UNESCO listing of Uruq Bani Ma’arid Reserve puts Saudi conservation efforts in the limelight

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This picture titled "Group of Arabian Oryx with sand dune background" was part of Saudi Arabia's application for the inclusion of "Uruq Bani Ma’arid" in the UNESCO World Heritage List. (Photo by Othman Llewellyn / National Center for Wildlife)
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Updated 30 September 2023
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UNESCO listing of Uruq Bani Ma’arid Reserve puts Saudi conservation efforts in the limelight

  • Decision seen as recognition of Kingdom’s commitment to protecting and maintaining natural ecosystems and cultural heritage
  • Inscription of the reserve on UNESCO World Heritage List comes more than 30 years after it was designated a protected zone

LONDON: Uruq Bani Ma’arid Reserve has become the first natural site in Saudi Arabia to be added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, joining the six man-made heritage locations in the Kingdom that were previously inscribed.

In the words of Prince Badr bin Abdullah, the Saudi minister of culture, when he announced the organization’s on September 20, the addition of the site “contributes to highlighting the importance of natural heritage on a global scale and reflects the outstanding value of the reserve.”

But the Kingdom’s dedication to the protection of its natural environment is far from a new phenomenon. The recognition by UNESCO reflects a long-running commitment by Saudi Arabia to the preservation of a diverse and internationally important natural environment that stretches back almost four decades.




Spanning 12,765 square kilometers, Uruq Bani Ma’arid Reserve lies on the western edge of the Empty Quarter, the world’s largest continuous sand sea. The desert’s diverse topography creates a variety of wildlife habitats. (Supplied)

The listing of the Uruq Bani Ma’arid Reserve, on the edge of Rub Al-Khali, also known as the Empty Quarter, comes more than 30 years after the area was designated a protected zone.

But it was not the first such site afforded protected status. That honor went to Harrat Al-Harrah, a 13,775 square kilometer volcanic plateau in the north of the country, which was designated as a reserve in 1986 — 37 years ago.

Uruq Bani Ma’arid joined the list in 1992 and since then the flora and fauna of the reserve have been sensitively reintroduced and protected, a commitment that has transformed what was once a near-barren landscape of more than 12,500 square kilometers into a haven of diversity.




Uruq Bani Ma’arid Reserve contains habitats vital to the survival of many species. (Supplied)

In 1994, by which time 10 areas had been accorded protected status, a paper published in GeoJournal recorded the sorry state of Uruq Bani Ma’arid, an area that had once been rich in wildlife.

It was, for example, here that the Arabian oryx, by that time extinct in the wild, had last been sighted. In fact, as the paper — titled “Protected Areas in Saudi Arabia: Sustainable Use of Natural Resources” — noted, “Uruq Bani Ma’arid used to have many animal species that are now extinct.”

FASTFACTS

Uruq Bani Ma’arid has taken its place among the six other UNESCO World Heritage sites in Saudi Arabia.

Listing of Uruq Bani Ma’arid comes more than 30 years after the area was designated a protected zone.

Uruq Bani Ma’arid Reserve ecosystem embodies outstanding universal value and forms a unique and diverse landscape.

The problem, which had prompted the official intervention in the area in 1992, was that the age-old balance of sustainable use of natural resources had been upset by the rapid growth of the human population in the Kingdom and the incursion of roads and other infrastructure into once-remote areas, upsetting entire ecosystems in the process.




This picture titled "Hail covering sand dunes" was part of the Kingdom's application for the inclusion of "Uruq Bani Ma’arid" in the UNESCO World Heritage List. (Photo by Hamad Al Qahtani / National Center for Wildlife)

“People still remember vividly the diversity of fauna that the area had, and the tales of their hunting are still related,” Abdullah Alwelaie, of the Imam Mohammed bin Saud Islamic University’s Department of Geography in Riyadh, wrote in the 1994 GeoJournal paper.

“They are now all extinct in the wild in this area,” wrote Alwelaie, who offered some consolation when he noted that some wild species continued to hold out, including the Arabian wolf, sand fox, wild cat, sand cat, and honey badger.




