(MENAFN- Emirates News Agency (WAM))
DUBAI, 26th November, 2017 (WAM) -- More than 60 experts from GCC countries recently discussed wetland monitoring and management plans using advanced technology, including remote sensing. The participants, who included experts from the UAE, work in wetland management and the remote sensing field in government departments and corporate entities, in addition to academic institutions.
The wetland monitoring workshop was organised by the Natural Resources Conservation Section of the Environment Department in Dubai Municipality, in collaboration with Tour du Valat and the Satellite-Based Wetland Observation Service, SWOS, project.
During the workshop, participants addressed site-based issues, integration of Earth Observation, EO, Data and implementation of monitoring plans using the practical example of Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary, a wetland of international importance and the first Ramsar site in the UAE.
The workshop included a field trip to Ras Al Khor Sanctuary, which gave participants a hands-on experience of identifying the site's ecological character and an opportunity to implement monitoring techniques learned from the workshop.
Alia Al Harmoudi, Director of Environment Department, said that the aim of the workshop was to enhance the level of the participants experience on developing and implementing monitoring plans for wetlands ecosystem.
"In 2007, Dubai was the first emirate to list Ras Al Khor as the first wetland of international importance according to the Ramsar Convention and now UAE has the highest number of Ramsar sites among the Arab countries in West Asia, with seven sites distributed across five emirates," she said.
"In the UAE, Wetland ecosystems are given the priority for protection according to global standards. Dubai is not only contributing to the local conservation efforts on the local level but also at the global level since Dubai will be hosting the 13th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, COP13, in October 2018," pointed out Al Harmoudi.
"After ten years from listing the first wetland of international importance in Dubai, the plan is to advance the management planning implementation and establish a robust monitoring plans and indicators to maintain the ecological characters of the site including various economic, environmental and social services wetlands provide," she added.
WAM/Rola Alghoul/Chris Moran
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