Arabian Oryx Sanctuary stripped of WHS status; labourers stranded after cyclone
What the article did not mention is that Oman is the first country to have a World Heritage Site deleted from the list since UNESCO's Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage came into force in 1972. The Arabian Oryx Sanctuary in Al Wusta is to be removed.
Poaching and environmental degradation have reduced the number of Arabian Oryx there from 450 to 65 since 1996, with only four breeding pairs, according to a press release from Unesco.
The World Heritage Committee considered that the decision by the Oman authorities to reduce the size of the reserve by 90% to allow for hydrocarbon exploration was in "contravention of the Operational Guidelines of the Convention. This was seen by the Committee as destroying the outstanding universal value of the site which was inscribed in 1994."
Given the rapid decline in numbers of the Arabian Oryx within the last ten years, it could hardly have been claimed that the animals were being protected. The reserve has also been home to two other endangered species, the Arabian Gazelle and the Houbara Bustard.
Another story in the news today is of the plight of over 1,000 Indians and almost 400 Nepalis who have been stranded in Oman following the departure of their employment company. The Chinese Sino Hydro Corporation in Oman, which had been working on an irrigation project, left the country when Muscat Municipality refused both to pay for work done and to give the company more time to clear the mud residue left after the cyclone.
While the Indian authorities have begun to step in to assist its nationals, it's claimed that the Nepalis had been brought to Oman directly and illegally by the Chinese company, in contravention of Nepal's labour laws that require the recruiting agency to sign an agreement with the Nepal government.
Agents of the company are said to have told the labourers to look for work elsewhere in Oman, which they can't do because they don't have the paperwork.
The Nepali authorities contend that they have no knowledge of the matter, since they have no mission in Oman, and they have received no report from the embassy in Saudi Arabia which overlooks Nepalis in Gulf countries without a mission.
Let's hope these guys can get home soon.
Comments
muscati wrote:
Blue Chi wrote:
The news are pathetic in this country, the main headline in Al Watan newspaper today says that the Government REQUESTED the removal of the Sanctuary from the list IN ORDER TO PROTECT the oryx.
bowsher wrote:
Truth be told, hydrocarbon prospectivity in this area is vital for Oman's future. Ideally this should be carried out in an environmentally sensitive manner. The strict rules of UNESCO might mean it has to be de-listed as a WHS but there is no need for this to impact the reserve too negatively. If I read the news on this correctly, the site was listed in 1994. In 1996 it had an Oryx population of 450, which has gone down to 65 now. I am not saying that listing the site as a WHS was bad, but it does seem that there wasn't much gained out of it for the Oryx themselves. Incidentally, there was a visit recently by UNESCO officials during which I am sure this was discussed.
newsbriefs wrote:
The only graphical representation of the area of the reserve that I have seen dates from a document dated 1992.
The westernmost boundary passes roughly north-south through Hayma, which is the chief town in the region of Al Wusta, lying between Sharqiyah and Dhofar. The reserve extended eastwards as far as the Arabian Sea, especially towards the southeast.
On the WHS section of Unesco's website, there are links to documents dating from 2003 showing a growing concern at the apparent lack of management of the reserve, and the lack of legislation and enforcement to define a boundary.
Royal Decree 11/2007 published 28th January finally published a revised definition of the area of the sanctuary and it is presumably this action which has steeled the resolve of the WHS committee to strike the sanctuary off the WHS list.
newsbriefs wrote:
Today I have read in another forum two different but not altogether divergent explanations of the demise of the Arabian Oryx in Oman.
As Rangers became unavailable, partly, if not mostly, as a result of lack of funding for training and salaries, the Oryx roamed beyond the boundaries of the sanctuary towards the boundaries of the UAE. Many allegations of poaching brought by Omanis claimed that the animals had been captured from across the international border for private collections in the emirates.
The other explanation is that the Harasis tribe were appointed as Rangers and succeeded in raising the total population of the herd to over 400. But another tribe, the Januba, felt sidelined, and connived with "the smuggling of females with calves for sale to so-called recreational farms up the Gulf." The scale of this smuggling was such that the Oryx had to be brought back into protected pens.
Furthermore, PDO's six-year moratorium on exploration in the area overlapping the sanctuary has expired.
It's still the case that the World Heritage Committee was dissatisfied with the lack of documentation and evidence of interest in protecting the Arabian Oryx in Oman.
Further comments are welcome. Also see Muscati http://www.muscati.com/2007... who is more specific about the poaching.
newsbriefs wrote:
An article in the New Zealand Herald of 13th August 2007, by Alexander Gillespie, professor in law, University of Waikato, http://www.nzherald.co.nz/s... states that "The overt irony was that Oman wanted the [Arabian Oryx] site delisted.
newsbriefs wrote:
The Oman Observer of 12th November 2007 reports that " a senior official of Muscat Wastewater Services Company (OWSC) has said, "Sino Hydro Corporation is to resume work within a few weeks. We have sorted out all issues with the company."
Did that come in time for the Nepali labourers?
The Arabian Oryx Sanctuary used to be so vast that it was bigger than some countries in the GCC. It's sad that the government has reduced its size by 90%. This is something I didn't know.
As for China's Sino Hydro Corp, they are the country executing the Muscat Waste Water Project, which they had underbid other competitors by tens of millions. If I recall correctly, they were 30 million rials lower than the next bidder. They have been behind schedule right from the start and they had tried to withdraw from the project once before. This time it appears that the management have left the country and left the workers on their own, and left open trenches all over Muscat. And this is probably before Cyclone Gonu came to town.
Oman should sue Sino Hydro for this. This is a vital project for Oman. The company's decision to skip town like this means that Muscat Municipality will have to bring engineers to go through all the work that the company has completed and re-tender the work for the remaining portion. The price is going to go up by tens of millions and it will be many months before a new contractors starts working on completing the project.