It’s not only the peoples and the economies that will benefit from the Abraham Accords between Israel and the Arab states of Morocco, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Nature too will enjoy the fruits of this newfound peace.

Regional media reported this month that Israel and the UAE have launched a joint project to study and protect an endangered desert bird known as the Asian houbara bustard.

Taking part in the effort will be the Abu Dhabi Government, the International Fund for Houbara Conservation (IFHC), and the Israel Nature & Heritage Foundation (INHF).

It will be the first such joint project since the signing of the Abraham Accords a year ago, but there are certainly many more to come as relations between the two nations grow warmer by the day.

Abu Dhabi and the IFHC have been working for years to preserve the houbara population that stretches from Mongolia all the way across Africa to the shores of Morocco. Israel’s Negev Desert is home to a dwindling population of just 400 or so birds. With the help of the Emirates, there is new hope in further stabilizing and increasing this population.