Dubai joins global movement to protect world’s oceans

The Coalition includes several non-profit conservation organisations as well as international organisations such as the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), and the Explorer’s Club – an international, multi-disciplinary organisation of professional scientists – according to the UAE’s state news agency WAM.

The patron of the Coalition is Jose Ramos-Horta, Nobel Laureate and former President of Timor-Leste.

Director of the Environment Department at Dubai Municipality Alya Al Harmoudi, said, “Dubai Municipality received an invitation to the event due to its pioneering position in protecting the ocean environment and raising awareness on it.

“We continue our efforts in conserving the Jebel Ali Marine Sanctuary and coastal water in Dubai, which hosts an exemplary biodiversity of unique coral species and marine fauna of international conservation status, such as the Dugong (Sea Cow) and Hawksbill Sea-turtle.

“The sanctuary was also declared as an Ecologically and Biologically Sensitive Area (EBSA) by the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2015. So, the initiative is important to Dubai as much as it is to the other countries across the globe.”

A DM delegation, led by Peter Farrington of the Environment Department, will participate in the event with a number of paintings that reflect its role and its efforts in conserving the marine environment and addressing degradation and pollution threats.