SAUDI ARABIA: Rare species protected in first national
biosphere reserve
In 2000 Saudi Arabia pledged to establish its first
biosphere reserve – in one of the few places in the
world where the Nubian ibex still breeds in the wild.
The
2,200 km2 reserve, located west of the town of Ha’il in
north central Saudi Arabia, will be known as the Jabal
Aja’ Biosphere Reserve, and includes the largest
mountain massif in the interior of the Arabian
Peninsula.
The area is considered a
‘refugia’, dating back to the times when the Arabian
Peninsula had a cooler and wetter climate. It
encompasses wetlands and many threatened wildlife
species including the Arabian wolf and the striped hyena
as well as the Nubian ibex.
The area has a
greater concentration of biological diversity than
anywhere else in the interior of the entire peninsula -
and is a national gene bank for plant and animal
species.
. The reserve is a Sacred Gift given
by the National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and
Development (NCWCD) as well as by the people of the
Ha’il Emirate – who own local palm groves, wells,
livestock and agricultural enclaves, and who have
pledged their support for and participation in the
Gift.
Saudi Arabia is an Islamic state
governed by Shari’ah, the law of Islam. The reserve’s
creation and management embodies specific Islamic
rulings relating to the sustainable management of
natural resources especially through the concept of
“hima”, a traditional method of protecting range land
and water resources.
An environmental
education centre and wildlife park is also to be
established in collaboration with the NCWCD and local
education authorities.
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