduate Wildlife Management Programme at the University of Otago, New Zealand; Dr Michael Knight, Head of Parks Planning and Development for South African National Parks and Chair of the IUCN/SSC African Rhino Specialist Group; Dr Gerhard Steenkamp, PhD Candidate at the Mammal Research Institute and Senior Lecturer at the University of Pretoria; and Dr Craig Hilton-Taylor, Head of the IUCN Red List Unit in Cambridge, UK.
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