Remembering a true conservationist

Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan (1918 - 2 / 11 / 2004) ensured unfettered development; but gave comparable attention to protecting the UAE's wildlife. The challenge of maintaining a balance between man and the environment was central to His Highness's entire period of stewardship.

Sheikh Zayed's communication to the Emarati people on the country's first Environment Day in February 1998, reveals his deep understanding of nature and sustainability. He said:

'We cherish our environment because it is an integral part of our country and our heritage. On land and in the sea, our forefathers lived and survived in this environment. They were able to do so only because they recognised the need to conserve it; to take from it only what they needed to live, and to preserve it for succeeding generations. With God's will, we shall continue to work to protect our environment and our wildlife, as did our forefathers before us. It is a duty, and if we fail, our children, rightly, will reproach us for squandering an essential part of their inheritance, and of our heritage.'

Wildlife and its development was His Highness's prime concern - one in which he took a personal interest. Aware that wildlife needed to be protected from the onslaught of weapons and modern vehicles, he banned hunting in Abu Dhabi over 15 years ago. The other emirates followed suit.

Through his early support for captive breeding of Arabian oryx in the years just before the species became extinct in the wild, he played a major role in the survival of the species. The two oryx pairs taken into captivity on his orders have today multiplied to more than 1000 animals in the UAE alone. The Arabian oryx also linked the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) with the UAE when, in the early 1960s, the conservation organisation launched a rescue plan - 'operation oryx' - eventually leading to the reintroduction of a small number in Oman in 1982.

An avid falconer, Sheikh Zayed instituted a programme for the release of falcons back into the wild at the end of winter hunting. Under his Falcon Release Programme, a total of 585 falcons - peregrine and saker - have been released since 1995.

His Highness was convinced the desert can be turned green, as it once was before climate changed to one of the driest on the globe. The conviction led him to support a massive campaign of forestation and irrigation utilising waste water from urban and industrial developments to make grass, crops and trees grow in place of shifting sands. More than 130 million trees have been planted over the past 25 years - attracting birds, much to His Highness's delight, and developing the UAE into a popular bird watching destination. So when Arabia's first breeding colony of greater flamingos for more than 60 years was discovered near Abu Dhabi in the early 1990s, he was prompt in ordering that the area be protected. This is, today, Al Wathba Wetland Reserve.

Creator of the Federal Environmental Agency and Environmental Research and Wildlife Development Agency with their array of conservation programmes; provider of water to his people; and originator of many nature reserves, now being stocked with captive bred herbivores, on both public lands and private…a compete account of Sheikh Zayed's contribution to nature conservation would fill volumes.

In recognition of Sheikh Zayed's commitment to nature and conservation, the WWF honoured him with the Golden Panda award in 1997. His Highness's was a commitment expressed in many different ways that are firmly implanted in his country. An example is Sir Bani Yas Island, his private island, which he developed into an abode for endangered wildlife species such as Arabian oryx, Arabian tahr and sand gazelle. The island tells the story of one of the greatest achievements in the environmental field. In less than three decades it turned from an arid desert to an oasis where thousands of birds and animals thrive.

WWF Director General, Dr. Claude Martin recalls that when he accompanied WWF President Emeritus, HRH the Duke of Edinburgh to a meeting with Sheikh Zayed in 1997, they had an interesting discussion about the Arabian Peninsula's threatened species such as the Arabian oryx; and about the WWF's dedication to conservation. Says Dr. Martin 'Sheikh Zayed was the first ruler on the Arabian Peninsula with a clear commitment to conservation. This was essential for initiating conservation action there, as well as the establishment of WWF's first office in the region. We owe Sheikh Zayed a lot for his vision, for which he will always be remembered.'