FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS (FAO)

GOVERNMENT OF THE SULTANATE OF OMAN

FAO-NETHERLANDS PARTNERSHIP PROGRAMME SUPPORT TO
SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT IN LOW FOREST COVER COUNTRIES

By

Salah Rouchiche

and assisted by
Mohamed Salem Abdallah Al-Masheikhi, El Haj Bakhit Ahmed
and Salah Eldin Abdallah Mohamed Agieb
Rome, August 2002

FOREWORD

According to FRA 2000¹⁷, 71 countries, most developing, have a forest cover of less than 10 % of their land area. The open-ended International Expert Meeting on Special Needs and Requirements of Developing Low Forest Cover Countries (LFCCs) and Unique Types of Forests, held in Teheran in October 1999, agreed to prepare proposals to secure international support to sustainable forest management in LFCCs. The Netherlands approved support to targeted outputs and activities as a follow up to the “Teheran Process”. Country studies for Africa and the Near East regions were selected to outline the causes and effects of deforestation and degradation together with lessons learned and priority needs to enhance the role of planted trees. The Sultanate of Oman, as one of the country case studies selected, is detailed in this report.

OVERVIEW AND COUNTRY CONTEXT

Brief geographical description

One of the Gulf countries, the Sultanate of Oman is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the east, the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf to the north, Yemen to the south and the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to the west. The coastline and the land boundaries are respectively 2,092 km and 1,374 km long. Oman is devoid of any significant water body.

Governmental and legislative framework

Government institutions include the Council of Ministers (CM), the National Defence Council and the National Development Council. Headed by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, the CM includes a cabinet of 27 Ministerial Departments. There are seven government institutions, among which the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) and the Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Environment (MRME), have major responsibilities in environmental protection. The country is divided into five Regions, three Governorates and 59 Wilayates. Being an absolute monarchy, Oman has no formal constitution. Since 1996, the country has a bicameral legislature, which includes the Consultative Council (elected members) and the State Council (appointed members). The legal system¹⁸ subscribes to the Islamic Law, Sharia; it guarantees basic civil liberties for Omani citizens.

Planning procedures and state of economy

Planning and decision-making are highly centralized, many decisions being taken by Royal Decree or by the government, which is headed by the Sultan. Some level of decentralization exists at governorate level, where specific programmes and projects are formulated, implemented and managed by the local authorities. Since 1970 the sultanate has moved from an underdeveloped, poor country, towards a modern wealthy nation with a GDP per capita of US$ 9,500. Indices of development, per capita gross national product, infant mortality, literacy rates and availability of social services validate the positive change brought about by the government’s policies. Sultan Qaboos holds concurrently the functions of Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Defence and controls all ministerial appointments and cabinet reshuffles.

Environmental characteristics

The Sultanate of Oman’s main environmental features are:

Geology: Oman consists basically of two geological regions: the Oman mountains and their adjacent areas in the north, and the desert area and the southern mountains. The predominant formations, which are of interest from the point of view of collecting water resources, belong to the post-nappe autochthonous and autochthonous units.

Landscapes and soils: The main landscape and soils classifications are:

• The Musandam Peninsula at the extreme north which is a deeply fissured fjord-like landscape;
• The rugged Hajar Mountains with their limestone sediment structure, which allow water to flow regularly in the deeply cut ravines of the wadis;
• The Batinah coast referred to as the garden of the Sultanate is a fertile plain. Of alluvial type, the silt and fine sand soils are the most suitable area of the country for agricultural activities;
• The Ja’alan region, which is home to the Wahibah sands, extends 200 km to the Indian Ocean shoreline. The soils here also form the most suitable agricultural lands;
• The vast, environmentally hostile flat wasteland plains of Central Oman extend 800 km from the Hajjar to the Dhofar Mountains; and
• Home to the frankincense trees and to the most lush woodlands and rangelands of Oman, the region of Dhofar covers 100,000 km² of diverse landscapes comprising the high dunes of the Rub Al-Khali, the dry plateau, the steep mountain escarpments, the foothills and the coastal plains.

Climate: Oman has three major climatic zones:

• Northern coastal sub-tropical climate with very hot and humid summers, mild winters and heavy rainstorms;
• Dry climate (scarce rainfall, high temperatures) dominant in the deserts and gravel plains of central Oman; and
• Tropical climate under the influence of the light southwest monsoon that brings cool winds, rainfall and dense clouds and fog from the Indian Ocean to the southern Dhofar region.

