A NATURE preserve for wild plants and animals could be established in the desert south of Bahrain.
The Southern Municipal Council has unanimously approved a proposal by vice-chairman Abdulla Bubshait to allocate land for the national park and sanctuary.
It will now be reviewed by Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture Minister Wael Al Mubarak in co-ordination with Oil and Environment Minister Dr Mohammed Bin Daina.
“This part of the desert would be protected as a natural reserve, prohibiting any sabotage, destruction or damage to its features,” said Mr Bubshait.
“It will be a completely eco-friendly zone and could have its own scientific research and experiment centre assigned with work specifically related to combatting pollution and protecting clean air.
“It will be distinctive with its own exclusive plants and animals from Al Areen Wildlife Park and Reserve, Arad Bay and Hawar Islands, already protected as parks and sanctuaries by law.”
The councillor said that organisations such as Environment Friends Society, the National Guards and the Southern Governorate were welcome to present their feedback on the look of the park.
Meanwhile, council chairman Abdulla Abdullatif suggested the park and sanctuary should be far from any urban pollutants.
“Visitors to the site should be taken by buses from a point or station by discouraging the use of personal vehicles to ensure that harmful smoke emissions don’t affect the place,” he said.
Plants proposed to be planted include athel tamarisk and tamarisk (evergreen trees that can reach a height of up to 18 metres), ziziphus spina christi (another evergreen plant that grows widely in the Middle East) and prosopis (flowering plants that often thrive in arid soil and are resistant to drought, on occasion developing extremely deep root systems).
“The suggested plants are out of many that could be protected and it should be left to experts to survey and assess potential locations,” said Mr Abdullatif.
Council services and public utilities committee chairman Mubarak Faraj said that the preserve could turn into a global attraction.
“The suggested plants are unique to the desert and this will get us global attention since they are rare and mostly confined to the region.”
Former councillors in the same council had proposed in April last year that guided adventures, trekking trails, outdoor dining and huts for overnight stays could be set up at Al Areen Wildlife Park and Reserve to offer visitors an ‘amazing weekend stay in the wild’.
Then councillors saw that the current wildlife attractions needed refreshing if the sanctuary, established in 1976, is to continue being a successful tourist destination, as well as a destination able to cash in on the growing number of eco-tourists.
This move is still under study and assessment with feedback expected next month – six months after the reformation of the Cabinet in November last year.
mohammed@gdnmedia.bh
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