‘Estidama’ held to protect wild environment
ABU DHABI: The General Command of Abu Dhabi Police (ADP) and the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD) have carried out a tabletop exercise (Estidama) with members of both organisations’ executive teams participating.
Held under the framework of the Joint Committee between the two entities to protect the wild environment, the exercise reviewed their cooperation efforts in studying and analysing the current status of wildlife protection. The meeting also saw the development of plans and examination of various challenges, as well as readiness testing of the two entities in the enforcement of wild environment protection legislation by measuring the speed of response and effectiveness in dealing with legal violations (if any) in the field of the wildlife environment in Abu Dhabi.
The joint operations procedures were designed and implemented to identify all operational and administrative challenges and available capabilities, which will enhance the protection of wildlife through scenarios and hypotheses that simulate the mechanism of dealing with the process of unlicensed hunting and infringement on wildlife in the Al Hamra Reserve in Al Dhafra region.
Among its main objectives, the exercise focused on measuring the extent of implementation of governance related to the protection of the wild environment at the General Command of Abu Dhabi Police and the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi, the operational efficiency of the wild environment protection system and determining the effectiveness of the monitoring and communications technology system on both sides to enhance protection efforts.
Throughout the exercise, the Joint Committee tested the readiness of the relevant work teams in dealing with hypothetical violations and legal violations and measured the effectiveness of response plan implementation by providing an element of continuous training on unified concepts, and implementing relevant roles and responsibilities, with the aim of increasing individuals’ experiences and giving them the necessary skills.
The exercise also achieved many positive benefits in enhancing cooperation and teamwork, in testing the efficiency of the mechanisms, equipment and communications devices used, and measuring the extent of compatibility and availability of resources during response operations - all of which raises the readiness of assets and resources needed to support operations to deal with legal violations in the wild environment.