MUSCAT, JULY 27
In a new environmental achievement, the Sultanate of Oman has received official accreditation from the Ramsar Convention for the inclusion of the Wetland Reserve in Al Wusta Governorate on the list of Wetlands of International importance.
This marks the third Omani site to be included in this prestigious list, following the Al Qurm Nature Reserve (2013) and Al Ansab Wetlands (2020).
This achievement was announced on the sidelines of the 15th Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention (COP15), held under the theme “Protecting Wetlands for Our Common Future” in Zimbabwe, which continues until July 31.
This official international recognition represents a culmination of Oman’s efforts in biodiversity conservation and its commitment to implementing international environmental standards for protecting fragile ecosystems. It also highlights the reserve’s status as one of the most important ecological sites at both regional and global levels.
Ramsar Sites and the List of Wetlands of International Importance come under the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, 1971), where each contracting party undertakes to designate at least one wetland site for inclusion in the List of Wetlands of International Importance.
There are over 2,000 “Ramsar Sites” on the territories of over 160 Contracting Parties across the world.
The Ramsar describes this environmentally significant place: “The site lies within Al Wusta Wetlands Reserve and covers about 80 per cent of the reserve’s area. It features coastal waters with rare marine vegetation, alkaline lakes and marshes, coral and bivalve reefs, mangroves, and “sabkha”, which are intertidal flats with mineral deposits formed by seawater evaporation.”
Located in the Wilayat of Mahout, the wetlands were declared a reserve by a Royal Decree in 2014.
According to the report, the Barr Al Hikman peninsula occupies the largest area of the site and has a coastline of about 160 km. It consists of coastal and inland plains of salt, mud flats, and some saltwater lakes of unique natural and geological importance overlooking the west coast of Masirah Island.
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