One call, one team, one second chance: Abu Dhabi wires up a wildlife rescue network

A stranded dolphin, an injured sea turtle, a dugong in trouble — until now, help in Abu Dhabi depended on who happened to hear first. The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi has launched the Abu Dhabi Wildlife Response Network to make it a system: reports from the public or partners are logged and assessed digitally, a specialist field team stabilises the animal on site, and veterinary experts then give it species-specific rehabilitation before release. The agency has been rescuing wildlife since 2016, starting with sea turtles and growing to sea snakes, dugongs, dolphins and birds; the network now ties that experience together and turns every case into data that sharpens future rescues. 'Every successful rescue is the result of the combined efforts of our teams, partners, experts and community,' said Maitha Mohamed Al Hameli of the agency.

SDG 15 · Life on land — Mechanism: institutional program