EPAA teams seize 1,052 bird callers in 2019

Teams from the Environment and Protected Areas Authority, EPAA, in Sharjah confiscated 1,052 prohibited bird callers last year, and specialised teams seized 379 dangerous and prohibited predatory animals.

The EPAA successfully controlled and monitored 37 cases wherein operations that were carried out without coordinating with the authority led to soil erosion in the wilderness areas. In addition, the EPAA’s External Inspection Department recorded 102 violations by companies operating in the wilderness areas.

“The EPAA’s teams carry out various inspections, daily monitoring and periodic follow-ups to ensure that the Executive Council’s decisions — which were issued to prevent environmental deterioration and degradation in wilderness areas, to preserve wildlife, and to prohibit hunting and the use of bird callers and the ownership of dangerous and predatory animals and wild or marine migratory birds — are implemented.

“They also apply Federal Law No. 11 of 2002, which regulates and controls the international trade of endangered species of wild fauna and flora, and Federal Law No. 22 of 2016, which regulates the possession of dangerous animals,” said Hana Saif Al Suwaidi, EPAA Chairperson.

“The External Inspection Department follows up on company projects in the wilderness areas to determine whether companies are complying with conditions and instructions on survey sites to ensure that perennial trees are not affected, to check the validity of permits and to prevent any negative practices that contribute to the degradation of the environment. Last year, the External Inspection Department recorded 102 violations by companies operating in the wilderness areas,” Al Suwaidi added.

The law includes conditions for hiking and fines that range from Dhs1,000 to Dhs50,000 for those who commit nine types of violations.

It prohibits activities that violate the provisions of federal and local legislations regulating the protection of the environment and that harm the environment in the wilderness areas.

It also prohibits the dumping, burying, storing or disposal of hazardous waste by visitors and residents in the wilderness areas, the pollution of these areas, acts that threaten the health and safety of individuals or the community, soil erosion, damaging vegetation, and cutting down perennial and non-perennial trees of national and environmental importance for logging or other purposes.

The EPAA’s agenda and strategy are based on the vision of His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan Bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, and on implementing his directives regarding the environment and its protection, conservation, cleanliness and sustainability and the Executive Council’s decisions related to preventing environmental degradation.

COUNTERFEIT ITEMS

Dubai Customs destroyed 48,000 counterfeit items as part of its efforts to combat piracy and support sustainable development.

The destruction of the items was followed by a recycling process, which helps brand owners get rid of copied products without harming the environment.

The items included 42,184 Apple products, valued at Dhs861,000. The activity took place in the presence of a delegation from the American Consulate, Malik Hanouf, CEO of Brand Owners’ Protection Group; Soud Al Aqroubi, Director of International Relations at Federal Customs Authority; Yousef Ozair Mubarak, Director of IPR Department at Dubai Customs; Mohammed bin Nasser, Manager of IP Dispute Section, and Sara Al Suwaidi, Manager of External Relations Section at Dubai Customs.

As a procedure, trademark owners are informed once the fake items are seized, in order to attend the recycling. The IPR Department at Dubai Customs leads the way in seizing counterfeit goods and protecting brands from IP violations.

In 2019, there were 337 IP dispute cases, with a market value of Dhs40.2 million, out of which 274 were genuine products valued at Dhs33.4 million and 53 were fake ones, valued at Dhs10.8 million. Last year, 637,000 items for 190 trademarks were recycled, and the dispute cases concerning genuine products comprised 84 per cent of the total.

WAM