Titled "Inter-dunal corridor during spring," this picture was part of the Kingdom's application for the inclusion of "Uruq Bani Ma’arid" in the UNESCO World Heritage List. (Photo by Muhammad Al Yousifi)

The slopes of Jabal Tuwayq in the west of the reserve were once home to ibex, while the wadis, desert plains and sand dunes had teemed with Arabian oryx, sand gazelle, and Arabian ostrich.

Almost 30 years later, many of these species and more besides are once again thriving in the reserve — and, indeed, across the other 13 reserves in Saudi Arabia. These 14 special landscapes account for about five percent of the Kingdom’s territory — a total area of more than 82,000 square kilometers.




Titled "Edge of Tuwayq Escarpment," this picture was part of the Kingdom's application for the inclusion of "Uruq Bani Ma’arid" in the UNESCO World Heritage List. (Photo by Tarek Abulhawa / National Center for Wildlife)

This, however, is just a start. Under the wide-ranging Saudi Green Initiative, a “whole-of-society initiative” launched in 2021 “to combat climate change, improve quality of life and protect the planet for future generations” as part of the Kingdom’s commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2060, Saudi Arabia has pledged to protect 30 percent of its terrestrial and marine landscape by 2030. The initiative is also committed to planting 10 billion trees across the country in the coming decades.

In the meantime, Uruq Bani Ma’arid has taken its place among the six other UNESCO World Heritage sites in Saudi Arabia. These include the Hegra Archaeological Site in AlUla (which was the first to be inscribed, in 2008), At-Turaif District in Diriyah (added to the list in 2010), Historic Jeddah, Gateway to Makkah (2014), Rock Art in the Hail Region (2015), Al-Ahsa Oasis — An Evolving Cultural Landscape (2018), and Ḥima Cultural Area (2021).




Al-Ahsa Oasis in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. (Ministry of Culture photo)

In January this year, Saudi Arabia was elected chair of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee by a unanimous vote among the 20 other member states that are party to the 1972 World Heritage Convention.

This month, Riyadh hosted the 45th annual session of the committee. It was, as the Kingdom’s permanent delegation to UNESCO tweeted, “a new chapter in our evolving history.”

The extent to which Saudi Arabia is focused on its natural and cultural heritage, which is apparent in its careful development of historic sites as AlUla and Diriyah as global tourism destinations, is also reflected in the list of 14 sites that have been registered on UNESCO’s “Tentative List” of locations that states intend to consider for nomination to the main list.




Saudi Arabia’s Uruq Bani Ma’arid Reserve was officially added to the UNESCO World Heritage List during the extended 45th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in Riyadh between Sept. 10-25. (Supplied)

Six of these sites were added to the Tentative List this year alone. They include a collection of prehistoric stone structures discovered at 10 locations across the Kingdom; ancient dams that tell the history of water management; a collection of five sites that together are representative of Saudi Arabia’s oil-industrial heritage, including the famous “Well Number 7” in Dammam, and Tapline, Aramco’s 1,648-kilometer Trans Arab Pipeline that between 1950 and 1976 carried oil from Qaisumah on the Gulf coast to the Mediterranean port of Sidon in Lebanon.

Two of the recently submitted sites, however, could join the Uruq Bani Ma’arid Reserve as natural sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

One is the “Bioclimatic Refugia of Western Arabia,” a series of mountain crests, woodlands and wetlands that harbor the surviving relics of ancient plant and animal species.

The other is “the rural cultural landscapes of the Sarawat Mountains,” a collection of seven landscapes along the southernmost stretch of the Hijaz Mountains, prized for their “unique geographic characteristics and dramatic mountain setting (which) offered a secure and defensible environment for human settlement, protected agriculture, and fortified trade halts.”




Thi Ain Heritage Village in Saudi Arabia’s southwestern Al-Baha province dates back hundreds of years. (Susan Baaghil/Saudi Tourism/File)

These projects feed directly into the ambitious aims of the SGI, the third annual forum of which will take place this year during the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference, COP28, at Expo City in Dubai on Dec. 4.

As Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of the Public Investment Fund and chairman of Saudi Aramco, said last year during the second SGI forum, held during COP27 in the Egyptian city of Sharm El-Sheikh, the initiative represents “a turning point in green efforts” that has “already changed both the conversation and the facts, and promises a green future anchored around Saudi Arabia’s ambition to reach net-zero emissions by 2060, turning national ambitions into real actions that positively impact the world.”

On the ground in Saudi Arabia, that ambition is symbolized by the rapidly growing and spectacular list of protected environments, including its newly internationally recognized flagship, the Uruq Bani Ma’arid Reserve.

 

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Saudi Arabia slams Israel’s actions in Gaza at ICJ

Updated 9 sec ago
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Saudi Arabia slams Israel’s actions in Gaza at ICJ

  • Tel Aviv ‘continues to ignore’ International Court of Justice rulings, says Kingdom’s representative

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia condemned Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza at the International Court of Justice on Tuesday, accusing it of defying international rulings and committing severe human rights violations.

Speaking before the court, the Kingdom’s representative, Mohamed Saud Alnasser, said Israel “continues to ignore the court’s orders,” and insisted that “there is no justification for Israel’s violations in Gaza.”

Alnasser added that “Israel has turned Gaza into a pile of rubble,” highlighting the widespread devastation and suffering inflicted on civilians.

His remarks came on the second day of the ICJ’s hearings into Israel’s humanitarian obligations toward Palestinians, held amid a total Israeli blockade on aid to the Gaza Strip that has lasted over 50 days.

The hearings are a part of broader efforts to assess whether Israel has complied with international legal responsibilities in its conduct during the war on Gaza.


New platform, pavilion inaugurated at Prophet’s biography museum

Updated 29 April 2025
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New platform, pavilion inaugurated at Prophet’s biography museum

RIYADH: A new pavilion and an interactive digital platform have been opened at the International Fair and Museum of the Prophet’s Biography and Islamic Civilization in Madinah.

The new additions to the museum were inaugurated by Prince Salman bin Sultan, governor of Madinah, in the presence of Mohammad Al-Issa, secretary-general of the Muslim World League and supervisor-general of the museum.

The new pavilion is a documented presentation of Madinah with more than 20 sections, covering the most important historical, cultural and social monuments and landmarks of the holy city during the era of the Prophet Muhammad.

It includes a panorama of the Prophet’s Chamber and offers a simulation of the construction of the Prophet’s Mosque, the Prophetic medicine tent, and the Prophet’s daily routine.

Ithaf, the new digital platform, allows visitors to explore the Prophet’s biography through virtual tours, with access to a library of more than 350 books and encyclopedias in the service of the Holy Qur’an and the Prophetic Sunnah, translated into several languages.

The governor also visited the pavilion displaying the Kingdom’s efforts in serving the Qur’an, Sunnah, and the Two Holy Mosques, and was briefed on its work and efforts to highlight the message of Islam.


Saudi’s KSrelief signs $10m deal with UK for cholera response in Yemen

Updated 29 April 2025
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Saudi’s KSrelief signs $10m deal with UK for cholera response in Yemen

  • KSrelief will provide $5m to the WHO, while the UK government will provide a further $5m to the UN Children’s Fund
  • An estimated 3.5m people will benefit from the deal to fund a wide range of disease management and prevention services

LONDON: Saudi aid agency KSrelief and the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on Monday signed an agreement to expand cholera response efforts in Yemen, potentially benefiting an estimated 3.5 million people.

KSrelief will provide $5 million to the World Health Organization, while the UK government will provide a further $5 million to the UN Children’s Fund. The money will help support emergency cholera-response activities in Yemen’s worst-affected provinces.

The WHO will deliver a range of services to tackle cholera, including leadership and coordination expertise, disease surveillance, rapid-response teams, and management of cases. KSrelief will assist these efforts through infection-prevention and control efforts, water sanitation and hygiene improvements, risk communication, community engagement, and oral cholera-vaccination campaigns.

The UK funding will be used to tackle water sanitation, hygiene, and health interventions in the most contaminated and high-risk areas.

