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

PA Infrastructure
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Border demarcation : The upper border is formed by the escarpment lip.
The lower border follows the 1600 m contour, but is not marked. The other two
boundaries to the roughly rectangular area, to the NNW and the SSE, follow the ridge
systems enclosing the valley that is Raydah Reserve.
Rangers/other staff : Three rangers and one cook are assigned to Raydah.
A temporary, but long-term, labourer is based with the rangers to undertake
propagation of juniper seedlings and to make meteorological recordings for on-going
scientific monitoring. Research staff from NCWCD visit the area to study plants, birds,
mammals and other wiildlife.
Responsibilities of rangers : NCWCD rangers primarily undertake patrols of the
reserve's interior, although patrols are almost exclusively restricted to the central
track. Rangers are also required to regulate the flow of vehicular traffic into the
reserve, maintain the camp, and report incidental wildlife sightings. NCWCD rangers
are not officially empowered to arrest or detain offenders, nor to confiscate property.
Ranger chain of command : Day-to-day management of rangers and camp
structures is carried out by the head ranger or his deputy, under authority of NCWCD
head office staff in Riyadh.
Camps and other buildings : The rangers have use of two portacabins adjacent to
the reserve’s access track at the lip of the escarpment. An unused police checkpoint,
constructed of concrete block, is potentially available for use by the rangers, and is
sited immediately across the track from the portacabins. A third portacabin is
available for visitors and research staff.
Tracks and roads : The reserve has a single unsealed track which runs
from the lip of the escarpment down to provide access to Raydah village below the
reserve’s lower boundary. This track is extremely steep in places and is suitable only
for four-wheel drive vehicles. The track is graded after heavy rains or rock falls.
Other facilities : There is an abandoned farm in the middle of the
reserve, at about 2400m asl, comprising a series of small fallow terraces and half a
dozen crude, earthen floored dwelling structures. Just below the ranger station is a
football pitch and picnic area that are owned by the Abha Municipality and are not
officially part of the reserve.
Maintenance of facilities : On-site maintenance is the responsibility of the
rangers and their support staff, with support from local contractors and NCWCD in
Riyadh.
Other patrols : Until 1997 the police manned the checkpoint at the
top of the reserve, and effectively monitored traffic flow continuously. The
abandonment of this police checkpoint places the onus of monitoring on the rangers.
Threats to integrity : Cattle grazing is unregulated in the reserve, and
trampling may be adversely affecting natural regeneration of juniper and under-storey
plants. Litter from the municipality football pitch sometimes spills into the reserve. The
central farm, although abandoned, is still privately owned and could in principle be
resurrected, sold, leased or re-developed. A high volume of vehicular traffic on the
unsealed track would increase erosion, necessitating repairs which can have an
impact on the adjacent forest.