Environment Agency
هيئة البيئة
Agency overview
Formed2005
JurisdictionGovernment of Abu Dhabi

The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) (Arabic: هيئة البيئة - أبوظبي) is a governmental agency established in 1996 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), tasked with environmental protection matters in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

History

A Scimitar horned oryx was released into the wild in Chad. Pictured here is one of the first calves born in the wild after almost two decades.

In 1989, the National Avian Research Centre (NARC) was established as a conservation, research, and captive breeding organisation in Abu Dhabi. In 1996, it was renamed the Environmental Research and Wildlife Development Agency (ERWDA).[1] In 2005, ERWDA became known as the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) and was chaired by the Crown Prince of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.[2]

The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) is chaired by Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The Vice Chairman is Mohamed Ahmed Al Bowardi. Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak is the managing director and board member. The Secretary-General is Dr. Shaikha Salem Al Dhaheri, and the Deputy Secretary General is Dr. Jaber Eidha Al Jaberi.[3] EAD has its main headquarters in the city of Abu Dhabi, with an office in Al Ain city.

In 2000, the Scimitar-horned oryx was officially declared extinct in the wild by the IUCN Red List.[4] Beginning in 2016, efforts by the EAD together with the Sahara Conservation Fund, Zoological Society of London, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, and the Government of Chad have successfully released 200 oryx that were bred in Abu Dhabi into the wild in Chad.[5] In 2017, the reintroduction effort reported a number of successes including the first calves born in the wild in decades.[6] The EAD has also undertaken a successful captive breeding program and reintroduction efforts to reintroduce the Arabian oryx back into the wild.[7] The Arabian oryx has moved from "Endangered" to the less-serious category of "Vulnerable" in the latest Red List of Threatened Species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). and in the Western Region of the Abu Dhabi Emirate.

Films

The agency has produced documentary films, including:

  • Back to the Wild (2018) tells the story of the reintroduction of the previously extinct Scimitar Horned Oryx back into the wild in Chad.[8][9]
  • Zayed's Antarctic Lights (2018) tells the story of three ambassadors who visited Antarctica in the Year of Zayed and sent a message to the world on climate change and plastics in solar lights. This film won a Bronze World Medal at the New York Festivals TV & Film Awards.[10] [11] [12]
  • Our Sea. Our Heritage (2019) tells the story of the traditional knowledge of the UAE fishery and the fishery's proposed recovery plan.[13] [14]
  • Our Sea. Our Future (2021) tells the story of the fisheries recovery in the UAE as a result of the regulations that were introduced.[15]
  • Wild Abu Dhabi: The Turtles of Al Dhafra (2021) follows three agency scientists in their turtle conservation work in the warmest sea in the world, the Persian Gulf. This film won a finalist award in the 2021 New York Festivals TV & Film Awards.[16] [17][18] [19][20]

References

  1. ↑ "Law No. 4 of 1996" (PDF).
  2. ↑ "Law No. 16 of 2005".
  3. ↑ "Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi Leadership".
  4. ↑ "Group of 'extinct' antelope released into wild in southern Sahara". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  5. ↑ Gaworecki, Mike. "Scimitar-horned oryx return to the Sahara nearly two decades after going extinct in the wild". Mongabay. Mongabay. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  6. ↑ Stabach, Jared. "Scimitar-horned Oryx Calves Born in the Wild". Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  7. ↑ "Arabian 'unicorn' no longer extinct". The Guardian. 16 Jun 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  8. ↑ "BACK TO THE WILD". Image Nation Abu Dhabi. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
  9. ↑ Back to the Wild (TV Movie 2018) - IMDb, retrieved 2021-06-12
  10. ↑ "Zayed's Antarctic Lights". National Geographic - Videos, TV Shows & Photos - Middle East - English. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
  11. ↑ Cowie, Winston (2018-11-21), Zayed's Antarctic Lights (Documentary), Winston Cowie, Mariam Al Qassimi, Rashed Al Zaabi, Jane Goodall, Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi, retrieved 2021-06-12
  12. ↑ "Winners Gallery - New York Festivals". tvfilm.newyorkfestivals.com. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
  13. ↑ "Documentary on UAE's fisheries state to be screened at Abu Dhabi International Boat Show". wam. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
  14. ↑ Cowie, Winston (2019-10-18), Our Sea. Our Heritage. (Documentary, Short), Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi, retrieved 2021-06-12
  15. ↑ "Abu Dhabi Media to air EAD's new documentary: 'Our Sea....Our Future'". wam. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
  16. ↑ "Wild Abu Dhabi The Turtles of Al Dhafra". National Geographic - Videos, TV Shows & Photos - Middle East - English. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
  17. ↑ "Abu Dhabi Media to Air Wild Abu Dhabi Turtles of Al Dhafra Documentary Produced by Environment Agency Abu Dhabi". admedia.ae (in Arabic). Retrieved 2021-06-12.
  18. ↑ "Finalists List - New York Festivals". tvfilm.newyorkfestivals.com. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
  19. ↑ "Wild Abu Dhabi: The Turtles of Al Dhafra (Short 2021) - IMDb". www.imdb.com. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
  20. ↑ "Winners Gallery - New York Festivals". tvfilm.newyorkfestivals.com. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
 http://extwprlegs1.fao.org/docs/pdf/uae67960E.pdf
 https://www.ecolex.org/details/legislation/law-no16-of-2005-pertaining-to-the-reorganization-of-the-abu-dhabi-environment-agency-lex-faoc067923/
 https://www.ead.gov.ae/en/about-us/our-leadership
 https://www.zsl.org/conservation/regions/africa/reintroducing-scimitar-horned-oryx-to-chad
 https://www.ead.gov.ae/en/discover-our-biodiversity/sheikh-zayed-protected-areas-network
 https://www.ead.gov.ae/en/about-us/what-we-do/conserve
 https://gulfnews.com/uae/environment/ead-launches-sustainable-campus-initiative-1.1342564
 https://www.wam.ae/en/details/1395302829727
 https://www.moccae.gov.ae/en/knowledge-and-statistics/marine-environment-and-fisheries-sustainability.aspx
 https://gulfnews.com/uae/environment/abu-dhabi-completes-worlds-largest-desalinated-water-reserve-1.2157536
 https://www.thenational.ae/business/economy/abu-dhabi-unveils-a-dh1-6bn-underground-reserve-for-desalinated-water-1.695643
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