Scientific data key to managing and protecting biodiversity
The vast saline desert is already marked with dirt tracks made by 4x4 cars. Even the dune belt around Barr al Hikman, with hills 2 to 3 metres above sea level covered by salt-adapted bush, has become a playground
Published: 05:11 PM,Nov 12,2025 | EDITED : 09:11 PM,Nov 12,2025
Researchers, administrators, and industry stakeholders sometimes need reminders. Now is a good time to revisit ‘Barr Al Hikman: Shorebird Paradise in Oman’, a book published in 2018 for the 48th National Day.
It is Oman’s top biodiversity hotspot and is globally significant for wintering migratory birds. The pristine coastal area was declared a Wetland Reserve by Royal Decree on December 22, 2013.
As development goals are set, Barr al Hikman is vulnerable to exploitation. Several camping sites are being built. These accommodations brand themselves as nature-focused, comfortable camping experiences, and luxury glamping places geared toward water sports enthusiasts. With newfound popularity because of social media, and sometimes referred to as the ‘Omani Maldives’, a few details are being overlooked. Environmental degradation is noticeable.
In reality, Barr al Hikman faces significant pollution issues, including improper solid waste disposal, marine debris, plastic pollution, sewage, ghost fishing nets, disturbance from tourists, shoreline rubbish, and climate change. The amount of dumping caused by visitors and the construction of stilt accommodations appears to be increasing faster than clean-up efforts.
The lack of waste management is a major concern because the peninsula is a vital and sensitive nature reserve, serving as a stopover for migratory birds, turtles, and corals, thus threatening its delicate ecosystem.
The vast saline desert is already marked with dirt tracks made by 4x4 cars. Even the dune belt around Barr al Hikman, with hills 2 to 3 metres above sea level covered by salt-adapted bush, has become a playground. A luxury resort connects the pristine beach to the popular ‘sugar dunes’ of the coastal dune belt, where dune bashing occurs on the bright white hills.
The peninsula comprises islands and estuaries, Avicennia, and provides nesting and feeding grounds for sea turtles. It is one of the densest nesting sites for nearly all species of sea turtles worldwide. It is also a place where marine mammals, like the endangered Arabian humpback whales, feed and mate. Unfortunately, the sight of turtle carcasses on the sand is becoming common as drivers zig-zag their vehicles along the shores.
This area features at least five distinct types of marine habitats, including coral communities, seagrass beds, algal communities, flat shallow water regions, and mangrove forests. Three reef area structures located west and east of Barr al Hikman and off Rounders Bay on Masirah Island are unique to Oman.
The region has become a hub for research conducted by volunteers and specialists from global organisations since the middle of the 1980s. It is believed that the only comprehensive survey of the entire area took place in the 1990s. The book ‘Barr Al Hikman: Shorebird Paradise in Oman’ is the result of winter surveys conducted in 1990, 2008, and 2013, totalling 500,000 waterbirds across 42 species.
There is already a dramatic 60 per cent reduction in the surface area of the main coral reefs, a key natural barrier. The shrinking reef is speeding up the erosion of the coastline, and parts of the peninsula are losing ground at a rate exceeding one metre per year. Other key issues include habitat degradation, shoreline erosion, the impact of sea-level rise, and the need for updated scientific data to guide effective management strategies.
At the pace of ongoing habitat loss, Barr al Hikman is in danger of losing its critical function as a stopover and wintering site for the flyway’s shorebird population. Scientists advocate for the formal designation of Barr al Hikman as a Ramsar site (Convention on Wetlands of International Importance) to provide a framework for its preservation.
The pivotal challenge is environmental monitoring and conservation. Therefore, gathering up-to-date data will help inform and implement effective policies, before irreversible damage is done to this unique and vulnerable ecosystem.