Supporting Bu Tinah Island, a finalist in the New7Wonders of Nature campaign, is one of the three New Year’s resolutions made by the Environment Agency of Abu Dhabi. Here, the agency puts its cards on the table:
“On the third resolution, EAD is encouraging people across the nation to support the campaign to vote for Bu Tinah Island as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. Bu Tinah Island, off the coast of Abu Dhabi, has been shortlisted in an international competition along with such well-known natural icons as the Great Barrier Reef and the Galapagos Islands. <!–more–>
Home to the world’s healthiest population of dugongs – dolphin-like ‘sea cows’ that graze on sea grass – as well as unique coral reefs found nowhere else on planet Earth, Bu Tinah is the only finalist from the Arabian Gulf region and a source of pride throughout the Gulf region. The dugong, a cousin of the manatee found in Florida, USA, has become extinct in several parts of the world and is on the World Conservation Union’s ‘Red List’ of endangered species. EAD is calling on people everywhere to spearhead efforts to raise Bu Tinah’s profile among the community in the UAE and internationally in order to help ensure the long-term conservation of both the dugong and its BuTinah habitat. You can help keep Bu Tinah protected in three different ways:
* Texting ‘Butinah’ to 3888 via SMS. You and your friends can text as many times as they like. In fact, the more you text, the more likely will Bu Tinah’s inhabitants stay protected and flourish in peace.
* Visiting one of the voting booths located at Abu Dhabi’s Marina Mall or Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates until January 15 2011.”