Abu Dhabi: «The Gulf»
The Environment Agency in Abu Dhabi has completed a successful mission to transfer 20 Arabian Oryx to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, which was launched in the Shaumari Wildlife Reserve, as part of the Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Program for the resettlement of the Arabian Oryx in the countries of dispersal, which is considered one of the most successful conservation programs species in the world.
This launch represents an important step for the resettlement of the Arabian Oryx, enhancing its numbers in the wild in its natural environments within wide reserves within the areas in which it previously lived, and the formation of growing herds capable of self-reliance and roaming freely in their natural habitats, under effective management and a long protection plan. term.
The launch comes within the framework of the memorandum of understanding signed between the Environment Agency in Abu Dhabi and the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature on a project to develop a vital herd of Arabian Oryx in the Shaumari Wildlife Reserve in Jordan, which is implemented by the Authority in cooperation with the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature in Jordan, in order to enhance the efforts of both parties to work To establish a vital and sustainable herd of Arabian Oryx in the reserve, through diversifying genetic resources and rehabilitating pastures and natural habitats.
The project aims to release 20 heads of the Arabian Oryx into the Shaumari Wildlife Reserve, and to ensure their adaptation to the environment of the region, in addition to improving the genetic structure of the Arabian Oryx herd, and reducing the possibility of genetic imbalances to create a lively herd and the sustainability of suitable and sufficient pastoral areas for the Arabian Oryx individuals, by improving the load The project aims to develop a program and an educational center for school students to increase environmental awareness towards breeding and resettlement programmes, implement an eco-tourism program, benefit from the Arabian Oryx breeding program, and increase Awareness of visitors to the reserve.
The group that will be released was chosen to include a genetically diverse and homogeneous herd from the breeding group managed by the authority in its life management facilities, where 20 heads of the Arabian Oryx were transferred to the Shaumari Wildlife Reserve coming from the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, where the herd will be subject before the launch to veterinary control in pens Acclimatization in the reserve, while post-launch monitoring will continue to ensure it is in good health and able to adapt well to its new surroundings.
Ahmed Al Hashemi, Executive Director of the Terrestrial and Marine Biodiversity Sector at the authority, said: “The release of the Arabian Oryx in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a continuation of the efforts initiated by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God rest his soul, in preserving the cultural and natural heritage in the peninsula. The Arabian Peninsula, and in implementation of the program of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, to resettle the Arabian Oryx in the areas of its natural spread, which was launched in 2007, and contributed to enhancing the numbers of Oryx in the wild.
He added that this program contributed to strengthening efforts to protect the Arabian Oryx and increase its numbers in the wild, as well as changing the status of the Arabian Oryx in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature from “threatened” to “vulnerable to extinction” in 2011 in a step considered one of the most important achievements. in the field of species resettlement at the global level.
Al-Hashemi pointed out that the program contributed to the increase in the number of the Arabian Oryx within its natural and historical spread in the State of the Emirates, the Sultanate of Oman and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, following the release of more than 1,000 Arabian Oryx, noting that the country today harbors more than 10,000 heads and Abu Dhabi embraces regarding 5,000 The largest group of Arabian Oryx in the world is one of them, and this confirms the commitment of the Abu Dhabi government to support initiatives aimed at restoring the Arabian Oryx to its natural habitat.