DM sets up new signboards at Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary

The Marine Environment and Wildlife Management Section of the Environment Department of Dubai Municipality has completed installation of six new signboards in the Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary. The signboards carry pictures and a brief introduction about the most important bird species found in the reserve in order to introduce the visitors.

Eng. Mohamed Abdul Rahman Hassan, Head of Marine Environment and Wildlife Management Section said that the Section conducted a survey to measure the visitors' satisfaction about the reserve, and the results showed that 31% of them have expressed that the ecological conditions are excellent, while 59% of visitors said they are good, while, 90% were satisfied with the efforts made by the government to maintain the reserve.

He added that there has been considerable variation in the number of visitors to the observation towers during the previous years. Since the establishment of towers in March 2005 to December 2010 more than 34, 000 visitors from 114 countries were able to watch the colors that abound in the protected areas for tourism, environmental, and research purposes. In 2008, the sanctuary was visited by 4,000 people, and the number doubled to 8,430 in 2009, and by the end of 2010, the number exceeded the mark of 10,000 visitors. During the Eid al-Adha holiday and National Day in 2010 the sanctuary was visited by 666 persons.

It is worth mentioning that the Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary covers an area of 6.2 sq km and is home to about 270 species of fauna and 47 species of plant life. Over the years, the intensity of natural resources has increased and improved the conditions. The numbers of birds in the reserve increased, as the total numbers of flamingoes is 2,700 birds in the month of November of 2010, compared to more than 1,000 in previous years.