A census to count waterbirds in the United Arab Emirates, (UAE) undertaken by the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD), has revealed that the Greater Flamingo was found to be the most abundant bird species in the UAE. More than 15,000 Greater Flamingo were recorded from 15 sites.

The census was coordinated in collaboration with Emirates Wildlife Society-World Wide Fund for Nature (EWS-WWF), Emirates Bird Record Committee (EBRC) and Fujairah Municipality.

The International Waterbird Census (IWC) is undertaken annually during which millions of waterbirds are counted. Data from this count are used to analyze status and trends in numbers of birds and status of sites.

14 recorders covered 40 sites across the UAE over two days. This accounted for over around 53,000 birds. 82 species of waterbirds from a list of nearly 150 waterbirds were recorded during the count.

Al Wathba Wetland Reserve and Bu Al Syayeef area in Abu Dhabi Emirate and Khor al-Beidha in Umm Al Qaiwain recorded the maximum number of birds ranging from 13,000 to 9,000 birds.

“This census is a tool to help us conserve our wetlands and protect our waterbirds. When undertaken regularly, this census can help us better understand trends in the numbers of birds and also assess the status of sites on which they depend,” said Dr. Salim Javed, Deputy Manager of Bird Conservation at EAD and Coordinator of IWC in the UAE”.

Dr. Christophe Tourenq, EWS-WWF, says: “The project is a formidable illustration of the collaboration between environmental governmental agencies (such as EAD, Environment Protection and Development Department of Fujairah Municipality) and local NGO’s (EWS-WWF, EBRC) to provide up-dated information on the status of waterbirds and wetlands of UAE.

Since 2000, year of the last waterfowl census organised in the UAE under the International Waterfowl Census (IWC) scheme from Wetlands International, there has been no official published waterbird counts for the country with the exception of some book chapters (e.g. “Terrestrial Wildlife of the Abu Dhabi Emirate” by EAD).

The status of the only endemic bird of UAE: the Collared Kingfisher (Todirhamphus chloris kalbaensis) inhabiting the only mangrove of the East Coast, Khor Kalba, is still based on the 44 pairs counted in 1995 and a maximum of 15 birds in 2000! And this mangrove has been under a lot of human pressure lately.

Updates are necessary for the conservation of wetland habitats and species and the application of two main international conventions signed by the UAE: the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 2000 and the Ramsar Convention for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources in 2007. Informed decision–making on the conservation status of wildlife and its habitats in general and on the probable impacts of development on biodiversity in particular, is important for sustainable development.

“Fujairah is the only emirate on the east coast facing the Gulf of Oman with long beaches and a wide range of habitat along the coast line which provide food, shelter and breeding ground for around 320 species of birds constituting 75 % of UAE total of 436 species of birds recorded. This is the first time that wecollaborate in this census and we are looking forward to collaborating on an annual basis,” said Maral Khaled Shuriqi of the Environment, Protection and Development Department in Fujairah Municipality.


“Some of the nationally important bird species of the UAE have only been recorded in Fujairah, making Fujairah and the East Coast popular bird watching destinations. However, there still remain gaps in knowledge in term of bird counts and we hope that such an initiative and partnership will help in filling these gaps as well as helping in capacity building,” added Al Shuriqi.

"Regular monitoring exercises, such as this census, provide vitally-important information about changes in the status of the birdlife of the region," said Peter Hellyer, a spokesman for the Emirates Bird Records Committee.

"EBRC members and other birdwatchers have been collecting such data for many years and we are delighted to have been able to collaborate this year with EAD and EWS-WWF. As a result, data from the UAE is more comprehensive than it has ever been before - helping to underline the country's significance as a wintering point for Asian waterfowl," Hellyer added.

More About International Waterbirds Census
In 1967, IWRB (Wetlands International’s predecessor) established the International Waterbird Census (IWC) in Europe and a few countries in Asia and Africa. In 1987, the Asian Waterbird Census was established and in the early 1990’s this was followed by the African Waterbird Census and the Neotropical Waterbird Census (South America).

In 2001, the first steps were taken towards establishing the IWC in North America. Currently the International Waterbird Census (IWC) covers international census of waterbirds in Africa; Asia; Europe, Middle East and North Africa; and South America. Over 100 countries participated in the International Waterbird Census in the 1990’s and over 30 million waterbirds were counted in participating countries each year.

Importance of the Census
The results of the International Waterbird Census have been used in the designation of nearly half of the 1,369 Wetlands of International Importance in 138 countries designated under the Ramsar Convention. The International Waterbird Census also provides strategic input to the activities of partner organizations, particularly the Red Data Book of IUCN, and Birdlife International’s Important Bird Areas (IBA) programme, and to the development of Waterbird Species Action Plans.