Conservation Success and Management Strategies in Saudi Arabia's Ibex Protected Area: A Case Study of the Nubian Ibex Monitoring

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by Hussam Alawaidat, Zaffar Rais Mir, Ahmad Alboug, National Centre for Wildlife, Saudi Arabia

Landscape features of Ibex Reserve

Zaffar Mir

The Ibex Protected Area is one of Saudi Arabia’s premier conservation areas of international significance. In terms of its mammal diversity, the protected area has been the focus of a key conservation and reintroduction program of the Vulnerable Nubian Ibex (Capra nubiana). The area also inhabits important populations of the Arabian wolf (Canis lupis) and Arabian gazelle or idmi (Gazella arabica). A ten-year monitoring program was implemented for the Nubian Ibex as an umbrella species indicating the overall health and functionality of the ecosystem encompassed within the protected area. This continuous monitoring enabled the site management to identify the overall trend of the population and assess natural and anthropogenic factors influencing it. The monitoring program is undertaken by a multidisciplinary team including wildlife specialists, law enforcement officers, local community experts and guides, all working in coordination with the Protected Area manager.

Last update: 03 Jun 2024

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Context

Challenges addressed

Ecosystem loss

Poaching

Scale of implementation

National

Ecosystems

Hot desert

Theme

Biodiversity mainstreaming

Species management

Location

Hawtat Bani Tamim, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

West Asia, Middle East

Impacts

The monitoring of the Nubian Ibex population in the Ibex protected area has enhanced the management effectiveness of the protected area in the following ways:

Understand and explain the changes in the population trends over a period of ten years with specific insights related to the potential the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic (which caused an increased level of wildlife poaching, possibly due to lower levels of law enforcement and community engagement).
Capture the traditional ecological knowledge held by local communities stemming from their long-established presence and interaction with the area and its wildlife.
Identification of priority management measures required for the continued protection and growth of the Ibex population, including:
- Changes to the patrolling program towards using a more dynamic and adaptive approach by using mobile patrolling and changing timing and duration and each patrolling session as well as alternating rangers’ assignment.
- Revision of the overall zoning plan of the protected area to include increasing the size of core areas and their associated buffer zones.
- Identification of capacity building needs and priorities for the law enforcement team including specialized training on wildlife monitoring and reporting and the provision of supporting equipment such as better observation and photography instruments.