10.1
Protected Area Management Recommendations
10.2
Monitoring and Research Recommendations
10.3
Zoning Plan Recommendations
10.1
Protected Area Management Recommendations
There are no
boundaries marked on the ground. It is recommended that these
boundaries should be marked permanently and be clear to everybody including
the rangers, the local people, the tourists and the tour operators. Signs
should be also put on the entrances to the protected area especially in the
main wadis. It should be done under the supervision of the Protected Area's
Manager.
Local people should be recruited in different jobs
especially as rangers and tourist guides. As a result of this recruitment, the
locals well have direct benefits from the protected area. It should also be
taken into consideration that they are the best people to know the area and
the other residents of the protected area.
Permanent rangers stations should be established in
some selected sites in order to ease the work of the rangers in controlling
and monitoring the protected area. These rangers stations can be built in
different locations in the protected area and they should be connected
together with the radi. Proposed sites for these stations include Rum village,
Diseh village and on the southwestern part of the protected area near the
Aqaba track. These rangers stations should be equipped with the necessary
requirements especially water, electricity (Rum Station), telephone (Rum
station), radio station ,GPS unit and binoculars.
Few
limited studies have taken place in Wadi Rum Protected Area, so it is becoming
a place of high attraction for scientists and institutions in different fields
especially botany, herpetology, entomology and human studies (archeology and
anthropology). Several scientific groups were observed visiting the area as
tourists. Special regulations should be set concerning specimens collecting
which is becoming a big problem since most of these specimens are collected by
foreign scientists who take them outside the country and keep them in
herbariums, museums and private collections without any kind of control.
Certain
procedures should be implemented to control the different research groups or
individuals, under the direct supervision of the Royal Society for the
Conservation of Nature. Those research trips should be prioritized according to
the different needs of research and monitoring programs listed in the management
plan.
Off-Road
driving is considered one of the major threats to the vegetation existing in
the big wadis especially in areas where tourism tours is concentrated like
Khor ‘Ajram, Wadi Um ‘Ishrin and Wadi Rum. Limited off road paths for
tourist and local people should marked, maintained and monitored. It is
recommended that a map showing these off road tracks should be put on the main
entrance to the village (in the resthouse and the new visitor center) (see map
10). Monitoring the use of these tracks and their effects on the degradation
of the vegetation should become the responsibility of the protected area’s
ecologist and rangers.
Different
agricultural practices should be banned inside the protected area either from
the local people or the Forestry Department. Old fenced farms were observed in
the protected area especially in the area of Wadi Um Ishrin and Wadi Al
Khishkhash, which were mainly cultivated by barley. The plowing of the soil
and the use of different agrochemical materials will seriously affect the
different natural flora and fauna negatively and will help in the spreading of
different weeds.
Hunting
is considered a serious problem in Rum area. Hunters are either local people
or visitors coming from neighboring countries, mainly Saudi-Arabia. Different
species are being hunted in the area. Hunting in this area lead to the
extinction of several species such as the Arabian Leopard (Panthera pardus)
and the Dorcas Gazelle (Gazella dorcas). Other species are declining
sharply like the Ibex (Capra ibex nubiana), Chukars (Alectoris
chuckar) and Sand Partridge (Ammoperdix heyi). Birds of prey are
often hunted to be kept and then sold as trained birds of prey for hunting of
other animals. Different species of these birds are being transferred outside
the country especially the Peregrines (Falco peregrinus), Sakers (Falco
cherrug) and Lanners (Falco biarmicus).
Strict
enforcement should be implemented by the rangers and by the law enforcement
section in the RSCN in cooperation with the Badia Police and the Costumes at Al
Mudawara and Durra borders.
Over-grazing
is a big problem all around the country. Rum area is considered one of the
areas that is facing a moderately high grazing pressure due to the presence of
different domestic grazing animals such as goats, Najdi sheep and camels.
These animals vary in their diet and ability in grazing in the mountains and
steep areas of Rum. The Camels and the Najdi Sheep are unable to graze in the
mountains and steep areas, so they are always seen in the big main wadis while
the goats are seen everywhere from the top of the rocky mountains to the sandy
big wadis.
Grazing
should be banned in some areas especially the mountains in order to control the
competition on the feeding areas between the livestock and the Ibex (Capra
ibex nubiana). These mountains include Jebel Marsad , Jebel Qattar, Jebel
Qabr ‘Amra and parts of Jebel Rum. Grazing should also be controlled in the
main wadis in the wilderness area in the protected area.
Launching a public awareness program is very critical in an area like
Wadi Rum. A well organized public awareness program can have a very effective
impact on the way the area with all its resources is treated. Also, this program
can help in clarifying the protected area’s aims and the RSCN’s objectives
in managing the area. Lectures for local people should be arranged. Establishing
nature clubs in the schools is recommended to have a young aware generation who
cares about the area from a natural point of view. Leaflets, posters and
newsletters should be designed by the public awareness section to be put in
ýRum village
Sand
Extraction is considered one of the new problems that is facing the protected
area. Sand is mainly used for constructions in Rum village and the surrounding
villages. This activity should be banned inside the protected area. The
protected area manager and rangers should control this activity especially on
the main roads since they are easily accessed.
