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EAD joins initiative to protect dugongs

ABU DHABI - The Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi joined an international initiative launched on Sunday, which aims to raise $5 million to help the survival of the disappearing family of sirenians.

The Dugong, Seagrass and Coastal Communities Initiative is planning to raise the money for dugongs and West African manatees, which form the Iranian species. The initiative targets to attract funding partners whose investments in rural coastal communities and local partnerships will return financial and environmental benefits to communities in developing nations.

“We are heading towards a biodiversity crises. By 2050, 15 to 37 per cent of species are committed to extinction,” said Professor Helene Marsh, technical advisor for the United Nation Environmental Programme - Convention of Migratory Species (UNEP/CMS).

The third most endangered group of species is the sirenians. The new initiative is the result of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by UNEP/CMS to protect dugongs.

“We have 21 countries that signed the new initiative. From the Gulf itself we have the UAE, Bahrain and Yemen, but we are also looking to get the signatures of Saudi Arabia and Qatar since there are important dugong populations in these states as well,” said Dr Donna Kwan, programme officer for UNEP/CMS.

The major threats to dugongs in the developing world come from small-scale fisheries and unsustainable hunting as in parts of Asia and Africa dugongs and manatees are still killed for their meat.

The new initiative will work with fishermen who use fishing tools that drown dugongs as bycatch and damage the seagrass beds that provide the food for these herbivore mammals.

They will be offered affordable microfinance to buy equipment needed to change fishing methods or shift from wild fisheries to artisanal aquaculture.

There are four ways to invest in the new project. By pledging US$ 2 million or more, you guarantee the implementation of the initiative in at least two regions across the Indian and Pacific Ocean basins and by pledging US$ 1 million, you guarantee the implementation in one specific region, which may include transboundary projects that may improve the livelihoods of coastal communities. By pledging minimum $ 500,000 you sponsor the initiative in a participating country and by pledging US$ 10,000 or more you sponsor priority activities.

silvia@khaleejtimes.com