Environment Agency Abu Dhabi

File:Scimitar horned oryx and calf.jpg 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).{{cite web|title=Law No. 4 of 1996|url=http://extwprlegs1.fao.org/docs/pdf/uae67960E.pdf}} 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.{{cite web|title=Law No. 16 of 2005|url=https://www.ecolex.org/details/legislation/law-no16-of-2005-pertaining-to-the-reorganization-of-the-abu-dhabi-environment-agency-lex-faoc067923/}}

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.{{cite web |title=Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi Leadership |url=https://www.ead.gov.ae/en/about-us/our-leadership}} 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.{{cite web |title=Group of 'extinct' antelope released into wild in southern Sahara |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/feb/14/extinct-antelope-scimitar-horned-oryx-released-sahara-chad |work=The Guardian |access-date=10 November 2019}} 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.{{cite web |last1=Gaworecki |first1=Mike |title=Scimitar-horned oryx return to the Sahara nearly two decades after going extinct in the wild |url=https://news.mongabay.com/2017/02/scimitar-horned-oryx-return-to-the-sahara-nearly-two-decades-after-going-extinct-in-the-wild/ |website=Mongabay |access-date=10 November 2019}} In 2017, the reintroduction effort reported a number of successes including the first calves born in the wild in decades.{{cite web |last1=Stabach |first1=Jared |title=Scimitar-horned Oryx Calves Born in the Wild |url=https://nationalzoo.si.edu/conservation-ecology-center/news/scimitar-horned-oryx-calves-born-wild |publisher=Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute |access-date=10 November 2019}} The EAD has also undertaken a successful captive breeding program and reintroduction efforts to reintroduce the Arabian oryx back into the wild, with the population now standing at over 1,200 individuals across the Arabian Peninsula.{{cite news|date=16 Jun 2011|title=Arabian 'unicorn' no longer extinct|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/jun/16/arabian-oryx-antelope-extinct|access-date=10 November 2019}}{{Cite web |title=IUCN Red List - Oryx leucoryx (Arabian oryx) |url=https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/15569/50191626#assessment-information |access-date=4 April 2024}}

The agency has produced multiple documentaries, including:

• Back to the Wild (2018){{Cite web|title=BACK TO THE WILD|url=https://imagenationabudhabi.com/documentaries/back-to-the-wild/|access-date=2021-06-12|website=Image Nation Abu Dhabi|language=en-US}}{{Citation|title=Back to the Wild (TV Movie 2018) - IMDb|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt8769194/|access-date=2021-06-12}}
• Zayed's Antarctic Lights (2018){{Cite web|title=Zayed's Antarctic Lights|url=https://www.natgeotv.com/me/zayeds-antarctic-lights|access-date=2021-06-12|website=National Geographic - Videos, TV Shows & Photos - Middle East - English|language=en}} {{Citation|last=Cowie|first=Winston|title=Zayed's Antarctic Lights|date=2018-11-21|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12413918/|type=Documentary|others=Winston Cowie, Mariam Al Qassimi, Rashed Al Zaabi, Jane Goodall|publisher=Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi|access-date=2021-06-12}} {{Cite web|title=Winners Gallery - New York Festivals|url=https://tvfilm.newyorkfestivals.com/Winners/WinnerDetails/543073|access-date=2021-06-12|website=tvfilm.newyorkfestivals.com}}
• Our Sea. Our Heritage (2019){{Cite web|title=Documentary on UAE's fisheries state to be screened at Abu Dhabi International Boat Show|url=https://wam.ae/en/details/1395302794513|access-date=2021-06-12|website=wam}} {{Citation|last=Cowie|first=Winston|title=Our Sea. Our Heritage.|date=2019-10-18|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12414472/|type=Documentary, Short|publisher=Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi|access-date=2021-06-12}}
• Our Sea. Our Future (2021){{Cite web|title=Abu Dhabi Media to air EAD's new documentary: 'Our Sea....Our Future'|url=https://wam.ae/en/details/1395302931072|access-date=2021-06-12|website=wam}}
• Wild Abu Dhabi: The Turtles of Al Dhafra (2021){{Cite web|title=Wild Abu Dhabi The Turtles of Al Dhafra|url=https://www.natgeotv.com/me/wild-abu-dhabi-the-turtles-of-al-dhafra/galleries/wild-abu-dhabi-the-turtles-of-al-dhafra|access-date=2021-06-12|website=National Geographic - Videos, TV Shows & Photos - Middle East - English|language=en}} {{Cite web|title=Abu Dhabi Media to Air Wild Abu Dhabi Turtles of Al Dhafra Documentary Produced by Environment Agency Abu Dhabi|url=http://admedia.ae/%20/en/article/473/أبوظبي-للإعلام-تعرض-الفيلم-الوثائقي-الحياة-الفطرية-في-أبوظبي-سلاحف-الظفرة-من-إنتاج-هيئة-البيئة-أبوظبي-على-شاشاتها|access-date=2021-06-12|website=admedia.ae|language=ar}}{{Cite web|title=Finalists List - New York Festivals|url=https://tvfilm.newyorkfestivals.com/winners/finalists/992a743a-dad9-40b2-8f1d-fcc8c3a5bdda|access-date=2021-06-12|website=tvfilm.newyorkfestivals.com}} {{Cite web|title=Wild Abu Dhabi: The Turtles of Al Dhafra (Short 2021) - IMDb|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14744136/|access-date=2021-06-12|website=www.imdb.com|language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Winners Gallery - New York Festivals |url=https://tvfilm.newyorkfestivals.com/Winners/WinnerDetailsNew/94f646d0-51c0-4b51-b4f8-b320bfe82af9 |access-date=2022-07-18 |website=tvfilm.newyorkfestivals.com}}

{{Reflist}}

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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Category:Government agencies of Abu Dhabi

Category:Environmental protection agencies

Abu Dhabi