Precipitations along the coast and on the interior plains range from 20-150 mm/year reaching up to 700 mm/year in the mountains.

Biological resources: Despite its arid climate, Oman is a country of high biodiversity, particularly in regions with greater precipitations. Rangelands and woodlands harbour 1,208 plant species, of which 78 are endemic. Oman counts 70 mammal, 461 bird, 75 reptile and thousands of invertebrate species.

Land resources: Recent evidence indicates that sizeable woodland and rangeland areas have been lost to agricultural and urban development in the last decades. Despite the surveys and studies carried out, the status of cultivable lands in Oman is not clear as it varies from 2.223 million ha¹⁹ to 269,000 ha²⁰. Al-Batinah coastal plain accounts for about 40% of the land area under cultivation in the country.

Surface water and groundwater resources: Unreliable, surface water flows mostly in the form of intermittent and ephemeral watercourses. Spate flows are important for recharging the aquifers of the coastal region and interior plains. Wadi Dayqa (30 km) is the only perennial flow, besides some springs originating from the Hajar Mountains’ limestone and the Dhofar Jabals. Annual groundwater recharge and abstraction are estimated at 1,239 Mm³ and 850 Mm³ respectively. The capacity for water desalination was 41 Mm³ in 1991, representing about 4.5% of the annual water consumption of the Sultanate. In 1993, treated wastewater effluents amounted to 25.6 Mm³. Agriculture uses 94% of the total water consumed in the country. A water deficit of 286 Mm³ was recorded in 1990.

Population, demography and employment

Oman’s fast growing population (growth rate = 3.49%) reached 2,264,590 in 1997 and its density 10.65 pers./km². The population includes significant minorities of Indians, Pakistanis, and East Africans. The net rural-urban migration rate is estimated at 1.42 migrants/1,000 inhabitants. Women play an active role; they are given career opportunities and the right for equal pay. The 1995 labour force (which includes a high percentage of foreigners) was 430,000, of which 40% had an agricultural occupation. A high proportion of the Omani population is employed by the government, or works in the wholesale and retail sector. Economic development has resulted in social transformation, decreasing the importance of the tribal element.

Economic overview

The country’s economic performance is closely tied to the oil industry’s fortunes. Petroleum accounts for 75% of export earnings and government revenues, and for 40% of the country’s GDP of US$ 20.8 billion, whose composition by sector in 1994 was: 3% agriculture, 55 % industry and 42 % services. Development priorities aim at reducing dependency on oil exports by encouraging non-oil income-generating projects and private sector investment and correcting regional imbalances.

Main agricultural production systems

Oman’s agriculture occupies 100,000 ha (60 % irrigated). With 10 million trees planted, date palms make up 45% of the total cultivated area or 70% of the area under fruit cultivation (40,000 ha). Grains (barley, wheat) and vegetables represent 19.2% (11,092 ha) and 16.8 % (9,732 ha) of the total area under cultivation respectively. The 1982 livestock population was estimated at over 1 million heads (831,000 goats and sheep, 126,000 cattle and 126,000 camels).

Status of agricultural sector in national economy

Despite agriculture’s 9.6% mean annual growth rate, the country depends largely on imported food. Self-sufficiency in 1988 ranged between 0% for rice, beans, sugar, and plant oil, to 64% for vegetables, 105% for dates, 408% for some fruit and 26% for animal products. During the period 1967-1989, the monetary contribution of agriculture and fisheries to the GDP increased from 14.3 to 117 million ORIs.²¹ However, its share declined from 34.6 – 3.6 % of the GDP. The sector is given priority by the government, which intends to further encourage its development.

CURRENT STATUS AND MANAGEMENT OF FORESTS AND RANGES

Forestry and range data and information systems and surveys

Thematic maps are scarce and often outdated and the development of digital geo-spatial databases is proceeding slowly and without coordination with other stakeholders. Except a few, often outdated qualitative descriptions of the country’s natural resource base, basic data on area occupied by woodlands and rangelands, available biomass, and wood volume stocks is severely lacking. The important shift in vegetation cover and land occupation following deforestation, rangeland degradation and woodland/rangeland distribution allocation is impossible to assess in terms of area loss or environmental impact. The existing basic authoritative studies and documents published following project implementation and special expeditions are difficult to trace, due to poor archiving systems in the public administration.

