King Salman bin Abdulaziz issued royal decree No. A/220 of (17/09/1439 Hijri) establishing a network of Royal Reserves to protect the environment and wildlife and transform the reserves into well-balanced tourist destinations. The Royal Reserves declared under the royal decree form a source of biological, geological, and genetic diversity that has tremendous potential to withstand harsh environmental conditions. The Royal Reserves will link the landscape with development projects and visions, ensuring biodiversity conservation and protection of representative areas of the Saharo Arabian region. King Salman Royal Nature Reserve (KSRNR) is one of the newly established sites under the royal decree and one of the largest protected areas in the region and across Arabia, with a total area of 130,700 Km2, representing 6.1 % of the total area of the kingdom, and is located in the northern part of the country, occurring in four provinces: Northern Borders, Tabuk, Hail and Al Jouf. The reserve includes three legacy protected areas: Al Khunfah, Tubaiq and Harrat Al Harrah. Ecologically, the reserve is divided into two main ecoregions: the Arabian Desert and Red Sea Nubo-Sindian tropical desert and semi-desert. Each ecoregion consists of different landforms and unique micro-ecosystems and habitats, each with a distinctive faunal and floral assembly. Topographically and geologically, the reserve is divided into different major regions. However, each often consists of several fairly varied landforms dominated by a very thick sequence of clastic sedimentary rocks, including sandstone, siltstone and mudstone, and sedimentary carbonate rocks, including dolomitic limestone, marly limestone and chalky limestone. The various habitat types within the reserve support important breeding of faunal and avifaunal populations of several species, most of which are desert dwellers. As a significant landmass connecting Africa and Eurasia, the reserve is positioned within the migratory route of the African Eurasian Flyway. It plays a critical role in the survival of migratory birds on the way between their breeding and wintering grounds. The reserve is situated within two main flyways, the East Asia / East Africa flyway and the Black Sea / Mediterranean flyway (known regionally as the Red Sea – Rift Valley Flyway). An arid climate characterises the area with a long hot summer, where temperatures can exceed 50°C during some days of July and August. The winter is short, where the temperature during the day varies between 20 – 25°C and drops during the night to below ten °C, and can further go below 0°C during some nights of December and January. Rainfall is heterogeneous and characterised by high intensity and low duration. KSRNR has a rich cultural heritage cultivated by various historical periods. The reserve is home to 423 archaeological assets41, the most prominent of which are in Jubbah, Kelwa and Kaf villages. The most known historical sites in the area are outside the boundaries of the reserve in Sakaka, Dumat Al Jandal and Tayma.
Photo Credit – King Salman Royal Nature Reserve
King Salman bin Abdulaziz issued royal decree No. A/220 of (17/09/1439 Hijri) establishing a network of Royal Reserves to protect the environment and wildlife and transform the reserves into well-balanced tourist destinations. The Royal Reserves declared under the royal decree form a source of biological, geological, and genetic diversity that has tremendous potential to withstand harsh environmental conditions. The Royal Reserves will link the landscape with development projects and visions, ensuring biodiversity conservation and protection of representative areas of the Saharo Arabian region. King Salman Royal Nature Reserve (KSRNR) is one of the newly established sites under the royal decree and one of the largest protected areas in the region and across Arabia, with a total area of 130,700 Km2, representing 6.1 % of the total area of the kingdom, and is located in the northern part of the country, occurring in four provinces: Northern Borders, Tabuk, Hail and Al Jouf. The reserve includes three legacy protected areas: Al Khunfah, Tubaiq and Harrat Al Harrah. Ecologically, the reserve is divided into two main ecoregions: the Arabian Desert and Red Sea Nubo-Sindian tropical desert and semi-desert. Each ecoregion consists of different landforms and unique micro-ecosystems and habitats, each with a distinctive faunal and floral assembly. Topographically and geologically, the reserve is divided into different major regions. However, each often consists of several fairly varied landforms dominated by a very thick sequence of clastic sedimentary rocks, including sandstone, siltstone and mudstone, and sedimentary carbonate rocks, including dolomitic limestone, marly limestone and chalky limestone.
This EAGL Summary is based on the Compass-application indicator-verification and the EAGL site visit that included meetings with different categories of local community stakeholders, experts, site managers and employees. The KSRNR is part of a series of Royal Reserves in the KSA. They are fully supported by the King himself, the Crown Prince and all the Ministries. The KSRNR has the support of the local communities and has succeeded in engaging those communities (and here we mean the councils, the schools & universities, the farmers, the private sector…etc.) in its activities It is fully supported by a set of national administrations such as National Center for Environmental Compliance (NCEC), The Special Forces for Environmental Security, and The National Center of Wildlife. The site has the necessary human and financial resources to implement its plans and is employing them in a very structured way, based on sound designing and planning. All threats are taken and managed seriously by the site and the government, with an Environmental Threat Analysis & Sensitivity Index and Determination of Potential Threats Report. This includes a thorough analysis of the zoning, in addition to a presentation the 2 pre-existing cement factories in the north of KSRNR, whose area is 2.9 Km2, equivalent to only 0.002% of the area of the reserve.
Based on the need to manage such threats in accordance with the IUCN PA Management Criteria, and the national laws and regulations on the one hand, and given the importance of maintaining a balance between the environment and economy, and recognizing the social and economic benefits of the area and the fact that they have been there long before the establishment of the reserve, on the other, it was important to establish an action plan and implement restrictions in consultation with right-holders and stakeholders, in addition to the NCEC (The National Center for Environmental Compliance). Notwithstanding is a royal decree that stipulates moving these factories out of KSRNR.
All the Means of Verification are available on Compass, and have been verified during the site visit. The KSRNR attaches an utmost importance to the natural and cultural heritage whereby experienced scientists and field officers from KSA and abroad are active in the conservation process. Conservation outcomes are starting to appear, and more is expected to show in the GL mid-term review. All remarks and future needs for verification are included in the report and linked to the corresponding indicators.
The next steps are mainly to verify during the Midterm review: • The monitoring of the two industrial sites and the implementation of the Action Plan • Additional Means of Verification resulting from the monitoring of the natural values of the site, in addition to the cultural values and ecosystem services. Based on all of the above, detailed in a power point presentation, a narrative report and the indicator verifications, in addition to a site visit, the KSRNR is recommended to be Green Listed by the MEWA EAGL.
