The Sultanate’s has always put environment first even as it embraced rapid development. Late His Majesty Sultan Qaboos always insisted on the conservation of environment.
“It is the responsibility of all of us, a responsibility that knows no political boundaries. Therefore, man, wherever he lives, must contribute to this conservation and must order his life accordingly. This must be done in a planned, rational way and taking into consideration the numerous causes of pollution, whether natural, biological, industrial, chemical or physical,” he said while addressing the International Conference on Environment and Development in Brazil in 2013.
The Sultanate had initiated several measures to preserve the country’s national wealth by enacting laws and regulations that protect natural habitats and wildlife and guarantee the right of all generations to benefit from the natural resources in a balanced and equitable manner.
Different governmental institutions cooperate with the private sector and civil society organisations to implement educational and awareness programmes that enshrine the values of preserving biodiversity among the youth and within the society in general.
The focus is on sustainable forest management, restoration of degraded lands, successful desertification control, reduction of degraded natural habitats and elimination of biodiversity loss.
The Sultanate has developed the Omani Action Plan to Combat Desertification and Land Degradation, which included the development of a natural resource registry for the Sultanate containing water sources, vegetation cover and soil.
As well as the reasons for the status of desertification, the potential for its future deployment and the strategy for its control with the implementation of the project on the use of models and remote sensing to monitor the status of vegetation, agricultural land and water. Oman seeks to increase its green spaces through establishing green belts, gardens and parks and green landscapes whilst preserving agricultural areas and implementing planting and agricultural programmes in different natural sites such as valleys and grazing areas.
Many initiatives were launched in this regard including “ASHJAR” for planting wild trees and plants. The idea came to complement efforts deployed by the Sultanate to raise society’s awareness and knowledge related to the preservation of wild flora and participation in increasing green spaces.
Other initiatives include “Al Awdiya Khadraa” (Green Valleys) for the rehabilitation of damaged areas and the “Asdikaa Al Biaa” (Friends of the Environment) initiative for environmental education targeting the children in 8-13 years age category.
In the field of preserving local flora, the Sultanate has launched a project establishing the largest plant garden in the Gulf named Oman Plant and Tree Garden. It encompasses the different natural and environmental life aspects in the Sultanate.
The National Field Research Centre for Environmental Conservation that aims to regulate and encourage field research and develop research projects for environmental protection and sustainability in the Sultanate also saw the light.
Light pollution is one of the challenges humans currently face and is increasingly growing day by day due to urban, industrial and trade expansion. This impacts health and ecology in addition to astronomical and space research.
The Sultanate declared the first dark sky reserve. It declared the Al Hajar Al Gharbi starlight a natural dark sky reserve via Royal Decree No (40/2019). The reserve is located in Al Hajar Al Gharbi mountain range. The largest part is located in Al Dakhiliyah Governorate and the reserve spans over Jabal Shams and Al Sarah Mountain.
The establishment of Al Hajar Al Gharbi starlight reserve aims at protecting the sky from light pollution resulting from human activities and population expansion. The reserve was also created to preserve the ecological components at the heights of Hajar Mountains, including the juniper trees in Al Sarah Mountain.
The reserve also features the highest mountaintop in Oman, Jabal Shams, at an altitude of 3,009m above sea level. It is the highest reserve in the Sultanate of Oman and includes juniper trees located at 2,000m above sea level. It is considered as the area least affected by human activity. It is also home to the Arabian Oryx.
The Sultanate has been keen to set up nature reserves and sites declared through royal decrees and orders. These protected areas include desert reserves, some of them freely and others in mountainous areas with difficult geological terrain, representing 3.77 per cent of the total area of the Sultanate.
The Qurum Nature Reserve, located in the heart of Muscat Governorate, was declared the first protected site for Ramsar in the Sultanate, with 80 hectares of Avicennia Marina forests, the only existing species that can adapt to the climate of Oman while the total area covered by the Crimean trees in the Sultanate is about 1,030 hectares.
The Wetlands Reserve in Mahout in Al Wusta Governorate is one of the top 25 sites of international importance to migratory birds during the winter in the Middle East. It has an estimated area of 2,621 square kilometres, and is in the process of being announced as a second Ramsar site in the Sultanate.
In the early seventies, the Sultanate has launched the Arabian Oryx preservation project, through which it was able to re-introduce the Arabian Oryx species into the Omani environment following the extinction of the wild Oryx at that time.
A natural reserve currently known as the Wildlife Reserve was specifically established for this purpose. Another reserve protecting living creatures and wildlife is Al Wusta Wetlands Reserve. In 1997, the first project for the protection of the Arabian Leopard was established, the first effective protection measures took place with the declaration of these animals’ living area, known as Jabal Samhan Nature Reserve as a natural reserve.
Since 2007, the Sultanate launched the sooty falcon study project and installed satellite tracking devices with the support of local institutions and in international cooperation with Austria’s BirdLife International and The Peregrine Fund in the Republic of Madagascar.
The sooty falcon migration route that starts in Oman and ends in the African Island of Madagascar was tracked. This was the first-ever practical study for tracking juvenile sooty falcons, take stock of their migration route and the most prominent obstacles and challenges these vultures face.
From 2013 to 2016, the Sultanate implemented a systemic biological and geographical study project related to the Sultanate’s reptiles. The study revealed an unprecedented diversity in Oman’s terrestrial reptiles. Twenty-four new reptile species were discovered, out of which 14 are currently populating the Sultanate.
In order to mobilise resources and motivate countries for sustainable management, the Sultanate in 1989 launched Unesco Sultan Qaboos Prize for Environmental Conservation. The prize consists of a certificate of appreciation with a financial grant and is awarded ever two years on the sidelines of the Organization’s General Conference.
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