Combating Desertification in the Middle East - Combating Desertification in Asia, Africa and the Middle East - page 339

Part V
Combating Desertification
intheMiddleEast
Efforts to control desertification and arrest and reverse land degradation have a high
priority in the Middle East. Two countries (Iran and Oman) are chosen as examples.
Iran is a large country with high mountains, extensive deserts and plains that has
problems: the mobile sand dunes, salinization and severe overgrazing. Vegetation
plays such an important part in soil protection as well as a forage resource.
Chapter 17 describes the key vegetation types and changes due to desertification.
Chapter 18 focuses on soil and warer conservation efforts. Oman, a much smaller
country, has problems in its coastal area as well as in the management of the inland
areas.