“The presence, or absence of dugong tells us lots concerning the well being of an ecosystem, its range and ranges of air pollution,” stated Mirey Atallah, Head of the United Nations Setting Programme (UNEP) Local weather for Nature Department.
“The Abu Dhabi initiative is a mannequin in that it targets restoration each on land and at sea, subsequently benefiting not solely dugongs but in addition individuals dwelling in that space,” provides Atallah. “With local weather change, air pollution and different stressors, dugongs would threat ravenous to dying as their cousin the Manatee in Florida. This can be a laudable initiative that we hope to see replicated in different seagrass beds.”
The ocean’s solely herbivorous mammal, dugongs, resemble dolphins however with a wider nostril and a whale-like tail. With their mild expression, gradual actions and liking for shallow water, storm-tossed sailors mistook them for mermaids in centuries previous.
As soon as reported commonly throughout tropical and sub-tropical waters from East Africa to Vanuatu, dugongs have been onerous hit by searching, habitat loss, and entanglement in lethal fishing gear. They’ve already died out in some areas and are thought of weak to extinction globally.
Within the newest setback, scientists concluded this week that the species has gone “functionally extinct” in China, which means that if there are any left, they’re too few to outlive for lengthy. Amongst practically 800 Chinese language fishers interviewed, solely three reported seeing a dugong previously 5 years. The final verified discipline remark was in 2000, the research stated.
Dugong populations are declining sharply in lots of different nations, together with Kenya, Japan and Indonesia. However the Abu Dhabi undertaking hopes to buck that pattern by restoring coastal ecosystems that embody the all-important seagrass beds on which the dugong graze.
Located within the southwest of the Arabian Gulf, the Emirate’s coastal ecosystems and conventional fishing business face quite a few pressures, from dredging to reclaiming land for housing and industrial growth, and air pollution from the area’s oil business.