UAE’s International Fund for
Houbara Conservation (IFHC) has produced 400,000 houbara, senior official says
Published: 19:44 November 4, 2018
Abu Dhabi: A long-term effort to
protect an endangered bird has helped improve lives of many villagers in 17
countries, according to a senior official.
The UAE has been carrying out an
ambitious programme since 1970s to conserve the houbara bustard, a large-bodied
bird, with long legs and a slender neck that has been synonymous with Arab
culture and an integral part of traditional Emirati hunts.
This programme has helped
socio-economic development around protected areas in the bird’s range
countries, from Morocco to Mongolia, a top official told Gulf News on
Sunday.
“The houbara conservation
programme has made a positive impact on ecosystems [in those countries]. The
life comes back easily there and flora and fauna grow up, which helps improve
the agriculture [in the surrounding areas]. This enriches the livelihood of
farmers and farmworkers,” said Dr Thani Bin Ahmad Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of
Climate Change and Environment.
The houbara habitats are hotspots
of recreational hunting that has augmented ecotourism, offering opportunities
of jobs and enterprises for local communities, he said on the sidelines of an
international summit on the conservation of the houbara in Abu Dhabi, organised
by the UAE’s International Fund for Houbara Conservation (IFHC).
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