Regional Meeting for the Conservation of the Dugong and Marine Turtles in the North West Indian Ocean

The location on the map is approximate!
Description: 

The Regional Meeting for the Conservation of the Dugong and Marine Turtles in the North West Indian Ocean, held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on 20-21 September 2010. 

The Meeting's Main Objectives were to: 

  • Present a vital opportunity for the countries to provide updates on the status of their dugong populations and associated habitat and seek grounds for future collaboration in the fields of both research and management
  • Explore the opportunities to promote conservation synergies between marine turtles and dugongs with respect to, amongst others, practicality, costs, reporting, resource needs and investment, and agency mandates
  • Hold preliminary discussion in preparation for the First Signatory State Meeting of the Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation and Management of Dugongs (Dugong dugon) and Their Habitats throughout Their Range
  • Support and enhance cooperation to implement the Dugong Conservation and Management Plan in the North West Indian Ocean region under the auspices of the UNEP/CMS Dugong MoU Secretariat, and also encourage non-signatory dugong range states to sign the Dugong MoU

The Meeting's Main Outcomes :

  • Participants learned about the standardized survey methodologies utilized in dugong surveys
  • The main focus was the methodology developed at the Workshop on Developing a Standardised Interview Method for Rapid Dugong Population and Threat Assessment (3-4 March 2010, Singapore) to identify key dugong habitat, population numbers and trends, and impacts including direct harvest, habitat degradation and fisheries bycatch
  • The potential for the use of the Standardised Questionnaire Survey Tool in the NWIO explored
  •  The progress with regard to turtle and dugong research, monitoring and conservation in the region reviewed
Dates
20 Sep 2010 to 21 Sep 2010
OrganizerThe Dugong MoU Secretariat (CMS Office - Abu Dhabi, UAE)
CoorganizerEnvironment Agency - Abu Dhabi, UAE
CMS InstrumentDugong
TypeTechnical Meeting
StatusConcluded
LanguagesEnglish
CountryUnited Arab Emirates
CityAbu Dhabi
VenueAl Mamoura Building