Forestry and range surveys

Except for a qualitative investigation²² carried out for Ash-Sharqia region, there has been no comprehensive survey of the woodlands/rangelands estate in the country. Rough estimations derived from an approximate vegetation map of Dhofar show that rangelands and woodlands occupy about 400,000 and 100,000 ha respectively, with stocking rates ranging from 10 to 1,500 trees per ha.

Characteristic features of Oman’s woodlands and rangelands

The arid and semi-arid lands of Oman can hardly be differentiated into “single purpose use” categories; it is difficult to differentiate woodland, bush, shrub-land, forestland and grassland since trees, shrubs, herbs and forbs tend to be closely inter-mixed and ecologically inter-dependent. Vegetation is open, ranging from woodlands composed of more or less continuous cover of trees and shrubs, to scattered or isolated trees and shrubs sheltering meagre grass. Predominant in Oman, these forms of vegetation cover (at times rather dense), remain principally seen and used as a source of forage and browse as well as a source of energy and construction wood. They belong to an overlapping woodland and rangeland land use system. There are however a number of extensive woodland communities, that form an important natural resource. The State owns woodlands and rangelands. Practically, however, these are managed and controlled by tribes. Oman’s man-made forests amount to 920 ha²³. Little is known about the products/services available from woodlands/rangelands, though they contribute much to fodder needs. The revenues and employment secured from rangelands/woodlands are not documented, though undoubtedly very important.

Woodland/rangeland degradation

Woodlands/rangelands rate of degradation is alarming. Some formerly densely covered woodland areas of Dhofar have now only scattered trees. Many range/woodland areas in northern Oman have lost much of their vegetation cover, and some palatable species and display poor regeneration ability. Levels and extent of degradation are not known as there has been no inventory or monitoring activities carried out to quantify the status or change in these. But, on account of visual descriptions, degradation must affect more or less intensely all the woodlands and rangelands of the country. Woodland/rangeland degradation as a result of shifts in vegetation cover and land use are believed to be considerable. However they have not been well assessed in terms of area loss and environmental impact, due to the absence of national survey and monitoring capacity. This is due to mismanagement subsequent to land nationalization, and woodland and rangeland allocation to urban and agricultural development of the country in its modernization phase.

Structure and importance of trees outside forests

Trees outside forests include:

• Orchard plantations covered 36,990 ha in 1990;
• There are no official data on the total urban and peri-urban forest areas planted. These constitute the greater part of tree planting in the country and include line tree-plantings, parks, gardens; and
• Road plantations, often composed of water-demanding species, exist over hundreds of kilometres throughout the country.

Woodland/rangeland environmental significance

The national biodiversity is credited with over 1,200 plant species, most of which make up the natural woodland and rangeland vegetation estate, which constitutes vital habitats to a large community of animal life. The importance of natural rangelands and woodlands with regard to biodiversity is reflected by the precedence the National Biodiversity Strategy sets upon protecting all forms of natural vegetation.

Economic and social significance of woodlands and rangelands

The populations depending on the range and woodland estates are chiefly pastoral nomadic communities estimated at some 70,000 people thinly spread over the entire country. The economic viability of a pastoral household depends upon having enough manpower to manage the livestock it owns. Increasing numbers of herders are recruiting foreign labour to tend their animals. Rangelands and woodlands form the major source of nutrition for livestock, which constitute a chief basis of rural community income. Their steady degradation and loss of productivity and carrying capacity have a profoundly negative impact on rural peoples’ livelihoods. The country’s modernization has increased the dependence on imported agricultural products, which compete strongly with the national production, affecting even more deeply the pastoral communities and some farmers. Natural rangelands/woodlands supply 8 % and 47 % of the total animal requirements of the northern and southern regions of Oman, respectively. No information is available either regarding the wood production capacity of woodlands or the level of wood products’ consumption national woodlands and rangelands. NWFPs are still harvested, processed and utilized in various ways, though it is difficult to assess accurately their production capacity and actual consumption per category. The main products used to satisfy local community requirements or to generate family revenue are:

• Oleo-gums-resins, of which frankincense is the most important economically and socially;
• Medicinal plants, which constitute the main NWFPs of Oman;
• Dyes and tannins used in cosmetics and tanning; and
• Handicraft products.

Forestry, in the sense of a sector aiming principally at the production of forest resources, mainly wood products, is practically non-existent in Oman. Rangelands and woodlands, particularly in Dhofar, make an important contribution to the agricultural economy and food security by providing feed for livestock, and constituting an important source of income for the country. The contribution of rangelands to livestock rearing, thus to meat production, may be important, but it does not meet the consumption needs.

