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The
identification of Important Plant Areas (IPA's) is an
obligation of all countries that are signatories to
the Convention on Biological Diversity. This spring,
the Arabian Plant Specialist Group held a two-part workshop
and a field survey hosted by Saudi Arabia's National
Commission for Conservation and Development, as part
of its program to develop a comprehensive list of IPA's
in the APSG region. The workshop and field survey were
led by Dr. Anthony Miller, Principal Scientific Officer
of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh.
A one-day
orientation workshop, held immediately before the field
survey on April 16th, was designed mainly for the participants
in the survey. The field survey, conducted from April
17th - 26th, visited the main sites on Saudi Arabia's
provisional list of IPA's in the southwestern part of
the country. These included Wadi Lajb, Jabal al-Qahar,
Jabal Ku'aythil, Wadi Baysh, Jabal Fayfa', Wadi Jawwah,
Tamniyah, Raydah, Jabal as-Sudah, Ballasmar, Shallal
Dahna', Tanumah, Al-Balas, Jabal Uthrub, Jabal Shada,
Jabal Batharah, and three traditional himas (al-Fawqa',
al-Azahirah, Al Humayd).
Some
of these sites are existing or proposed protected areas,
while others may require other approaches to the conservation
of their flora. Juniper woodlands are more extensive
and dense than in Yemen; however, in some areas they
are affected by die-back and die-off that could be related
to subtle changes in weather patterns. Dragon tree Dracaena
serrulata woodlands are also quite extensive, but suffer
from a lack of regeneration. Both species are generally
associated with cloud and fog; it should be possible
to identify indicator species for fog (particularly
mosses and lichens, such as Usnea). Social surveys asking
old people about past land use and climate could also
be fruitful. Indicator species of relict valley forest
could be used to predict further sites of forest refugia.
A new tree for Saudi Arabia, probably Celtis toka (Ulmaceae)
was found in Wadi Lajb. The himas visited are important
examples of community-based conservation; much could
be learned from this system and lessons applied to other
IPAs. A similar survey is planned to cover other parts
of Saudi Arabia in the spring of 2007.
Following
the field survey the main workshop was held on April
29th - 30th, to review the results of the field survey,
to review the work accomplished toward identifying IPA's
within the APSG region and the work that remains to
be done, to familiarize the participants with the IUCN
criteria for identifying IPA's and the work required
to make these criteria easy to apply within the APSG
region, and to develop draft protocols for the identification
of IPA's within the APSG region, on the basis of the
IUCN IPA criteria. An APSG Steering Committee meeting
was also held in conjunction with the workshop.
Of the
APSG member countries, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Yemen
have prepared provisional lists of IPA's. Over the coming
months, the IPA's Working Group will be coordinating
efforts in conjunction with the responsible authorities
in each country, to develop provisional lists of IPA's
in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Sinai, Iraq, Kuwait,
Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. It is
hoped that these will be drafted before the next APSG
meeting to be held in Kuwait, in November 2006.
The APSG
welcomes all suggestions regarding sites that may merit
consideration as Important Plant Areas in the region.
Suggestions may be sent to the APSG web site or to the
APSG Chairman, Prof. Dr. Abdulaziz H. Abuzinada, National
Commission for Conservation and Development, PO Box
61681, Riyadh 11575, Saudi Arabia e-mail: info@ncwcd.gov.sa
and abuzinada@conserv-train.org.sa .
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