Dubai Municipality has announced that it will participate in the Global Conservation Coalition on 31st December 2017, which will host a New Year’s Eve Celebration in Los Angeles, California to launch its worldwide ocean protection initiative called, "Our Big Blue Expedition."

The Coalition is comprised of several non-profit conservation organisations and several international organisations such as the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), and the Explorer’s Club, an international, multi-disciplinary organisation of professional scientists. The patron of the Coalition is Jose Ramos-Horta, Nobel Laureate and former President of Timor-Leste.

Director of Environment Department at Dubai Municipality Alya Al Harmoudi, said, "Dubai Municipality received invitation to the event due to its pioneering position in protecting the ocean environment and raising awareness on it. We continue our efforts in conserving the Jebel Ali Marine Sanctuary and coastal water in Dubai, which hosts an exemplary biodiversity of unique coral species and marine fauna of international conservation status, such as the Dugong (Sea Cow) and Hawksbill Sea-turtle. The sanctuary was also declared as an Ecologically and Biologically Sensitive Area (EBSA) by the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2015. So, the initiative is important to Dubai as much as it is to the other countries across the globe," she said.

Dubai Municipality delegation, led by Peter Farrington of the Environment Department, will be participating in the event with a number of paintings that reflect the role of the department and its efforts in conserving the marine environment and address any threats that may result in degradation or pollution.

Al Harmoudi added that the Environment Department believes in the importance of conserving the marine environment as it is a major source of life on earth and the conservation of marine and coastal environment is a responsibility of all nations, governments and individuals alike.

The IUCN was formed following a meeting of leading marine scientists, media experts and international media agency which took place during the inaugural United Oceans Conference, New York in June, 2017. The main objective of this alliance was to stop the devastation of coral reefs caused by fish bombing, a highly destructive fishing practice, which occurs in the Coral Triangle of the Western Pacific Ocean and many other parts of the world. Now, the goal of IUCN has broadened to help protect endangered Blue Whales, marine wildlife, coral reefs and the habitats of our seas and oceans around the world. Its overall aim is to contribute to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goal No. 14 "Life Below Water."