Woodland and rangeland management and participation

There is a comprehensive or extensive management programme implementation in the rangelands and woodlands. There is no capacity for the introduction of an authentic participatory approach to woodland/rangeland management along with no significant conservation, rehabilitation or management programme, where such an approach could be implemented. The Rangeland Department of the MAF is nevertheless developing management tools by undertaking the following:

• Periodic ecological assessment of rangeland resources since 1995;
• Forest nursery development in Salalah with an annual production capacity of 80,000 seedlings and publishing a forest nursery manual;
• Pilot reforestation demonstrations in 21 fenced plots totalling 178.6 ha;
• Arboretum of 4 ha, in Salalah, comprising 60 species and 1,220 trees; and
• Development of a vegetation map indicating the importance and distribution of rangeland/woodlands in Dhofar region.

INSTITUTIONAL, LEGAL, POLICY AND PLANNING FRAMEWORK

State institutions in charge of woodland, range and desertification control matters

Several State institutions are concerned with forestry and range matters, particularly:

Desertification control matters: The MRME has the overall responsibility over environmental protection, including some form of control over range and forest resources, whose utilization and allocation require the delivery “No Environmental Objection” certificate. It also has prime responsibility for desertification control vested in its General Directorate of Environmental Affairs (GDEA). Other institutions claiming responsibility in desertification control are the MAF, the Ministry of Water Resources (MWR), the Development Council and the Planning Committee for Development and Environment for the Southern Region;

Woodland & rangeland administration and management: The MAF has the responsibility for the country’s natural rangelands, which include pastures, wooded rangelands and woodlands. The General Directorate of Animal Wealth (GDAW) controls livestock breeding programmes and woodlands and rangelands. The conservation and management of the latter is vested in the newly established Rangeland Resources Department. This responsibility is also decentralized to the Directorate General of Agriculture, Animal Wealth and Fisheries (DGAAWF) of Dhofar, which includes a Forest and Range Department²⁴, which has carried out the essential studies and some research related to forests and range in Dhofar and has implemented a number of projects namely in forestry and rangeland improvement.

The main duties of the Department of Rangeland Resources (DRR) are:

• Planning and implementing range and forest resources surveys;
• Protection of the range and forest resources and preparation of necessary plans for their proper management;
• Planning and implementing programmes for reforestation, shelterbelts and windbreaks establishment;
• Developing agroforestry and silvicultural practices and treatments;
• Enforcing the Range and Forestry Law;
• Planning and implementation of an extension-education programme; and
• Preparing and implementing training programmes, seminars and conferences in rangeland management and forestry.

Forestry and rangeland research

Some 15 project proposals for achieving forestry and range research have been included in the Sixth Five-Year Development Plan of the country (2001-2005). They focus on topics in which the present knowledge is inadequate or on the main problems related to range and livestock. The research programme comprises basic studies on:

• Woodland and rangeland resources;
• Range and browse utilization and production systems;
• Livestock husbandry systems;
• Range improvement practices;
• Rangeland/woodland and livestock management; and
• Fodder crops and fodder trees and shrubs.

The Nutrition Division of the Rumais Livestock Research Station has initiated a programme that aims at formulating satisfactory animal feed rations that would include fodder from the indigenous tree species found in natural rangelands and woodlands.

Legal framework of forestry and range and environment

The legal framework can be summarized as follows:

Forestry and rangeland legislation and regulation: The preparation of a law for the conservation of range and forest resources and for grazing regulations is to be published soon. It aims at controlling the human and livestock utilization patterns of both forest and range resources and monitoring their impact. The law envisages conserving the woodland/rangeland resources by preventing their abusive utilization and conversion to other land use types. The proposed law takes into consideration the traditional “Hema” and “San” protection customs. Consultation with local administrators, technical units, local communities, “Firqat” and police is anticipated during the preparation phase of the law.

Other environment-related legislation and regulation: The existing legislation for wildlife and nature conservation is largely based on Decree 26/79 of 15 May 1979 providing authority to establish national parks and reserves and on the Ministerial Decision No. 4 of 6 April 1976, which prohibits hunting, shooting, capture and molestation of “all species of birds in all parts of Oman’s shores and islands at all times”.

Planning framework for forestry and range

Planning and decision-making are highly centralized.

External assistance and cooperation related to forestry and range

External assistance and cooperation include:

International assistance related to forestry and range: The only assistance on record took place through the project “Rangeland Management Programme” (OMA/87/013), executed partially by FAO, 1988-90.

