NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Arabian Seas Expedition has completed the first of its films about Arabia’s marinelife. Set in the Sultanate of Oman, the film covers above and below water subjects along the entire Omani coastline, from Musandam in the north to the border with Yemen in Dhofar Province. Particular emphasis for this first film, for which work began in June 1993, has been on conservation issues: principally those surrounding the green turtles of Ras Al-Hadd and Bar Al-Hikman; and the loggerheads that nest in huge numbers on the island of Masirah. The film also includes unique coverage of the exquisite coral communities of the Daymaniat islands and of the sharks and shark fisheries that exist along the Omani coast, especially from Musandam down to the coastal fringe of the Wahiba Sands.
Plans have been set in motion to move the entire ASE crew to Abu Dhabi
in the United Arab Emirates where it is hoped to commence filming in January
1995 on the elusive and endangered dugongs as well as the Indian Ocean
humpback dolphin about which relatively little is known. In line with ASE’s
principal objective to create widespread environmental awareness, the expedition’s
leader, Jonathon Ali-Khan, is inviting the commercial sector to collaborate
with ASE and the other scientific and administrative organisations that
are involved in making this first television documentary series covering
the marine life of all the seas of Arabia. Arabian Wildlife wishes to congratulate
the expedition on this milestone in their project and wishes them every
success with their future filming. We will be pleased to pass on any enquiries
concerning the project to Jonathon (please address to The Editor, Arabian
Wildlife Magazine, ASE Project, 20 Berkeley St., London W1X5AE and we will
forward your enquiry directly to the filming expedition’s office).
Hosts Symposium
The National Committee for the
Protection of Wildlife in Bahrain, in cooperation with the Gulf Cooperation
Council (GCC), is organising a symposium on Conservation and Development
of Wildlife in the Region of the Gulf Cooperation Council. The Symposium
will be held in Bahrain during the period from 16-18 January 1995.
Subjects to be covered include the status of wildlife in the GCC
countries; the status of natural habitats and the protected areas; efforts
of the different GCC countries in protecting and propagating wildlife and
problems facing these efforts; co-ordination of research efforts; local
legislation and regulations concerning wildlife; and the importance of
wildlife and public awareness.
The Symposium is being accompanied by an exhibit. Further information
is obtainable from The General Secretariat of the National Committee for
the Protection of Wildlife; PO Box 28690, Bahrain. Tel 631826; Fax 631173.
on Desert Studies held in Riyadh
The Centre for Desert Studies in the King Saud University
was officially established in July 1986. Charged with investigating desert
ecology and finding ways to prevent desertification , the Centre carries
out studies in a wide field of specialities from conservation and development
of desert resources to socio-economic investigations, soil and water studies,
and anti-desertification measures
The Centre held its Second Symposium on Desert Studies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 2-4 October 1994 at the King Saud University in Riyadh. During the three day meeting there were eleven lectures and more than seventy papers on desert studies including discussions on water, ecology, remote sensing, geographic information, soil, plants, sand dunes, forests and range land, camels and social economics of desert people.
The Symposium participants proposed a number of recommendations for
future work, such as giving greater priority to desert resource management;
the use of modern technologies in surveys of renewable resources; evaluation
and establishment of a desert studies resources data bank; and linking
this with local, regional and international networks.
Highlands and Islands
Saving Arabia’s Birds: Conference
Conservationists from eight Arab nations came together
at the BirdLife International World Conference held in Germany in August,
to draw up a bird conservation programme for their area. The development
of the programme follows the recent publication of Important Bird Areas
in the Middle East, which identifies 391 sites that are of global or regional
importance for birds. A major element of the new programme is work to protect
these sites.
The programme also includes a new Flylands, Highlands and Islands project to address conservation in three major regions.
Flylands: The bird migration route to Africa through the countries of the eastern Mediterranean, along the Rift Valley.
Highlands: The wildlife-rich mountains of south-west Arabia, Oman and Socotra
Islands: The huge globally important seabird colonies in the Gulf sea area.
Representatives from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, United Arab Emirates,
Jordan, Yemen, Syria and Lebanon were involved in the discussions that
led to adoption of this programme. Further information from Richard Porter,
Head of Middle East Division at BirdLife International (UK + 44 223 277318).
CORNER
A number of our readers have written to suggest that we should encourage the collection of stamps with wildlife themes issued by Arabian countries. There have been many beautiful Arabian wildlife stamps and we would like to hear from more readers who have an interest in such collections. We hope that stamp corner will become a regular feature of Arabian Wildlife and that we shall be able to feature such stamps from all the Arabian countries.