MUSCAT: The Sultanate of Oman attaches a great importance to the ecosystem and gives wide attention to endangered wild animals. This attention has been manifested by the many achievements that took place in the environment sector over the past five decades. This includes the establishment of nature reserves, enacting laws and regulations that govern and manage the environment and criminalize all forms of acts that harm the wildlife. Besides, the government devised plans for preserving and sustaining the environment.
In comments to ONA, Sultan bin Mohammed al Balushi, director of the Arabian Oryx Department at the Environment Authority, said the Arabian Oryx is deemed a major identity of the environment in the Sultanate of Oman as well as being one of its valuable environmental legacies. The most important achievement in this regard was the project that aimed to return the Arabian Oryx to its natural habitats in the 1970s. The project saw the Arabian Oryx receiving attention throughout the project’s four phases namely: breeding, health care, re-release into the wild and monitoring their movement in their environment.
He noted that the Royal Decree No 18/2023 renaming the Living and Fungal Organisms Reserve in the Governorate of Al Wusta, as the Arabian Oryx Reserve, as the first nature reserve of its kind in the country that is home to diverse wildlife including the Arabian Oryx after which the reserve was named owing to its historical symbolism and deep connection to the region and its local community.
Al Balushi underscored the importance of preserving Oman’s historically-important wild environmental symbols and the need to preserve their environmental value.
The economic and industrial expansion does not encroach on environmental preservation as the natural reserves have become one of the main enablers of economic development, supportive of urban development as well as being an essential element for the success of projects and a contributing factor to raising the standard of living of local communities. Protecting, preserving and passing the cultural and natural heritage of outstanding universal value to future generations forms the basis for the continuity of ecosystems and their ecological components; The conservation of the world heritage would have a significant contribution to protecting the environment and nature, the official concluded. — ONA
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
