The successes made by the Environmental Research and Wildlife Development Agency (ERWDA) in the area of conserving the Houbara Bustard have been commended by Shaikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Under-Secretary of the Diwan of the Ruler's Representative in the Eastern Region, Chairman of the Al Ain Economic Development and Tourism Authority.

During his visit last week to the National Avian Research Centre (NARC) at Swaihan accompanied by Mohammed Al Bowardi, ERWDA's Managing Director and Majid Al Mansouri, ERWDA's Secretary-General, Shaikh Sultan said, "We are proud to have such centres dedicated to preserve the natural and cultural heritage of the country by saving Houbara and falcon species."

He said, "The continuous support of the President, His Highness Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, to scientific research centres such as NARC reflects his farsighted vision which is based on the enhancement of sustainable development of the UAE's wildlife and environment."

During his visit, Mr Bowardi briefed Shaikh Sultan on NARC's efforts to save Houbara from extinction through breeding in captivity, conducting research on the ecological needs of the species, international cooperation, habitat conservation and cooperation with falconers.

Mr Bowardi also briefed Shaikh Sultan on the continuous increase in the number of Houbara Bustard being bred in captivity in the Centre and the increase in the housing capacity for these birds that would contribute to the rehabilitation programme and increase their numbers in the wild.

Dr Olivier Combreau, Director of NARC, also briefed Shaikh Sultan on the Centre's significant success in all its programmes. "NARC has matured its strategy to become a coherent and integrated project that proposes a new path for driving the tradition of Arabian falconry into the future. In that perspective the Centre is one of the leading institutions in the world and represents a leading concept for a sustainable management of Houbara Bustard population."

As an indicator of the health of the Asian Houbara populations, NARC has been monitoring trends in the Houbara population of Kazakhstan with the help of the Kazakh Research Production Association. Surveys are conducted in spring and in autumn across some 20,000 km of potentially suitable Houbara habitat distributed from the north of the Caspian Sea to the east of Lake Balkash.

Kazakhstan hosts the majority of the breeding Houbara in Asia and is used as a stopover by the birds migrating to breeding grounds further east. Kazakhstan is thus a key country in the biological cycle of the Asian Houbara and trends measured in this country are undoubtedly a good indicator of the health of all the Asiatic Houbara populations.

Since the project started in 1998, a constant decline in the Houbara population of Kazakhstan was observed. Between autumn 1998 and spring 2001, the relative density of breeders and migrants dropped by 48 per cent and 49 per cent respectively, suggesting a decline of approximately 15 per cent per annum.

The results of this wide range survey in Kazakhstan are further confirmed by the Centre's estimate of hunting and poaching pressure via satellite radio-tracking of wild birds. The birds were captured either on their breeding grounds in Kazakhstan (Taukum Desert and Buzachi Peninsula) and in China (Jungar Basin) or on their wintering grounds in Pakistan (Cholistan Desert) and in the United Arab Emirates (Baynunah area).

Overall, from 1994 to 2001, 41 satellite-tracked birds were followed for a combined total of 10,965 days that had travelled all over the distribution range of the species in Asia.