HRH Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud is the Crown Prince, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
HRH Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud is also the founder and chairman of Saudi Arabia’s National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development which promotes the protection of indigenous [...]
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Patron and Sponsor
HRH Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud is the Crown Prince, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
HRH Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud is also the founder and chairman of Saudi Arabia’s National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development which [...]
About IFCDW
Type of Organization
HRH Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud International Foundation for Conservation and Development of Wildlife is a Not-For-Profit Foundation registered and based in the Kingdom of Morocco, dedicated to the protection of desert habitat, wildlife and desert traditions and related field and scientific research.
Location
Established in Agadir, on [...]
Human Resources
The Foundation has always endeavored to recruit dedicated professionals who share the vision and commitment of HRH Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz to conservation and protection of wildlife. Since the beginning the Foundation was committed to the recruitment and training of Moroccan nationals to manage and lead every aspect of [...]
About Houbara
The houbara bustard is a rare shy bird adapted to arid conditions with little vegetation and found in stony and sandy desert and semi-desert regions. They are classified as ‘vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List 2004 because it has undergone rapid population declines over recent years due to unsustainable hunting [...]
Species
Belonging to the Order Gruiformes and Family Otididae, Genus Chlamydotis is now divided into two species, the Macqueen’s Bustard, Chlamydotis macqueenii (Asian species) and the Houbara Bustard, Chlamydotis undulata (predominantly in North Africa and Canary Islands). The dividing line between the two species is the Sinai Peninsula. The North African [...]
Distribution
The Canary Islands support the endemic, non-migratory Canarian Houbara with populations of approximately 527 birds. On the adjacent African continent, the North African Houbara stretches from Mauritania and the southern Atlantic coast of Morocco through to western Egypt. The North African Houbara is non-migratory but carries on seasonal movements and [...]
Captive breeding
The founder stock was obtained in 1993 under a license to harvest eggs from the wild. 153 eggs were collected, resulting in 138 chicks that were transferred to the captive breeding centre in Agadir. The 1995 breeding season gave the first indications of the success of production and breeding techniques, [...]
Facilities
Veterinary department:
The Veterinary Department is well equipped with laboratory, surgical unit and rehabilitation facilities and plays a key role in different aspects of the captive breeding process. The primary objective of the veterinary department is to ensure a disease-free stock. It is responsible for therapeutic and preventive veterinary care, analysis [...]
Conservation programs
Nest protection scheme:
IFCDW has for several years embarked on a dedicated program to protect Houbara nests in the desert during the breeding months. This program is implemented with the help of local Bedouins and staff employed for the purpose. All identified nests of Houbara in the desert are marked, documented [...]