Experts discuss challenges in Houbara conservation

Over 70 policy influencers, bird enthusiasts and advocates have gathered in the 'Conservation Through Government Action' summit.

The strategies to conserve Houbara bustards - a protected bird species in the UAE - must now shift from breeding to protecting them in the wild, an expert has said in a recent conservation conference in Abu Dhabi. 
Majid Al Mansouri, managing director of the International Fund for Houbara Conservation (IFHC), said Houbara breeding is no longer a problem as their centres in the UAE and other countries breed and release thousands of migratory and non-migratory birds into the wild every year. Today, governments and conservationists must focus on protecting these birds' habitat and keeping them safe from illegal hunters. 
"The challenges we face are shared across the species' range, and only through collective international efforts can we reach our ultimate objective to provide a sustainable future for the Houbara in the wild," Al Mansouri said.
Over 70 policy influencers, bird enthusiasts and advocates have gathered in the 'Conservation Through Government Action' summit organised by the IFHC to tackle the next steps in conserving Houbara bustards and saving many other endangered species across the world. 
Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, highlighted the UAE's commitment in conserving the Houbara bustards, along with other endangered species. 
"Today, the UAE releases over 50,000 Houbara bustards to the wild every year, and this has greatly increased their numbers across the world. The country also represents a refuge for a variety of migratory birds, terrestrial and marine, which arrive at the UAE annually, benefiting from the warm weather and the availability of food sources. Around 443 species of birds have been reported in the country, 240 of them are native and 135 are rare or accidental," the minister said during the summit. 
Mohammed Al Bowardi, vice-chairman of the IFHC, said migratory Houbara birds were once in the brink of disappearing in the UAE and beyond but their populations have rebounded. 
"Over the past 40 years, Abu Dhabi's Houbara programme has grown into a major conservation programme, pioneering captive breeding techniques and building a greater understanding of this bird," said Al Bowardi. "The International Fund for Houbara Conservation has managed to produce more than 400,000 birds." 
The IFHC manages breeding facilities in three countries (Kazakhstan, Morocco and the UAE), which are now capable of breeding over 50,000 Houbara bustards, of both the Asian and North African species, every year. Some of the birds bred in captivity are released to replenish wild Houbara populations from Morocco to Mongolia. So far, IFHC has released birds in 14 different countries within the Houbara range. 
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