The occasion of the Riyadh Conservation Forum, held at NCWCD HQ
during October 1995 provided an opportunity for many experts in
wildlife conservation to share their views about how we can work
together in conserving and developing our natural resources. The
meeting was a most stimulating event at which I was able to reflect
upon progress to date, and to consider how best to move forward.
In his key note address to the gathering, H.R.H. Prince Saud Al-Faisal
spoke of the need to “look regionally and act locally” if we are
to be successful in conserving wildlife. It was a point well made
since in the end the focus of regional conservation responsibility
does lie in the hands of national and local conservation authorities.
The regional approach demands close cooperation and it is our
bounden duty to work together in this field. Indeed, Islamic teaching
recognises the significance of natural ecosystems as an essential
and integral part of the world in which we live. It further stresses
the role of humankind as a custodian of nature. In my own address
to the Forum I examined these points in some detail and concluded
that the unified approach will serve us best, not only in the
political and developmental spheres, but also in the field of
conservation. By improving regional cooperation, I argued, the
local conservation organizations, and through them, conservation
in the region, could become self-reliant, efficient and more beneficial
to our people.
This issue of Arabian Wildlife explores a wide range of the peninsula’s
natural history, from spiders to sharks, and from our smallest
mammals, the desert mice, to our largest, the whales that live
off our shores. It also brings good news on a number of important
fronts. We are delighted that the Arabian Leopard Trust has secured
both “Nimrod Felix” the beleaguered male whose plight we have
highlighted in previous issues of Arabian Wildlife magazine, and
a potential mate, a captive bred female leopard generously loaned
to the Trust from the breeding centre in Oman. It is also a matter
of great pride to my own organisation, the NCWCD that we are able
to report the first ever record of captive-reared houbara bustards
breeding in the wild. This work, coordinated by researchers at
the the National Wildlife Research Centre, is of tremendous significance
for the future of the houbara bustard in Arabia and it will greatly
encourage further efforts in this field.
I hope that, as a reader of Arabian Wildlife, you will share our
joy at these events and will continue to do everything that you
can to conserve and protect our wildlife.
Finally, I should like to thank the companies who have advertised
in this issue of the magazine, and also those who have done so
in previous issues. By doing so, you are helping us to create
a truly international magazine that is reaching readers throughout
the world. I invite other companies to support our efforts by
advertising in future editions of Arabian Wildlife. Details of
how to do so are obtainable from the publisher, Planet Publishing
Ltd., whose address is given on the right of this page.
Professor Abdulaziz H. Abuzinada