Workshop on Protection of Endangered Birds

DAMASCUS, (ST) -The Minister of State for Environmental Affairs Dr. Nazira Sarkis underlined that the government had given marsh Jabboul a great importance to the great richness in biodiversity and its importance as a world site exposed to many different threats.

Dr. Sarkis, during a workshop to protect endangered birds in the marsh Jabboul, explained that the project aims to improve the status of protection for endangered species of birds and biodiversity conservation in the marsh Jabboul through the promotion of fishing laws and spreading awareness among locals and fishermen to preserve the birds and their habitats. The workshop carried out by the Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs and the Syrian Society for the Protection of Wildlife in cooperation with the Small Grants Program (SGP).

For her part, Nadia Attar of the SGP clarified that the importance of the project lies in being an example of what can civil and environmental work accomplish in such difficult circumstances whereas the successful management of the project to adapt the work plans to suit the status quo, noting that the project is considered one of the distinctive and important projects funded by the program because of its achievements in the field of the protection of migratory and endangered birds in Syria.

For his part, Eng. Imad Hassoun, a member of the General Authority for Syrian Society for the Protection of Wildlife showed the role of the Society in biodiversity conservation in many national websites and in cooperation with the concerned authorities, referring to the concentration of the Society on the Jabbul area since the beginning of its activities because of its environmental and economic importance.

The workshop included a brief introduction about the project and the supporting bodies, what has been accomplished during this project and the stages of its implementation, and the future national vision for the Jabbul area were discussed.

The opening ceremony was attended by Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform Ahmed Qadish, Deputy Minister of Water Resources Abdullah Al -Darwish and representatives from the ministries of environment, agriculture, local administration, education, interior and environment committee in the parliament and the supreme body of the regional planning and business center and the Syrian Business Center and the Syrian Society for Sustainable Tourism.

Sharif el -Khatib