Eighty endangered wild mammal species monitored across Oman
Published: 04:06 PM,Jun 23,2024 | EDITED : 08:06 PM,Jun 23,2024
Muscat: The National Biodiversity Survey Project is one of the most important national projects undertaken by the Environment Authority with a view of improving the environmental performance ranking of the Sultanate of Oman, building a national database for wild mammal species and updating their areas of presence and the changes they have undergone.
A team from Oman newspaper, sister publication of the Observer, in coordination with the Environment Authority, followed up the installation of a camera trap in a mountainous area in the Wilayat of Rustaq in South Al Batinah Governorate.
The field teams involved in the National Biodiversity Survey Project continue to carry out their tasks starting from Dhofar Governorate and then the governorates of South Al Sharqiyah, Musandam, Al Buraimi, Al Dhahirah and North Al Batinah. Since the launch of the project in 2022, the teams have been exploring the secrets of nature and wildlife in the Sultanate of Oman.
Haitham bin Sulaiman al Rawahy, an environmental systems specialist and head of the National Biodiversity Survey Project’s working teams, said: “The survey managed to record important findings at the local and international levels by monitoring a group of rare and endangered species including the Masirah gazelle for the first time using camera traps. The Arabian lynx was also sighted and documented twice in Musandam Governorate after an 8-year hiatus. In addition, a group of wild animals comprising 5 to 8 species were monitored in Dhofar Governorate which represents a hotbed of biodiversity in the Sultanate of Oman. We also monitored the Arabian tahr in Al Buraimi and Al Dhahirah Governorates, and we are currently awaiting search results from North Al Batinah and South Al Batinah Governorates.”
Al Rawahi pointed out that the most important challenges facing the field teams involved in the National Biodiversity Survey Project are the high temperatures in summer which increases the risk of team members being exposed to sunstroke when temperatures touch 50 degrees Celsius. In addition, tough terrain makes it difficult for the team members to carry out the survey operations because they have to walk long distances amid the rugged terrain of Al Hajar Mountains and the mountains of Dhofar Governorate.
Field work constitutes 50 per cent of the National Biodiversity Survey Project and the 50 per cent is distributed over the administrative and scientific aspects of the project, Al Rawahi said adding that which aims to achieve the strategic goals and programmes of Oman Vision 2040 as well as build a comprehensive database for biodiversity, obtain statistics on the numbers of species and determine the priorities of conservation and protection programmes and identify the areas with the highest priority according to the results of the survey.
A total of 804 squares have been surveyed in 9 governorates spanning an estimated area of 32,900 square kilometres at a rate of 88 field work days with 683 cameras traps installed with the participation of 181 employees from the Environment Authority. As a result, 80 species were documented so far, he said.
Photos by Hussain al Miqbali
A team from Oman newspaper, sister publication of the Observer, in coordination with the Environment Authority, followed up the installation of a camera trap in a mountainous area in the Wilayat of Rustaq in South Al Batinah Governorate.
The field teams involved in the National Biodiversity Survey Project continue to carry out their tasks starting from Dhofar Governorate and then the governorates of South Al Sharqiyah, Musandam, Al Buraimi, Al Dhahirah and North Al Batinah. Since the launch of the project in 2022, the teams have been exploring the secrets of nature and wildlife in the Sultanate of Oman.
Haitham bin Sulaiman al Rawahy, an environmental systems specialist and head of the National Biodiversity Survey Project’s working teams, said: “The survey managed to record important findings at the local and international levels by monitoring a group of rare and endangered species including the Masirah gazelle for the first time using camera traps. The Arabian lynx was also sighted and documented twice in Musandam Governorate after an 8-year hiatus. In addition, a group of wild animals comprising 5 to 8 species were monitored in Dhofar Governorate which represents a hotbed of biodiversity in the Sultanate of Oman. We also monitored the Arabian tahr in Al Buraimi and Al Dhahirah Governorates, and we are currently awaiting search results from North Al Batinah and South Al Batinah Governorates.”
Al Rawahi pointed out that the most important challenges facing the field teams involved in the National Biodiversity Survey Project are the high temperatures in summer which increases the risk of team members being exposed to sunstroke when temperatures touch 50 degrees Celsius. In addition, tough terrain makes it difficult for the team members to carry out the survey operations because they have to walk long distances amid the rugged terrain of Al Hajar Mountains and the mountains of Dhofar Governorate.
Field work constitutes 50 per cent of the National Biodiversity Survey Project and the 50 per cent is distributed over the administrative and scientific aspects of the project, Al Rawahi said adding that which aims to achieve the strategic goals and programmes of Oman Vision 2040 as well as build a comprehensive database for biodiversity, obtain statistics on the numbers of species and determine the priorities of conservation and protection programmes and identify the areas with the highest priority according to the results of the survey.
A total of 804 squares have been surveyed in 9 governorates spanning an estimated area of 32,900 square kilometres at a rate of 88 field work days with 683 cameras traps installed with the participation of 181 employees from the Environment Authority. As a result, 80 species were documented so far, he said.
Photos by Hussain al Miqbali