A group of scientists in desert wear at night posing and smiling next to a camel

Haitham Al Mussawi / Embassy of the UAE (@uaecultureusa)

Delegation Visits United Arab Emirates to Strengthen Conservation Collaboration

Eurasia

Early this year, The Peregrine Fund was invited by the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to assemble a team of raptor researchers for a learning exchange. Biologists and executive staff from The Peregrine Fund, including our President & CEO Chris Parish, Executive Vice President of Science & Conservation Dr. Chris McClure, and Vice President of Development Heather Meuleman, were joined by John Goodell, Executive Director of the Archives of Falconry, and biologists from Boise State University and HawkWatch International.

“We spent a week meeting with UAE representatives from the CMS Raptors MOU Secretariat, Environmental Agency Abu Dhabi, and the Ministry of Climate Change and the Environment,” reports Chris Parish, President & CEO of The Peregrine Fund. “We discussed global conservation challenges and ways we might collaborate. We have a decades-long history working alongside the UAE and were fortunate to visit and re-engage with new and existing partners.”

Three photos: top left shows a man showing another man a book; top right shows a woman looking through a microscope; bottom shows a large group seated around a circular conference table
Haitham Al Mussawi / Embassy of the UAE (@uaecultureusa) (top left & top right), courtesy of The Peregrine Fund (bottom)


The delegation visited His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s state-of-the-art falcon breeding and training facility, which blends high-end technology with falconry methods in an impressive aircraft hangar-sized facility. They toured the Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital, the largest falcon hospital in the world, which provides care for both captive-bred and wild falcons, as well as poultry and other pets. They also visited the International Fund for Houbara Conservation’s captive breeding program for the Vulnerable African Houbara. The program is the largest in the world for the species, releasing 624,827 into the wild in 15 separate countries across the species’ range.

Two photos: left shows several people on a golf cart talking in a very large indoor space; right shows several small brown ground birds in an outdoor enclosure
Haitham Al Mussawi / Embassy of the UAE (@uaecultureusa) (left), Heather Meuleman (right)


“The visit helped further solidify the collaboration with partner organizations, such as the Mohamed bin Zayed Raptor Conservation Fund, highlighting our commitment to conservation leadership by shaping tomorrow’s leaders,” says Dr. Chris McClure, Executive Vice President of Science & Conservation for The Peregrine Fund. 

We look forward to hosting a group of Emirati conservation experts later this year to continue building the foundation for future collaborations, strengthening the falconry link that connects us, developing research questions focused on climate change, and conserving birds of prey worldwide.