Commitment to international conventions: The Sultanate of Oman signed its commitment to the CBD in 1992 and ratified it by Royal Decree. The Ministry of Regional Municipalities, Environment and Water Resources (MRMEWR) is the key agency responsible for the formulation of the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan. Oman has also ratified other UN Conventions and International Agreements such as the Convention on Climatic Change and the Convention on Combating Desertification.

Country vision

The country vision with relation to woodlands and rangelands resources protection and development is documented in:

National and regional action plans: The National Action Plan to Combat Desertification (NAPCD) formulated in 1993, detailed a long-term strategy (2020) including a number of programmes, which address the woodland and rangeland related issues, including introduction of:

• Rangeland/woodland and livestock management;
• Integrated approaches in land resources utilization and management;
• Improved rangeland husbandry/management systems;
• Major afforestation programmes;
• Campaign of stabilization of shifting sands; and
• Public participation programme to ensure people’s involvement and support.

The NAPCD has experienced little implementation, in part due to a lack of institutional capacity to carry out the programmes aiming at introducing improved land use systems.

Desertification Control Symposium: The Symposium, held in Salalah in March 2002, had the objectives to: review the desertification process in the Governorate of Dhofar; evaluate the efforts undertaken in combating desertification and appreciate the constraints faced in the process; formulate new desertification control plans and programmes. The recommendations of the symposium of interest to the sector included:

• Implementing the objectives and actions formulated by the NAPCD and the National Strategy for Environmental Protection;
• Promoting participatory approaches;
• Reduction of rangeland rehabilitation and grazing pressure; and
• Development of remote sensing and GIS units for environmental assessment.

National and regional strategies: These include:

• National Strategy for Environmental Protection whose implementation has been constrained by institutional/conceptual/financial constraints; and
• National Biodiversity and Action Plan aim at: safeguarding habitats and productive renewable resources; improving the understanding of ecosystems and increasing resource management capacity; developing a legislation that insures the conservation of biodiversity together with the sustainable use of biological resources.

CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF DEFORESTATION AND DEGRADATION

Indirect (root) causes

Some of the chief indirect causes to deforestation and rangeland degradation are:

Land and water use ecology as grounds to deforestation and degradation

Factors, which often set in motion degradation processes, include:

• Land and water tenure and users' rights: Tribal rights of usage, management and protection of woodlands and rangelands were abolished in 1976, without being substituted by socially and economically viable, as well as environmentally friendly modern users’ rights. Instead, the State has provided incentives to local herders and multiplied water points and road infrastructures. This has encouraged the adoption of sedentary lifestyles, causing excessive pressure that has put the existence of the range resources into jeopardy.
• Incentives in agricultural production: Incentives provided to livestock breeders in the 1970s, in the hope to decrease the animal population, have instead resulted in a drastic increase of livestock numbers. These incentives have been stopped since and despite efforts to control the animal population, rangelands and woodlands are still confronted with excessive pressure, far in excess of their carrying capacity. The government has also encouraged farming by allocating land and granting subsidized loans to purchase machinery, as a result of which large tracts of woodland and rangeland have been lost. Erosion processes have been prevalent, freshwater reserves and underground aquifers depleted, and land abandoned.
• Incentives in water, woodlands and rangelands exploitation: Boreholes and water supply facilities developed in rangeland areas are permanently available, which makes rangelands accessible all year round, leading to levels of fodder and forage uptake far exceeding the carrying capacity of rangelands.

Society transformation as foundation to deforestation and rangeland degradation

The following factors related to society transformation have affected natural resources:

• Unchecked population growth, and limited environmental resource base: Rural human and animal populations have expanded far beyond the absorptive capacity of the natural resource base. The lack of new employment and revenue opportunities, compel the rural poor to depend even more on the scarce woodland and rangeland resources, aggravating their state of degradation.
• Economic situation and investment patterns: Because it has given priority to the development of modern agriculture and infrastructure and in spite of its wealth, the Sultanate has not invested adequate efforts and budget to ensure a suitable management and development of the national natural rangeland and woodland estate. There are also some shortcomings in the long-term policy vision, which tends to be more in support of biodiversity preservation and conservation, overlooking the fact that these can only be achieved by sustaining livelihoods, through sustainable resource management and development.
• Social response to modernization: The rapid modernization of the country and its infrastructure development (e.g. roads, wells) have eased and encouraged large livestock concentrations. Opportunities for more easy and comfortable income sources among herders have promoted animal hoarding and the maintaining of non-viable and uneconomic livestock rearing practices, allowing rangelands to become open to excessive, uncontrolled animal concentrations all year around.

