Wild Abu Dhabi: Turtles of Al Dhafra hits the big screen at Expo 2020 Dubai

This is third film The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi has screened at Expo 2020 Dubai.

Wild Abu Dhabi: Turtles of Al Dhafra graced the greatest show on earth, Expo 2020 Dubai, last night as it was screened at the Terra – The Sustainability Pavilion.

The much-acclaimed documentary produced by The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) highlights the trailblazing work of the EAD team who studies turtles in the Arabian Gulf.

The documentary which was shot over two years, follows the remarkable journey of the EAD team who monitors Hawksbills and Green Turtles as they move across the various islands of the Al Dhafrah region, producing thought-provoking scientific research.

The film highlights how the agency is working towards mitigating the main threats to turtles, including climate change, plastics and abandoned fishing gear.

Speaking at the occasion, Ahmed Alhashmi, Executive Director, Terrestrial and Marine Biodiversity Sector at EAD said; “It is always a pleasure to share EAD’s work at events as large and as important as Expo 2020. We are excited for people to see the work EAD has undertaken through a medium as impactful as our documentary.

“Visual content is always appealing, especially for environmental work, as it requires the community to take a pro-active approach and join forces with us to initiate change in behaviour for a sustainable future”.

“Wild Abu Dhabi: Turtles of Al Dhafra allowed us to document our scientific research and share it in an educational yet entertaining manner for everyone to view and enjoy. It is a testament to the conservation efforts of our team who have been studying and monitoring turtles for years.

“The information gathered during the two years of creating the documentary, has helped lay the foundation for us to concoct future projects which involve saving endangered turtles in Abu Dhabi and we are proud to share this with the public.”

The EAD began rescuing and rehabilitating sea turtles in 2005 and to date, more than 1,000 turtles have been returned to their natural habitat in the sea.

Currently there are 5,500 sea turtles who make their home in Abu Dhabi 1,500 critically endangered Hawksbill Turtles and 3,500 endangered Green Turtles.

This is the third film that EAD has screened at Expo 2020 Dubai, including the award winning Zayed’s Antarctic Lights, which chronicles the adventures of the agencies Team Zayed to Antarctica in the Year of Zayed and Our Sea Our Heritage, which tells the story of the UAE’s fisheries recovery plan.

 

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Matt Cassidy

When he is not hunting for the latest piece of Abu Dhabi news, Matt is ticking off his UAE bucket-list experiences (although he does love to take a break to test out the fine restaurants and bars of the capital). An armchair sports lover, he is on a personal mission to attend every sporting event in the UAE to make out for most likely missing the big one in Doha in November.