Qatar Bird Records Committee (QBRC) recently announced that Richard Porter has been appointed as its inaugural Honorary President.
Richard has been one of the most passionate and active advocates of bird conservation and protection in Europe and the Middle East over the last 50 years. Richard is co-author of the definitive Birds of the Middle East, the first edition of which was translated into Arabic. A founder of the Ornithological Society of Turkey and OSME, Richard has been an adviser to Nature Iraq and continues to advise Birdlife International on their Middle East programme. Currently he is involved with conservation research and education projects in Iraqi Kurdistan, the highlands of Yemen and on Socotra.
Approval of draft law proposed by the Environment Minister declaring Irkaya Farm as a protected area.
The Qatar Government's Cabinet of Ministers has formally approved the protection of Irkaya Farm as a site of exceptional biodiversity in Qatar. Once drafted into legislation this will mean that all forms of hunting will be banned on the site. Moreover an active programme of conservation, habitat development and management, as well as research and education will get underway.
Source: Neil Morris QBRC