The capacity to respond on a timely basis to misuse is closely related to the following:

• Economic and financial context: Despite its financial capacity, Oman has not allocated substantial funds for rangeland/woodland management and development programmes. The national policy promoting private investment in the sector has not made substantive progress.
• Degree of dependence on external technical assistance: Oman does not have the skilled human resources to lead rangeland/woodland management and derive and teach in-country training curricula. The pressing need for qualified personnel, both at the planning and field implementation levels, calls for external technical assistance in various disciplines at various levels.
• Institutional set up and capabilities: The institutional capacity is in dire need of improvement within most of the national institutions entrusted with environmental resources management and development missions. Public initiatives related to woodland/rangeland are not founded on consistent and comprehensive policies, strategies, legislations, regulations and standards. The current over-centralized nature of the public administration system has marginalized regional and local authorities, leading to a reduction of their capacity to plan and implement rural development programmes.
• Environmental information and monitoring systems: Information on natural resources degradation and desertification processes and data concerning their potential versus actual utilization are totally inadequate. Therefore it is impossible to react on a timely basis to the destructive processes taking place in natural resources over-exploitation.

Legal, customary and regulatory instruments: The legislation on biodiversity conservation does not cover adequately the aspects related to environment and natural resources such as woodlands and rangelands. The penalties for offences against the environment and the mismanagement of natural resources are not a sufficient deterrent and they are not enforced due to lack of officers monitoring compliance in the field.

Degree of community involvement: The degree of community and farmer involvement through adoption of participatory planning and decision-making approaches is non-existent.

Policy related issues – significance in terms of deforestation and degradation

• Degree of policy perception of the role and importance of woodlands/rangelands: The country’s priorities have been set upon developing a modern agriculture and infrastructure network, rather than on achieving the sustainable management and development of natural woodlands and rangelands. Though the excessive development of agriculture is starting to backfire in major agricultural regions, such as Al-Batinah, woodlands and rangelands are still being steadily converted to cropland. Only in Dhofar does there seem to be an awareness of the acute necessity to remedy the present situation.
• Widespread attitude considering woodland and rangelands as free public goods: Since lands have become national property, there has been a breakdown in the traditional systems of community woodland/rangeland management. These are to a large extent used privately, without consideration for sustainability.
• Degree of commitment to sustainable resource management: Despite the government’s formal commitment to sustaining natural woodland and rangelands use, it does not have the capacity to supervise and manage them properly. Moreover, in the case of woodland and rangeland conservation, the focus has been so far, solely on reducing the number of livestock heads and not sufficiently on protecting and managing rationally the natural resources.

Direct causes

The main direct causes to deforestation and range degradation can be classed as natural or human-induced:

Natural causes: Direct natural causes include:

• Climatic conditions contribute to make plants’ growth, endurance, regeneration and establishment so restraining that they can hardly survive any form or degree of misuse;
• Soils: Large areas are covered with sandy soils which, when disrupted, are responsible for massive sand drifts;
• Topography, which plays an important role in soil erosion and flooding in the mountain areas;
• Floods are responsible for much land resources devastation; and
• Pest epidemics do inflict very serious damage to plant resources as is the case with the Prosopis cineraria stands.

Human-induced direct causes: Human-induced causes work hand in hand with the forces of nature:

• Infrastructure construction: Since the construction of roads and the digging of wells in rangeland the herds have ceased moving, causing aggravated overgrazing and trampling;
• Man-made catastrophes: Pasture fires are among the most frequent voluntary or accidental man-made catastrophes affecting woodlands and rangelands. In the case of Oman, the Jabal war that broke out in 1965 in Dhofar has resulted in much destruction of woodlands and rangelands;
• Misuse of rangeland resources resulting from increased livestock numbers, well beyond carrying capacity;
• Extensive woodland and rangeland allocation for agriculture and urban development; and
• Inadequate agricultural practices such as unrestrained use of unsuited machinery in agriculture, excessive irrigation, inefficient drainage, excessive groundwater extraction.

Effects of deforestation and range degradation

The effects of deforestation and range degradation are what one tends to see and focus upon because they impact upon livelihoods:

• Loss of land productivity;
• Decline in rangeland and woodland biomass and species diversity;
• Soil erosion increase;
• Surface water wastage and decline of groundwater recharge; and
• Widespread poverty.

