DUBAI //An Abu Dhabi-funded programme to build artificial nests for falcons could provide benefits for impoverished schools in Mongolia.
Mongolian children in areas where the nests are built have been forging links with overseas schools, sharing stories about falconry and their culture.
In return, children overseas have been raising funds to help modernise schools in Mongolia.
The project to link schools in different countries is the latest development to come from the artificial nests programme, which was started in 2009 with funding from the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi, and aims to help increase the numbers of saker falcons in the wild.
Mongolia is the only country with a Cites-sanctioned trade in falcons, and the programme was designed to ensure the trade was sustainable.
Nicola Dixon, manager of the artificial nests programme at the UK-based International Wildlife Consultants, said the school links programme was about ensuring some of the benefits of the trade trickled down to the local community.
"At the moment, communities aren't benefiting at all from the trade in falcons," she said. "For them to benefit, we need to link schools up through the programme."
She said that a pilot study this year with a school in Bayan, Mongolia and one in Cardiff, Wales, had already paid dividends.
Through coffee mornings and collections in their lunch hour, children at Glyncoed Junior School had already raised Dh6,000 of the Dh16,000 they needed to provide internet access at a school in Bayan, in Mongolia's central Tov province.
The schools are already communicating with each other, sharing ideas about falcon conservation and learning about falconry in both Mongolia and the UAE.
Six more schools in the UK and the US - though none yet in the UAE - are signed up to link with six schools in Mongolia next year.
The eventual goal is to have schools in each of the 20 areas in Mongolia where artificial nests are installed participating in the programme.
Ms Dixon said the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi were discussing whether schools in the capital could participate in the programme, although no final decision had been made.
"It is important for children in the Emirates to learn about falconry and falcon conservation, as this is an important part of their heritage," she said. "It would be great to eventually have schools from Abu Dhabi linked with schools in Mongolia."
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
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In Dubai:
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Dh500 for throwing cigarette butts or chewing gum on the floor, or littering from a vehicle.
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In Sharjah and other emirates
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
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A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
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