1.1 SURVEY PURPOSE
1.1.1 Project Background
Wadi Rum is a popular tourism spot in the
south of Jordan (Map 1). First
singled out for protection in 1978 by IUNC/WWF (Clarke 1979), a 560 km2
reserve area (Map 2) was finally set up in 1998 through a World Bank project.
The Royal Society for the Conservation of
Nature became responsible for managing tourism and environmental development
in Wadi Rum Reserve after signing a contract with the Aqaba Regional Authority
in June 1998. Financial
assistance comes from the World Bank's Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Second
Tourism Development Project. This
project targets four areas in Jordan for increasing sustainable and
environmentally sound tourism, tourism related employment, and income.
The Wadi Rum component objectives are to increase tourism revenue,
maximize local economic returns, benefit local Bedouin women, and conserve the
ecological and archaeological resources of the site (RSCN 1998b).
Carnivores are good indicators of the health
of a system being at the top of the food chain, and little is known about
large mammals in the Rum area. In
view of the need for identifying the current status of the order Carnivora in
Wadi Rum Reserve, a four-month baseline survey was initiated on 1 December
1998 and ended 31 March 1999. The
carnivore survey in Wadi Rum falls under a group of baseline surveys being
done by the Research and Survey Section in the RSCN to create a database of
knowledge on the ecological status of Rum area. In conjunction with a
Geographical Information System (GIS), this knowledge will serve as a base for
management and monitoring purposes in the future.
1.1.2 Study Objectives
1.2 STUDY AREA
1.2.1 Vegetation
Rum area is characterized by a limited range of
topography and soil types. This
limitation has led to the development of relatively few vegetation types (Map
3). There are three vegetation
types in the reserve (Mr. Maher Quishawi, personal communication):
1. The dominant vegetation type found
in Rum area is the Sand Dune vegetation which is exemplified in wide wadis
like Wadi Rum, Um Ishreen, Marsad, Ramman, etc. and to a lesser extent
alongside wadis. Representation
of this type comes from elements like Haloxylon persicum, Calligonum
spp., Neurada procumbens.
2. The Mediterranean vegetation type
can be found scattered at mountains tops and is represented by elements like Juniperus
phoenica, Pistacia atlantica, Origanum syriacum.
3. Still another type is the Tropical
vegetation type, which is represented by tropical elements like Ochradenus
baccatus, Acacia raddiana, Forsskaolea tenacissima
and.others found scattered along the reserve.
This
description differs from the vegetation map of Jordan (Map
3) where the
Hammada vegetation type is shown inside the reserve's boundaries.
No vegetation typical of the Hammada vegetation type was found.
1.2.2 Topography
High mountain ridges with steep sides and
wide wadis in between characterize the Wadi Rum area.
The northern part of the reserve comprises a five-wadi system
running north-south, parallel to each other.
These are Wadi el Marsad, Wadi Rumman, Wadi Rum, Wadi Um Ishrin and
Wadi Um Harraq (Map 2). The
western, central and southern parts of the area are dominated by
crystalline rocks of the ranted basement and are typified by rugged mountain
ranges and undulating hills and ridges separated by wide, generally
flat-bottomed wadis. The rest
of the area is dominated by very steep-sided, high mountain ridges
with flat or rounded tops of the Rum sandstone group, separated by wide,
flat-bottomed and sandy wadis and sand plains.
1.2.3 Biogeography
The Wadi Rum area is under the influence of
the Sudanian biogeographical region (Sudanian penetration got its name because
it has some physical and biological characters similar to those occurring in
Sudan) as indicated from Map 4, Appendix 1.
Wadi Rum area has a dry desert type of
climate with very hot summers and relatively mild, warm winters.
During the summer, temperatures range from 15-45°C and can exceed 38°C,
whereas in winter, daily temperatures range from 16-31°C, dropping to less than 5°C at night. Annual
rainfall ranges from 50-100mm, concentrated in the winter months, with no
precipitation occurring from June to September. The mean annual relative humidity is about 4%, the prevailing
wind direction is north to northwest, and the average annual wind speed is
about 2.3 knots.
1.2.4 Geology
Precipitous sandstone and sedimentary rocks
are the major characteristics of Rum reserve.
A variety of distinctive plutonic granitoids of the late praterozoic
age are found in the western and central parts of the reserve.
Sedimentary rocks, early palaezoic sandstones, uncomfortably overlie
platonic granitoids and characterize the eastern, northeastern and
southeastern parts of the reserve and are found elsewhere as caps over the
peneplaned surface of the basement. It's
mainly erosion by wind and water that has sculpted the sandstone rocks into a
visually impressive topography of Wadi Rum.
Soil is mostly alluvial, being transported by water, and saline, sandy
and granite.
1.2.5 Culture
From the inscriptions on the rocks in Rum
area, one can see human presence dating back to prehistoric times. Ancient drawings, some of hunting scenes, are scratched or
hammered in the rocks (see outer cover).
Some of the pictures that can be found are of carnivores, like lions (Panthera
leo), leopards (Panthera pardus) and cheetahs (Acynonix jubatus).
Though some of these artistic productions refer back to as early as the
Palaeolithic and the Neolithic periods, most are from the nomadic culture of
the Thamudic period, fifth century B.C. to seventh century A.D. (Borzatti and
Masseti 1991).
In the present time, semi-nomadic and
resident Bedouins of the Howeitat Tribe are settled in Wadi Rum and the
adjoining areas. This tribe is
broken up into seven tribal groups, each utilizing separate territories in the
reserve. Rum village is in the
center of the reserve with other villages like Shakreyeh, Salheyeh, and Disi
on the edges of the reserve.
The
local economy is mostly based on subsistence pastoralism and, recently,
tourism. The Bedouins of Rum that
depend on pastoralism lead their goats and sheep throughout the region
according to the presence of water and availability of vegetation. As Wadi Rum found its way to tourism, many of the Bedouins
settled down in Rum and other villages and are switching from the livestock
industry to tourism.
