The Unfenced Desert Towards a strategy for eco ... - Nwrc.gov.sa

Cultural/historical : 3
Facilities : 3
Access : 3
Sensitivity : 1
Summed Ratings = 16
Ranking 9/12
Category Group 2: Low priority for tourism development.
Protected Area Ibex Reserve
Administrative features
Category : Resource Use Reserve/Special Natural Reserve.
Date of creation : Declared 1988 (BOG); ratified (Council of Ministers)
Reasons for designation : The reserve contains the largest wild population of
Nubian ibex (Capra ibex) in Saudi Arabia, and the only known population of ibex in
the Tuwayq and central Najd region.
Responsible agency :NCWCD
Size and sectors : The reserve covers approximately 2,500 km 2 but the
boundaries of the area are not clearly defined. The reserve is divided into two distinct
zones: an area of greater protection (SNR) in the upper sections of some wadis and
on the plateau, where grazing livestock is totally excluded; and an area in the lower
wadis where camel grazing is permitted (RUR).
Emirate(s) : The reserve is situated in the Riyadh Emirate, about
150 km south of Riyadh, on the east side of the Tuwayq escarpment.
Central co-ordinates : 23 o 30'N, 46 o 00'E
125
Existing maps : The reserve is covered by the following maps:
• Series 1:50,000 P, Edition 1-SA-ASD, Sheets 4623 -43, -42, -13, -12, -34, -31,
-24, -21, -33, -32, -23, -22. These maps were prepared from aerial photographs
taken in 1975.
Management plans : The first, provisional management plan for the Ibex
Reserve was set out in Child and Grainger (1990: Appendix IV). A draft five-year
management plan was drawn up in 1993 (Williamson and Dunham 1993), but was
superseded by the Ibex Reserve Master Management Plan two years later (Anon.
1995).
Tourism strategy : At present the reserve has no visitor facilities and no
programme to attract visitors to see ibex and reintroduced gazelles. The reserve’s