STATUS OF KNOWLEDGE

Lessons learned

It is critical to learn from past experiences as a guide to the way forward. The lessons learned include:

• The country’s valuable woodland and shrub-land natural stands are increasingly recognized as under threat;
• MAF has focused priorities to increasing animal wealth but less so to the sustainability of the natural resources base on which it depends;
• Animal production ignored in the past the importance and urgency of addressing the issue of sustainable management of the natural pastures, rangelands and woodlands;
• Undue emphasis has been placed on livestock reduction alone, rather than a comprehensive approach addressing the rangeland degradation in a more holistic manner;
• Unclear and inconsistent policy for sustainable rangeland and woodland use, management and development;
• Ineffective and unenforceable legal and regulatory frameworks;
• Failure of Government institutions to address the legitimate goals and needs of the traditional woodlands and rangelands users;
• Confusion of institutional responsibilities at the national level with regard to conserving, managing and developing the woodland/rangeland natural resource;
• Recognition of the need to adopt participatory approaches to understand the needs and aspirations of livestock and rangeland dwellers;
• Insufficient funds and investments have been allocated to woodland and rangeland management and development; and
• Insufficient numbers and quality of trained senior and field staff of RRD/MAF in forestry, rangeland management and desertification control.

Gaps in knowledge

Acknowledged gaps or lack of knowledge related to range and woodland resources include:

• Sound inventory of the quantity and quality of the woodland and rangeland estate;
• Climate and weather data incomplete for the country;
• Extent and impacts of deforestation, degradation and desertification;
• Management information systems related to the above points, to assist politicians, policy makers and managers, to make sound decisions and monitor change;
• Participation with and incorporation of scientific and traditional knowledge, experience and managerial skills of pastoralists in land-use;
• Integrated natural resource management incorporating inter-sectoral and multi-disciplinary approaches;
• Insufficient number of planning and field practitioners with a heavy dependence upon expatriates to formulate and implement environmental development and protection strategies, programmes and activities;
• Public awareness and extension systems necessary for sustainable natural resources management and to prevent environmental degradation and desertification;
• Participatory planning in rural communities to understand their needs and aspirations for rural development; and
• Networks and decentralized technical support systems and information to allow informed and sound decisions in the field.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Conclusions

The conclusions drawn from the case study are the following:

Development choices and issues

• Rural development programmes initiated so far have resulted in important improvements in the fields of irrigated agriculture, fisheries and water resources mobilization. They have however been of little assistance in improving the conservation and sustainable management of the natural woodland and rangeland national estate;
• Five-Year Development Plans from 1976 to 1995 did not include desertification and natural resources degradation control issues among the government’s aims and priorities;
• Dhofar has been the focus of efforts to preserve and manage rangelands and woodlands in Oman, while other regions are largely neglected;
• Development policy needs to consider giving more attention and efforts to safeguarding the remaining, extremely misused natural woodlands and rangelands; and
• Lack of realistic land use and tenure policy with respect to rangeland and woodland management discourages herders from investing in rangeland and woodland protection and improvement.

Institutional set-up, capacity and capability

• Institutional capacity is weak in most national institutions entrusted with environmental resources management and development;
• There is excessive centralization of planning, decision-making and budget allocation: there is a lack of comprehensive policies, strategies, legislations, regulations and standards that spell out clearly the precedence to give to woodlands/rangelands conservation, management and development, and the need to formulate without ambiguity the institutions’ shared responsibilities in that regard; and
• Lack of an effective forestry and range institution contributes to natural resources degradation.

Natural resources and resource use and management

• Biodiversity: Conservation of natural resources and the biodiversity they encompass is vital to Oman, where ecosystems are fragile and the renewable natural resources are scarce;
• The national rangeland and woodland estate does exist and plays a very important socio-economic and environmental role, however modest the area covered may be;
• Range resources are a multi-purpose resource protecting soils, providing fodder, wood, fuelwood, NWFPs, water seepage from monsoon mist and in the past the land bank for expansion of agriculture;
• The inefficient, uneconomical and unsustainable livestock management and breeding programmes negatively impact upon natural forest resources, causing deforestation, degradation and loss of productivity of rangelands and woodlands; and
• The role of planted trees has long been recognized as important, while that of natural woodlands/rangelands is gradually gaining recognition.

