Expo 2020 Dubai celebrates World Wildlife Day with panel of experts at exclusive event

Expo 2020 Dubai celebrates World Wildlife Day (3 March) with an event featuring top conservationists, scientists and activists from around the world, highlighting local, regional and global efforts to preserve, protect and save endangered species, while inspiring similar action globally.

Media are encouraged to attend 'Living in Harmony with Nature and Recovering Keystone Species for Ecosystem Restoration', which is being held in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) at the Terra Auditorium. 

Participants included Her Excellency Mariam bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Almheiri , UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment; Mohammed Ali Saad , Veterinarian and Representative of the Arabian Oryx Conservation Programmes; Axel Moehrenschlager , Chair of the Conservation Translocation Specialist Group (CTSG) of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN); Doreen Robinson, Head of Biodiversity and Lands, former Head of Wildlife, UNEP; and John Ewen , Senior Research Fellow at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL).

Melanie Mesa Blas, director of the Guardians of the Kingfisher Project, and her son Napu, will also present initiatives that have protected the Guam kingfisher - a vulnerable species due to low breeding numbers and habitat loss - from imminent extinction.

Sustainability, one of the three key sub-themes of Expo 2020 Dubai, is integrated throughout the Expo, which has a strong track record of protecting biodiversity in and around the site. These measures, along with how this legacy will continue after the gates close on 31 March, are also addressed during the event.

Text, images and video: Expo Dubai 2020.