Arabian peninsula biodiversity

This video is called Wildlife Heritage of Saudi Arabia.

CEPF Eastern Afromontane Hotspot launched in Arabian Peninsula

Thu, Feb 14, 2013

During a well-attended international event in January 2013, hosted by the Saudi Wildlife Authority at the King Khalid University in Abha, Saudi Arabia, the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) launched its plan to invest $9.8 million over five years in conserving the Eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot. The hotspot is made up of natural areas stretching from Saudi Arabia to Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

In the Arabian Peninsula portion of the hotspot, located along the coast of western Yemen and southwestern Saudia Arabia, 110 species of plants are known to be found only in this region, including the Centaurothamnus maximus, a member of the daisy family. Seven bird species are also unique to this part of the hotspot, such as the Yemen linnet, a species of finch. The area also is important for migratory birds, with an estimated 1.5 million storks and birds of prey using the highlands of the Arabian Peninsula and Ethiopia as a flyway each year.

“The Arabian Peninsula is incredibly important for its unique natural attributes and culture,” said Patricia Zurita, executive director of CEPF. “We are eager to work with regional universities, foundations and other partners to provide grants that support local civil society groups in their efforts to protect nature and improve livelihoods.”

In the Arabian Peninsula, biodiversity is closely associated with agricultural landscapes such as the traditional terrace agriculture, which creates micro-climates that are favorable to plants and reptiles. “The decline of traditional agricultural techniques is one of the main threats to biodiversity, together with unsustainable use of water resources and urbanization,” said Ibrahim Khader, regional director for BirdLife International’s Middle East Division, which will administer the CEPF investment in the Arabian Peninsula. “The conservation of biodiversity in the region will also result in the protection of important cultural heritage and traditions.”

There is a substantial gap in terms of natural resources conservation between Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Protected areas and conservation efforts are strong in Saudi Arabia, and have yielded positive results, such as the reintroduction to the wild of the Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx). On the other hand, Yemen has only six formal protected areas, and only three on the mainland. CEPF’s strategy seeks to act on the opportunity that regional cooperation could provide to improve conservation and human well-being.

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The Saudi Wildlife Authority, Yemen’s Ministry of the Environment, biologists and other stakeholders from the peninsula provided data and helped guide CEPF’s investment strategy.

CEPF will target its funding in the Arabian Peninsula to supporting civil society organizations working in Yemen. A first call for proposals was launched in September 2012, and a second call will be launched very soon. Please follow the Eastern Afromontane Regional Implementation Team (consisting of BirdLife International, IUCN and the Ethiopian Wildlife and Natural History Society) on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CEPF.EAM to stay updated about calls for proposals and events in the region.

Let us hope that the Saudi rulers will not divert money for wildlife to buying yet more US American, British, German, Canadian, etc. weapons for invading other countries, shooting Saudi pro-democracy demonstrators, arresting women for driving cars, etc. Quite the contrary, that weapons budget should be converted to care for the environment.

White House mum on reports of CIA drone base in Saudi Arabia (worldtribune.com)
Saudi Arabian jets ‘aiding US strikes on Yemen’ (telegraph.co.uk)
CIA using Saudi base for drone assassinations in Yemen (guardian.co.uk)
Report reveals secret US drone base in Saudi Arabia (dawn.com)

8 thoughts on “Arabian peninsula biodiversity”

The Middle East would rather spend its money on funding terrorists then the environment. I would hazard to guess that whatever is left over would trickle down to programs such as these. It is just the way the world is these days.
I really enjoyed the video. I love learning about the different animals in the different countries in the world. No countries have the same animals. Each country is unique as their culture, religion, animals, foods eaten, music, clothing, etc. I love learning about that. I love music from over in the Middle East, Arabia, that area. The older, traditional music. Not the new, pop stuff.
I have a few internationally friends. I have a friend down in South Africa. He works for a safari company. He also hunts big game. He posts pictures of the game he has killed on FB and we talk about them and he tells me what they are, how he cooks them, and how he they taste. I teach him about the animals over here. I also have two friends in India. They are cousins. We talk about the differences in culture between here and there and exchange recipes and stuff. Sometimes it hard to find ingredients for us to make the recipes. I love Indian food and music. Again, the older and traditional stuff. They are great friends of mine, just great people, and I love them lots and I have known them for over five years.
Idk, I just think that instead of blowing up countries and invading them, that governments should concentrate on their countries and stuff on their home fronts, like preserving their animals and ecosystems, human rights, reducing crime, instead of trying to take over other countries and fight wars for other countries that they really have no business in. Like the wars over the Holy Land. How long has that business been going on? For thousands of years. Enough is enough, you know. Like North Korea. Do they have nothing better to do then test nuclear weapons all the time? Really??? I mean, look at their people. They are eating each other! How about their leader, who is fat and happy and eating well, how about instead of spending millions of dollars on nuclear warhead testing, give money for food for the starving people of his country and feed them. And they are really behind on times, like 30 years or so. And so sheltered. He needs to tend to the needs of the people first before trying to blow up his enemies. It is called priorities. The leaders of the countries don’t have their priorities straight and the wrong people are in power. Greed and money is what it comes down to. The people and the animals (and I am going to say it) the horses are suffering for it.
And that is all I really have to say about this right now.

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petrel41 on February 15, 2013 at 4:00 pm said:

Thank you for your comment, Serenity!

As for “The Middle East would rather spend its money on funding terrorists then the environment.”, I would say that may be true for royal families like in Saudi Arabia. But not for the whole Middle East; the women’s movements, the environmentalists, the pro-democracy movements.

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