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The Secretariat is pleased to welcome the Kingdom of Bahrain as the newest member of the IOSEA family. On 10 December 2006, Prof. Ismail Mohammed Al-Madani, Vice President of the Public Commission for the Protection of Marine Resources, Environment and Wildlife signed the Memorandum of Understanding on behalf of the Government of Bahrain.
Prof. Al-Madani, who serves also as Director General of Environment and Wildlife Affairs, expressed his personal interest in ensuring that Bahrain participates actively in the work of the MoU.
Also present at the signing ceremony, among others, were Mr. Jassim Al-Qaseer, General Director, General Directorate for the Protection of Marine Resources (pictured far left); Mr. Lahcen El-Kabiri, CMS Deputy Executive Secretary (far right); and Dr. Ebrahim Abdulqader, of the Bahrain Centre for Studies and Research, who has been formally designated as Focal Point for the MoU.
More than symbolically significant, the presence of each of these agencies at the signing ceremony is indicative of their recognition that successful implementation of the IOSEA MoU depends on their continued close cooperation. The General Directorate for the Protection of Marine Resources, for example, has expressed interest in revisiting earlier efforts to deploy experimental turtle excluder devices in cooperation with the local shrimp fishery. Likewise, the BCSR intends to continue fundamental research work on the distribution of turtles and their habitats in Bahrain waters. It is expected that the Memorandum of Understanding will underpin efforts to safeguard sea grass and other habitats that might otherwise be degraded by reclamation and other development activities.
Further afield, Bahrain is interested in exploring the possibility of collaborative work with neighbouring countries that share the same turtle populations and/or have common conservation concerns. By coincidence, "Biyadh" - one of 10 female Loggerhead turtles fitted with a satellite transmitter on Masirah Island, Oman, in August 2006 - is presently roaming the waters around Bahrain. Visit the seaturtle.org Satellite Tracking page for the latest information.
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Continuing his mission to the United Arab Emirates, IOSEA Coordinator Douglas Hykle received the assurance of the Minister of Environment and Water, H.E. Dr. Mohammed Saeed Al Kindi, that U.A.E.’s signature of the MoU will soon be forthcoming, through the office of the country’s Ambassador in Bangkok. This welcome news bodes well for strengthening and developing new activities among countries of the sub-region and beyond that are already participating in the IOSEA MoU, notably Bahrain, Islamic Republic of Iran, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Pakistan.
The Memorandum of Understanding will take effect for Bahrain on 1 March 2007. The BSCR has already begun to compile the baseline information requested in the new IOSEA reporting template, which will be made available online in the New Year.
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