Environment
The Sultanate of Oman’s imaginative and forward-looking environmental protection and conservation policies have won international recognition. The United Nations Environmental Programme has cited Oman as a country with one of the best records in environmental conservation and pollution control measures. The first environmental legislation was enacted in 1974 and in 1979. In May 1984, Oman became the first Arab country to set up a ministry exclusively concerned with the environment.
In 1990, a coastal zone management project was completed in response to the threat posed by rapid urban development. This project, which covered the entire 1,700km-long coastline, offered ecological surveys of the coastal regions, the sea and offshore islands. In 1997, the Ministry launched action plan for coral reef management and a proposal to grow mangroves.
Oman has a wide variety of wildlife, some of which is now extremely rare. Strict laws exist to protect it from being hunted and nature reserves have been established to prevent encroachment on the natural habitat of species, such as leopards, hyenas, oryx, gazelle, taher, ibex, desert foxes, antelope and wild cats. In the sea, 13 different kinds of whales and dolphins have been recorded and some 400 species of birds are to be found in Oman at different seasons of the year.
Oman is visited by five of the seven different species of turtle. The turtle breeding beaches at Ra’s al-Hadd/Ra’s al Jinz are protected by Royal Decree as a nature reserve. Since the turtles are proving to be a major eco-tourist attraction, the Ministry has introduced a code of conduct for visitors and imposed a limit on their numbers to the turtle beaches.The Sultanate of Oman’s imaginative and forward-looking environmental protection and conservation policies have won international recognition. The United Nations Environmental Programme has cited Oman as a country with one of the best records in environmental conservation and pollution control measures. The first environmental legislation was enacted in 1974 and in 1979. In May 1984, Oman became the first Arab country to set up a ministry exclusively concerned with the environment.
In 1990, a coastal zone management project was completed in response to the threat posed by rapid urban development. This project, which covered the entire 1,700km-long coastline, offered ecological surveys of the coastal regions, the sea and offshore islands. In 1997, the Ministry launched action plan for coral reef management and a proposal to grow mangroves.
Oman has a wide variety of wildlife, some of which is now extremely rare. Strict laws exist to protect it from being hunted and nature reserves have been established to prevent encroachment on the natural habitat of species, such as leopards, hyenas, oryx, gazelle, taher, ibex, desert foxes, antelope and wild cats. In the sea, 13 different kinds of whales and dolphins have been recorded and some 400 species of birds are to be found in Oman at different seasons of the year.
Oman is visited by five of the seven different species of turtle. The turtle breeding beaches at Ra’s al-Hadd/Ra’s al Jinz are protected by Royal Decree as a nature reserve. Since the turtles are proving to be a major eco-tourist attraction, the Ministry has introduced a code of conduct for visitors and imposed a limit on their numbers to the turtle beaches.
