‘National Survey’ yields valuable birds, mammals, reptiles and antiquities in Oman
Ashraf AboArafe
The preliminary field surveys of the National Survey of Biodiversity project in Al Buraimi Governorate resulted in direct monitoring of (11) species of birds, (3) species of wild mammals, and (6) species of wild reptiles, in addition to monitoring traces and recent remains of (6) Types of wild mammals, such as the wild and sandy cat, the Arabian tahr, and the lynx.
In Al Dhahirah Governorate, (12) species of birds, two types of wild mammals, (3) types of reptiles, and footprints and remains of (4) species of wild mammals, such as the mountain fox and the wild rabbit, were directly monitored.
The National Biodiversity Survey project in the Sultanate of Oman aims to build a national database of species, especially wild mammals, to update their areas of existence, and the changes that occurred to them as a result of economic and urban activities, in addition to accessing accurate statistics for the census of all types of medium and large wild mammals.
The joint team was able to complete (52%) of the project work in Al-Buraimi Governorate, and (20%) of the survey work in Al-Dhahirah Governorate, while the remaining works will be completed according to the work plan prepared for the year 2023 AD.
The work of the specialized team in the first phase included a field survey of the project in the governorates of Al-Buraimi and Al-Dhahirah using various methods, most notably: trap camera technology and field surveys of the project sites.
While the initial field work of the team in Al Buraimi Governorate included surveying (67) sites, equivalent to (3925) square kilometers, and installing (64) trap cameras. 65) Trap camera.
The work of the National Survey of Biodiversity Project in the various governorates of the Sultanate of Oman will continue over a period of 3 years until the end of 2024 AD, whereby the division was made into different sectors based on the number of governorates, and each sector is divided into 3 survey areas: mountainous areas, plains areas, and desert areas.
It is worth noting that the Environment Agency is working to launch packages of various environmental projects in order to preserve the environmental resources in the Sultanate of Oman, and to promote a global increase in the environmental index.
