Abu Dhabi’s Environment Agency (EAD) has struck a new partnership with Ekthar Wildlife Development, adding fresh momentum to the emirate’s conservation efforts as it looks to broaden the scientific expertise behind its wildlife programmes.
The agreement was signed at the Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition (ADIHEX) 2026 by Maitha Al Hameli, Acting Executive Director of EAD’s Terrestrial and Marine Biodiversity Sector, and Frédéric Lacroix, Chief Executive Officer of Ekthar. It lays the groundwork for collaboration across wildlife conservation, biodiversity, environmental science and sustainable natural resource management — building on strengths each organisation brings to the table.
The scope is ambitious and wide-ranging. It spans species conservation, recovery and reintroduction, conservation breeding, wildlife health and biosecurity, genetics and genomics, biodiversity monitoring, and sustainable wildlife management, while also embracing culturally significant traditions such as falconry. Through this cooperation, EAD and Ekthar aim to drive forward research and innovation that supports the long-term health of Abu Dhabi’s desert and marine ecosystems.
Al Hameli described the partnership as a natural extension of EAD’s approach to conservation, one grounded in bringing together specialised expertise and applying it consistently over time. She said the collaboration strengthens the science underpinning how the emirate manages and protects its species and habitats, and reflects a broader commitment to building lasting national expertise in this field.
Lacroix struck an equally optimistic note, pointing to Abu Dhabi’s track record as a model for what science-led conservation can achieve. He highlighted Ekthar’s decades of applied experience in conservation breeding, genomics and biosecurity as a strong complement to EAD’s own capabilities, with the shared goal of producing practical, evidence-based solutions — outcomes he suggested could ripple beyond Abu Dhabi’s borders.
The agreement gives both organisations room to pursue knowledge exchange and capacity building, with joint initiatives to be developed as opportunities arise and implemented in line with each partner’s own policies — a flexible structure well suited to a field where new opportunities and research needs often emerge over time.
This latest signing continues a busy and encouraging run for EAD at ADIHEX 2026, where the agency has used the exhibition as a launchpad for several new collaborations — including a partnership with Japan’s Suwa Falconry Preservation Society to safeguard shared falconry heritage, and cooperation around the Sheikh Zayed Protected Areas Network. Taken together, these agreements point to a period of active partnership-building for Abu Dhabi’s conservation sector, reinforcing the emirate’s standing as a serious player in science-driven environmental protection.
That standing has been decades in the making. Abu Dhabi has long invested in captive breeding and species-recovery work — most famously with the Arabian oryx and houbara bustard — and this new agreement with Ekthar suggests that momentum is continuing to build, with fresh technical capacity now being brought in to support it.
