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14718

PRELIMINARY SURVEY OF TERRESTRIAL VERTEBRATE FAUNA AND PEOPLE’S AWARENESS TOWARDS WILDLIFE IN THE NORTHERN GOVERNORATE OF THE GAZA STRIP

Article

Last updated: 22 Jan 2023

Subjects

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Tags

Botany
Microbiology
Zoology

Abstract

Many plant and animal species have disappeared in the Gaza Strip during the last 5-6 decades. No effort has been made to stop such disappearance and/or to conserve the biodiversity. This survey deals with the terrestrial vertebrate fauna in the Northern Governorate of the Gaza Strip. The ecological awareness of people (n=75) towards wildlife was investigated using a questionnaire specially designed for this purpose. A total number of 119 terrestrial, wild vertebrate species (13 mammals, 86 birds and 20 reptiles), in addition to many localy extinct mammalian species were recorded. Many wildlife species are on their way to extinction where anthropogenic factors, including overpopulation and urban expansion, lack of environmental awareness and education, destruction of habitats, over-grazing, poaching and hunting, over-use of pesticides, poor enforcement of environmental laws and legislations, and various military operations imposed by the Israeli occupation and settlements, were found to threaten wildlife resources in the area.  Although population studies have not conducted in this survey, the populations of many species appear to have diminished. The hazards imposed by wildlife on both people's health and properties were also investigated. More than three-quarters of the interviewed sample 57 (76.0%)  believed in the role of the wastewater treatment facility and its effluent pond in attracting biodiversity species. The majority of respondents (86.7%) stressed the importance of implementation of environmental laws and legislation to conserve nature and wildlife. Finally, the authors recommend improving cooperation of different parties to enhace the public awareness regarding the wildlife protection.

DOI

10.21608/absb.2006.14718

Keywords

Terrestrial vertebrate fauna, biodiversity survey, Environmental Awareness, Gaza Strip

Authors

First Name

MAGED

Last Name

YASSIN

MiddleName

M.

Affiliation

Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Islamic University of Gaza, Palestine.

Email

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City

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Orcid

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First Name

ABDEL FATTAH

Last Name

ABD RABOU

MiddleName

N.

Affiliation

Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Islamic University of Gaza, Palestine.

Email

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City

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Orcid

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First Name

MOHAMMAD

Last Name

AL-AGHA

MiddleName

R.

Affiliation

Department of Environment and Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science, Islamic University of Gaza, Palestine.

Email

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City

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Orcid

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Volume

17

Article Issue

Issue 1-C

Related Issue

2159

Issue Date

2006-06-01

Receive Date

2006-03-11

Publish Date

2006-06-01

Page Start

17

Page End

40

Print ISSN

1110-2535

Online ISSN

2636-3305

Link

https://absb.journals.ekb.eg/article_14718.html

Detail API

https://absb.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=14718

Order

2

Type

Original Article

Type Code

520

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

Al-Azhar Bulletin of Science

Publication Link

https://absb.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

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Details

Type

Article

Created At

22 Jan 2023