Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
RETURN OF THE ORYX
In 1962 the Fauna Preservation Society captured the last remaining oryx close to the border with Yemen and sent
them to a zoo in the USA. By 1982, protected by new laws banning the hunting of wild animals, a herd of 40 Ara-
bian oryx was returned to Jiddat al-Harasis. Despite intermittent bouts of poaching the program has met with suc-
cess, in part due to the commitment of the Harasis tribe designated to look after them.
The return of the oryx to Oman was the occasion of great rejoicing, which prompts the question: what it is
about this antelope that provokes such emotion? Perhaps it's the uncanny resemblance of a mature bull, with
rapier-like antlers, to the mythical unicorn. This is not as far-fetched as it seems. The ancient Egyptians used to
bind the antlers of young oryx so they would fuse into one. Seeing a white, summer-coated herd-bull level up to a
rival in profile, it's easy to confuse fact with fiction.
PLANTS
Oman built an empire on the frankincense trees that grow in Dhofar. The trees are still
bled for the aromatic sap, but dates, covering 49% of cultivated land, have overtaken them
in economic importance. Oman has a very rich plant life thanks to its fertile wadis, many
irrigated year-round by spring water. It is common to see tall stands of pink oleander
flowering in the wadis throughout the year.
A government-sponsored herbal clinic in Muscat uses many locally occurring plants
and shrubs to treat a wide range of illnesses, most commonly diabetes and hypertension.
A national collection of plants is being assembled as part of the world-class
Oman Botanic
Garden
(
www.oman-botanic-garden.org
)
, the first of its kind in Arabia. When complete (in 2014),
every habitat in Oman will be represented in two giant biomes.
National Parks
While there are several reserves, such as the Qurm Nature Reserve in Muscat, set up to
protect the endangered mangrove, and the Arabian Oryx Sanctuary, there are no formal
national parks. The Damanayat Islands are designated as a national nature reserve and ac-
cess to this pristine marine environment is controlled.
Environmental Issues
Oman has an enviable record with regard to its protection of the environment - a subject
in which the sultan has a passionate interest. His efforts have been acknowledged by the
International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which awarded him the John
C Philips Prize in 1996, and cited Oman as a country with one of the best records in envir-
onmental conservation and pollution control. The sultanate's first environmental legisla-
tion was enacted in 1974, and in 1984 Oman was the first Arab country to set up a min-