Recommendations

1) Development choices and issues

• Decentralized planning: In view of the uncertainty of future oil prices, utilizing wisely the scarce natural resources will necessitate careful decentralized planning giving priority to local capacity building and institutional build up in the next decades;
• Assess and monitor resources: The need to assess and monitor urgently and over the entire country, the structure, state and importance of the natural woodland and rangeland estate to allow for future wise development planning;
• Popular participation: Because community and particularly individual family-based tenure systems are generally more effective than government-sponsored forms of management, involving local communities and families in efforts to manage and conserve natural resources for their own benefit makes good sense; and
• Poverty alleviation: In order to prevent rural to urban migration and achieve sustainable natural resources protection, management and development, it is indispensable to instigate, enhance and promote sustainable employment and revenue opportunities among those of the forest and rangeland dwellers that constitute the “poor of the poor” of rural Oman.

2) Administrative and legislative improvements: The development of an appropriate and well-coordinated institutional and legislative framework with clear mandates, responsibilities and resources to support more efficiently and sustainably, the initiation and implementation of rangeland/woodland, and watershed management, environmental protection, desertification control, and rural development programmes.

• Institutional arrangements between MAF and MRME: Clarify the respective duties and responsibilities of the MRME and the MAF and promote their coordinated efforts in safeguarding, managing and developing woodland and rangeland resources;
• Institutional arrangements within MAF: Upgrade in a mid-term perspective, the Rangeland Department to the level of General Directorate of Forestry, Range and Desertification Control within the MAF, with decentralized departments distributed over the main regions of the country; and enhance its capacity, making use of all training and cooperation opportunities;
• Institutional coordination: In order to improve the functioning of the existing coordination institutions and mechanisms, define with accuracy the respective assignments, duties, responsibilities and specifications of all the institutions concerned with environmental matters, particularly those concerned with the protection, management, utilization and development of woodlands, rangelands and pasture lands;
• International Cooperation: Request FAO’s cooperation and backstopping in developing training programmes, and strengthening the MAF’s capacity in the fields of woodland, and rangeland rehabilitation, protection and management, watershed management and desertification control, and in promoting sustainable rural development, by developing woodland and rangeland sustainable participatory management approaches and models; and
• Legislation: Prepare and adopt a very comprehensive Forest and Range Law, to be well coordinated with the already existing environmental laws. There is a need for the promulgation of related decrees and regulations regarding woodland and rangeland protection, utilization, management and development. Furthermore, legislation needs to be put in a broader perspective, with clear objectives in terms of integrated and community-based development and management, so as to promote sustainable growth and improved social and environmental conditions.

3) Changes in resource use and management

• Land tenure in woodland and rangeland management: Government to formulate and approve a land use and tenure system, that gives organized groups of herders official title to the land utilized by their flock, granting them enough tenure security and motivation to invest and actively participate in the conservation and the development of their woodlands and rangeland resources;
• Land distribution: Existing urban and agricultural land allocation system to be reconsidered in order to ensure that land is allocated in a way that reflects market demand cost-wise and at the same time safeguards the national biodiversity, particularly the plant diversity and gene pool; and
• Management and regeneration of natural woodlands and rangelands: Give high priority to safeguarding the regeneration and the sustainable use, management and development of the natural woodlands and rangelands. It is recommended to develop a woodland/rangeland extension programme, and set up sustained planting and seeding operations, under all possible favourable conditions and approve the proposed five-year, 1,250 ha fodder species’ planting programme for the Dhofar region.

4) Enhancing the role of planted forests and trees

• Tree planting and water constraints in urban forestry: Water being a very scarce and expensive resource in the Sultanate of Oman, all tree planting schemes in urban and peri-urban areas need to be carefully scrutinized with respect to their own impact on water consumption, particularly considering that irrigation operations may be permanent in nature;
• Promote reforestation and afforestation in potential areas of Oman: Plant annually 100,000 seedlings, equivalent to 200 ha in the monsoon affected mid to high altitude areas of the Jabal Dhofar; and implement a 250 ha reforestation programme based on frankincense trees during a five-year period, in the Gerbib area of Salalah; and
• Promote TOFs in agroforestry and sylvo-pastoral land-uses.

¹⁷ Forest Resources Assessment.

¹⁸ Laws are issued by Royal Decree.

¹⁹ Source: MAF, 1990.

²⁰ Source: JICA, 1990.

²¹ Omani Rials

²² Carried out by the Royal Geographical Society’s Wahiba Sands Project.

²³ FRA 2000.

²⁴ Initially, this Department of Forest and Range was the only institution that dealt with forests and rangelands conservation and management. The Department of Rangelands Resources at the MAF is of recent creation.