The Second International Festival of Falconry was recently held at the Englefield Estate in Berkshire as part of the Emirates Falconers’ Club’s ongoing global initiative for the preservation of falconry. The Club represents all local falconers and has been working to preserve the traditions of falconry for future generations through a range of education and conservation initiatives.

The Club also seeks to promote dialogue and cultural exchange through conferences and events, and this was particularly evident at the Festival. It began with over 500 school children who took part in activities and learnt about cultures from the 50 participating nations from Europe, Arabia, Central and Southern Asia and South America.

The festival also provided an opportunity to share the UAE’s culture and heritage and to build lasting relationships with participants and visitors. It was attended by over 12,000 guests and over 400 VIPs including H.R.H. The Duke of York, H.E. Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, the secretary-general of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, Mohammed Al Bowardi, and the secretary-general of the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, Majid Al Mansouri, as well as civic dignitaries, diplomatic representatives, Members of Parliament and an international UNESCO delegation. The Emirates Falconers’ Club was able to use this opportunity to take the global campaign for the preservation of falconry to an audience of senior decision-makers, falconry enthusiasts and the general public.

The centrepiece of the festival was the 500 square metre ‘Abu Dhabi Village’ which housed a number of exhibitors, including the Emirates Falconers’ Club, the Sheikh Zayed Falcon Release programme, the International Fund for Houbara Conservation, the Arabian Saluki Centre, the Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital, the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage and the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority. These organisations form vital components of the story of falconry and illustrate its many facets and importance to the UAE.

Another major attraction were the falconry heritage and art exhibitions, where visitors were able to learn more about the history of falconry and see the artefacts, photos and manuscripts from the archives of international falconers. The festival also hosted a number of well-attended seminars, providing an opportunity for international falconers to gather and discuss topics ranging from falcon training to the art of Croatian goshawking. Visitors were also able to deepen their understanding by attending these workshops.

Both days of the festival closed with a major “parade of nations” where representatives from each of the 50 attending nations were able to share their country’s traditions. Dressed in national dress and interacting with the crowd, this proved to be one of the highlight of the event.

As part of a wider global initiative for the preservation of falconry, the Emirates Falconers’ Club is spearheading the UAE’s international submission to UNESCO, on behalf of 12 falconry nations, for falconry to be recognised as part of the world’s Intangible Cultural Heritage under the new UNESCO Convention. If successful, this will ensure that measures will be taken internationally to preserve the living traditions of falconry for future generations. A ruling is expected from UNESCO in September of next year.

More than a simple pursuit, falconry represents the values, traditions and culture of the UAE and has been practiced in the Arabian Gulf for over 4,000 years. There are many people who believe that these aspects of traditional Emirati life are under threat. But this need to preserve elements of traditional culture is keenly felt in the UAE.

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of Falconry to the UAE. One only has to look around at the symbols of this activity – banknotes, the government logo, crests on the entrances to palaces and government ministries, and statues. The clubhouse of the Abu Dhabi Golf Club is even designed in the shape of a falcon.

However, the rapid development and urbanisation in the UAE is putting falconry at risk. The growth of the UAE since its independence in 1971 has been of epic proportions, but this threatens to erode traditional values and elements of Emirati culture. With the acceleration of Abu Dhabi’s plans to diversify and grow the economy, there is less natural habitat and wilderness upon which falcons and their prey rely. And, more simply, those who have traditionally participated in falconry find themselves with less time and less opportunities. The result: this ancient tradition which embodies so much of what it is to be Emirati is at risk.

The Emirates Falconers’ Club is also involved in conservation initiatives. In recent years, the loss of habitat and unsustainable hunting practices has led to the decline of a number of indigenous species of falcon quarry in the UAE. Participation in falconry encourages interest in wider conservation activities.

With a clearly identifiable link between conservation and falconry and clear guidance from President H.H Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, H.H Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and H.H Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Emirates Falconers’ Club, the club is supporting a number of conservation MPprogrammes, such as the International Fund for Houbara Conservation (IFHC). Working in close association with the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, the IFHC has taken positive steps to reintroduce the houbara bustard into the UAE and to encourage natural breeding in the wild, having released 250 captive-bred birds to the region last year. Centres under the umbrella of the IFHC include the National Avian Research Centre in Sweihan and the Emirates Centre for Wildlife Propagation in Morocco, which was established in 1995 to breed houbara in North Africa. These programmes continue to be supplemented by initiatives such as the desert hare breeding programme and the Sheikh Khalifa Centre for Wildlife Propagation in Kazakhstan.

After the festival, Kate Hoey tabled the following Early Day Motion, EDM, in the House of Commons to congratulate its organisers. The text was as follows:

That this House congratulates the organisers of the recent second International Festival of Falconry, held in Englefield, Berkshire, which brought together over 50 countries to celebrate the age-old practice of using birds of prey for hunting; recognises that in many parts of the world such activities are regarded as part of a country’s heritage; urges the Government to recognise the cultural and traditional importance of falconry and other natural forms of hunting; and suggests that the UK should sign UNESCO’s Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Kate Hoey, a Labour MP and a former Minister of Sport, is also the Chairman of the Countryside Alliance, the body that unites all British country sports organisation. Here she explains why she tabled the EDM.

I thought the Falconry Festival was a great success and enjoyed my visit enormously. It was an insightful display of one of the oldest forms of hunting and it brought together over 50 participating nations who were able to show the important role of falconry in their ancient cultures. I was particularly impressed with the schools’ day where over 500 local children learned about the role of falconry in the lives of the Bedu and other great falconry communities from around the world.

Abu Dhabi is one of the leading champions of falconry and you have gone to great lengths to conserve it to help retain links with the emirate’s past. I support the UNESCO bid you are leading to have falconry recognised as part of the world’s cultural intangible heritage and tabled the Early Day Motion in the House to help drum up support for falconry throughout the world. I have been delighted to see support from MPs of all the political parties. I think this sends out a clear message about the deep importance of the sport and, in particular, the integral part it plays in the fabric of so many countries’ heritage.

Abu Dhabi deserves the thanks of and congratulations from everyone who believes in the importance of country sports today and their role in the link with our cultural past. We are all already looking forward to the next festival.