Minister follows up on bird survey project

MUSCAT: Mohammed bin Salim al Toobi, Minister of Environment and Climate Affairs, met with experts from the Wetlands International and specialists at the Ministry to implement a field survey of birds at Barr Al Hakman from February 24 to 5. During the meeting, the Minister viewed the detailed presentation on Barr Al Hakman and previous surveys done from 2007 onward. The presentation highlighted the number of migrating and resident birds in the area and provided a comparison between this area and other areas. The indicators pointed out that Barr Al Hakman is one of the top 25 destinations for migrating birds. The surveys pointed out that there are more than half million of 42 types of birds. It should be noted that the statistics were made in winter which means that the number may be higher. The survey pointed out that about 18 types of birds at Barr Al Hakman constitute more than 1 per cent of the total number of migratory birds. The indicators point out that Barr Al Hakman has great potentials and can qualify as RAMSAR site. — ONA