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“The presence or absence of dugongs tells us a lot about the health, diversity and pollution levels of ecosystems,” said Mirey Atallah, head of the Natural Climate Unit at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
“The Abu Dhabi Initiative is a model that targets restoration on land and at sea, thus benefiting not only the dugongs but also the people who live in the area,” Atala added. “Due to climate change, pollution and other stressors, dugongs may starve to death like their cousin manatees in Florida. This is a commendable initiative, and we hope to see other seagrass beds replicated.”
The only herbivorous mammal in the ocean, the dugong resembles a dolphin, but with a wider nose and a whale-like tail. Due to their gentle expressions, slow movements and fondness for shallow waters, precarious sailors mistook them for mermaids from centuries ago.
Once regularly reported in tropical and subtropical waters from East Africa to Vanuatu, dugongs have been hit hard by hunting, habitat loss and entanglement in deadly fishing gear.They have died out in some areas and are considered prone to global extinction.
In the latest setback, scientists this week concluded that the species is “functionally extinct” in China, meaning that if there are any remaining, they will be too few to survive long-term. Of the nearly 800 Chinese fishermen interviewed, only three reported seeing dugongs in the past five years. The last validated field observation was in 2000, study Say.
The dugong population is Sharp declines in many other countries, including Kenya, Japan and Indonesia. But the Abu Dhabi project hopes to reverse that trend by restoring coastal ecosystems that include the most important seagrass beds where dugongs graze.
The emirate is located in the southwest of the Arabian Gulf, and its coastal ecosystem and traditional fisheries face numerous pressures, from dredging to clearing land for housing and industrial development, as well as pollution from the region’s oil industry.
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