UAE environment officials attend wildlife trafficking conference in Botswana

DUBAI // Officials from the Ministry of Environment and Water and the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD) have joined the President of Botswana, Ian Khama, and Ali Bongo Ondimba, the President of Gabon, at a conference to combat wildlife trafficking. Held in Kasane, Botswana, the Second Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade followed from an event in London last year.

Dr Sheikha Al Dhaheri, Executive Director of Terrestrial and Marine Biodiversity, at the EAD said: “We are committed to the international conventions and agreements, especially CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). We, as a state, are doubling our efforts to enforce these laws by encouraging international policies and legislations to set regulations that will close loopholes that might be used by criminal organizations to trade illegally in wildlife.”