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

Chapter 6
Review and assessment of the suitability of NCWCD protected
areas as eco-tourism sites
Introduction
The NCWCD’s wildlife protected area estate currently consists of 14 sites plus two
research stations. Clearly not all these areas will be suitable for tourism development:
some may be too remote, too difficult to access or lack suitable facilities, other may
contain habitats or species that are sensitive to human disturbance. What is needed is a
set or criteria within which to assess the relative suitability of sites, and to place potential
tourist attractions in some order of priority.
This chapter reviews the existing network of wildlife protected areas in Saudi
Arabia with the aim of providing a basis for strategic planning by the NCWCD for future
eco-tourism development. The aim of the this review is to compile in one location that
information needed to set protected area tourism development priorities and compatible
activities.
Methods
I have chosen to concentrate on 10 of the protected areas plus the two research stations,
twelve sites in all. I have not included the four most recently declared protected areas,
At-Taysiyah, Umm ar-Rimth, Nafud al-`Uraq and Al-Jandaliyah, as these areas do not yet
have any formal NCWCD management presence.
The information summarised for each site is not meant to be an exhaustive
inventory of natural, socio-political or administrative features, nor a complete basis for
management planning. Rather I have concentrated on those features of a protected area
that would influence its suitability as an eco-tourist destination. At the end of each area’s
summary I present a simple four-point rating system for six key attributes, relating to the
presence of attractive or spectacular scenery, visibility of wildlife, presence of cultural or
historical features, status of existing visitor facilities, ease of access, and sensitivity of the
protected area’s key features to human disturbance. The application of this rating system
to each attribute is more fully explained in the following section. By summing the ratings
it is possible to rank all the protected areas and achieve an objective list of priority sites
for further attention and possible future development.
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