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Alula: Although Saudi Arabia is home to a wealth of ecosystems, from its coastal mangroves and coral reefs to its high-altitude forests and lush oases, the kingdom is perhaps best known for its deserts.

However, these landscapes, which are becoming increasingly popular among outdoor adventurers, are home to a remarkable range of animals that lived in the region long before the arrival of humans.

Despite the hardy of these animals, given the harshness of their environment, the encroachment of humans into these pristine habitats is raising concerns among conservationists.

Basmah Al-Memen, Middle East Regional Director of United Nations Tourism (formerly the United Nations World Tourism Organisation), said, “With the rapid growth in tourist flows in recent decades, both geographically and in terms of tourism sectors or products Diversity has also come.” Told Arab News.

“Desert destinations have shared the benefits of this double-diversification process, making defining a sustainable approach to tourism development in desert areas an even more important priority.”

As a Saudi citizen, Al-Mamen recognizes the value of the kingdom’s precious ecosystem as a source of revenue and national pride. However, he believes that the tourism industry, developers and travelers themselves have a responsibility to act sustainably.

“In the desert, compared to elsewhere, destinations are still relatively untouched by the adverse impacts of tourism, making sustainability a particularly significant challenge,” he said.

“The messages delivered by UN Tourism are not only preventive in nature, but also provide stakeholders at the international and local levels with the advice and tools needed to tackle poverty and desertification, while recognizing tourism in its role as a vehicle for development. Enables to perform properly. ,

According to UN Tourism, sustainability principles refer to the environmental, economic and socio-cultural aspects of tourism development. A balance must be established between these dimensions to guarantee its long-term sustainability.

Sustainable tourism should therefore make optimal use of environmental resources which are a key element in tourism development, while also maintaining essential ecological processes and helping to conserve natural heritage and biodiversity.

As the largest country in the Middle East, occupying more than 80 percent of the Arabian Peninsula, Saudi Arabia is home to five distinct climate zones.

These biomes include areas of coastal fog desert, southwestern savanna foothills, southwestern montane woodlands, Arabian desert, Nubo-Sindian tropical desert, and semi-desert.

Extensive hunting in the 19th century resulted in the decline of populations of many of Saudi Arabia’s indigenous animals, including the oryx, leopard, and cheetah. The Kingdom has since banned poaching and started breeding programs to help increase the population.

Other wildlife found in these habitats include striped hyenas, mongoose, baboons, sand cats and jumping desert rodents known as jerboas. Tourists willing to brave the region’s harsh temperatures may be rewarded with glimpses of Nubian ibex, sand gazelles, or a whole range of reptiles.

Occupying approximately 25 percent of Saudi Arabia’s area, the Rub’ al-Khali, also known as the Empty Quarter, is not just what its name suggests. The world’s largest sandy desert is truly home to a dizzying array of wildlife.

Likewise, the state’s bushlands, steppes, mangroves, volcanic fields, palm oases and mountain ranges are teeming with creatures – nesting, hunting, feeding and burrowing, many of them out of sight, protected only by the cool of night. Come out in hours.

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Perhaps no animal of the desert is better recognized than the camel. Its iconic status has led the United Nations and Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Culture to designate 2024 as the “Year of the Camel”.

This year, Saudi Arabia will host a number of camel-focused events and special venues to educate the public about these much-loved “ships of the desert.”

Just last week, the second ever AlUla Camel Cup was celebrated in the pristine north-western region of the kingdom. The four-day event focused on the animal that has become synonymous with the country’s identity.

The camel has been the Bedouin’s best friend as well as a loyal companion and lifeline for centuries. Even the Prophet Muhammad depended on camels for transportation and as a source of food and fuel.

Camels aren’t the only animals that make headlines. Saudi Arabia’s National Wildlife Center and the Saudi Green Initiative are working hard to ensure that none of the kingdom’s creatures are overlooked.

Assigning the task of championing an animal during a specific year, month or day has been helpful in raising awareness about the well-being and conservation of specific species in the area.

In 2022, the Royal Commission for AlUla launched a campaign for the recognition of “International Arabian Leopard Day”. In 2023, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously designated 10 February as “International Day of the Arabian Leopard”.

The Arabian leopard once enjoyed a territory spanning a large part of the Arabian Peninsula from southern Jordan to Yemen.

But, as human encroachment on its habitat over the years has resulted in a decline in its natural prey, the International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the big cat as a critically endangered species.

Saudi Arabia has long been at the forefront of animal conservation, with the Imam Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Royal Reserve Development Authority reintroducing more than 220 endangered species into the kingdom’s royal reserves over the past five seasons.

Much of this has been done in conjunction with sustainable tourism initiatives, designed to protect the state’s ecosystem while providing jobs, services and prosperity to local communities.

For example, the lush oasis of Al-Ula, in the ancient deserts of northwestern Saudi Arabia, punctuated by bizarre rock formations with their dramatic silhouettes, has been continuously occupied by humans since before the 12th century.

Throughout that time, animals have been vital to the livelihoods of the region and its human inhabitants.

In line with Saudi Vision 2030, the Royal Commission for AlUla has launched an initiative to rehabilitate 65,000 hectares of barren land, activate the space and revive the harmony between humans and nature – an organic partnership that has supported the region for millennia. Is defined.

Apart from AlUla, almost every other desert location in the kingdom has introduced curated tours that take humans into the wilderness with the intention of enjoying, observing and respecting the animals that live there.

The Kingdom has made significant progress in ensuring its animals continue to thrive in a rapidly changing world and is a nation that aims to become a major tourism magnet in the years to come.

But with more people, vehicles and infrastructure coming to the desert, it is a collective responsibility to ensure that visitors do so without disturbing these precious ecosystems and their animal inhabitants.