The agreement was signed in London by Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, supervisor general of KSrelief, and Jenny Chapman, minister of state for international development at the Foreign Office, during the former’s official visit to the UK.


Unauthorized Hajj Pilgrims, facilitators face penalties in Saudi interior ministry clampdown

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Interior has announced penalties for individuals who violate Hajj permit regulations.
Updated 29 April 2025
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Unauthorized Hajj Pilgrims, facilitators face penalties in Saudi interior ministry clampdown

  • Penalties will apply from Tuesday until approximately June 10

RIYADH: People caught violating Hajj permit regulations, and those helping them, in Saudi Arabia’s Makkah face stiff penalties in a Ministry of Interior clampdown.

The ministry said the penalties would apply from Tuesday until approximately June 10.

A fine of up to SR20,000 ($5,331.43) will be imposed on people caught performing or attempting to perform Hajj without a permit, and on holders of all types of visit visas who attempt to enter or stay in Makkah and the holy sites during the specified period.

A fine of up to SR100,000 will also be imposed on anyone who applies for a visit visa for an individual who has performed or attempted to perform Hajj without a permit, or who has entered or stayed in Makkah city and the holy sites during the specified period. The fine will multiply for each individual involved.

The same fine will apply to anyone who transports or attempts to transport visit visa holders to Makkah and the holy sites during the specified period, as well as to those who shelter or attempt to shelter visit visa holders in any accommodation, including hotels, apartments, private housing, shelters, or housing sites for Hajj pilgrims.

This includes concealing their presence or providing assistance that enables their stay. The fine will multiply for each individual sheltered, concealed, or assisted.

A separate penalty would also apply to illegal infiltrators attempting to perform Hajj, whether residents or overstayers, and the guilty parties would be deported to their countries and banned from entering the Kingdom for ten years.

The ministry also said the relevant court would be ordered to confiscate land vehicles used to transport visit visa holders to Makkah and the holy sites during the specified period, if owned by the transporter, facilitator, or any accomplices.


Turning a dream into reality: retired Saudi teacher copies Qur’an by hand in inspiring journey

Updated 29 April 2025
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Turning a dream into reality: retired Saudi teacher copies Qur’an by hand in inspiring journey

  • Al-Zahrani shared with Arab News that the experience was both demanding and humbling, requiring exceptional precision and unwavering concentration, as copying the Qur’an allowed no margin for error

MAKKAH: In an era of rapid technological change and evolving traditions, some individuals still embody steadfast devotion to craftsmanship and the quiet power of creativity.

Among them is retired teacher Khaled Al-Zahrani, who turned his retirement into a journey of fulfillment by realizing a dream he had cherished since his college days — copying the entire Holy Qur’an by hand in his own script.

Al-Zahrani, who is nearly 60, has a lifelong passion for Arabic calligraphy, especially the naskh and ruq’ah scripts. He had dreamed of hand-copying the Holy Qur’an since his university days. However, the demands of work and daily life postponed his ambition until retirement gave him the opportunity to finally turn his dream into reality.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Al-Zahrani shared with Arab News that the experience was both demanding and humbling, requiring exceptional precision and unwavering concentration, as copying the Qur’an allowed no margin for error.

• He explained that the experience strengthened his bond with the Qur’an, deepening his connection to its message while instilling a profound sense of responsibility toward the sanctity of the words he transcribed.

He explained that his journey truly began when a friend introduced him to the Qur’an by Hand initiative, which provides blank copies of the Qur’an for personal transcription. Inspired, he purchased two copies and embarked on his endeavor.

Al-Zahrani shared with Arab News that the experience was both demanding and humbling, requiring exceptional precision and unwavering concentration, as copying the Qur’an allowed no margin for error.

He carefully transcribed around two or two-and-a-half pages each day, meticulously counting the letters to ensure a balanced layout and to avoid omitting any verses.

He began with Surah Al-Zalzalah as a test of his abilities and, upon completing it, he gained the confidence to move forward, despite the profound sense of awe he felt when starting the lengthy Surah Al-Baqarah.

Al-Zahrani said that he relied on a standard half-millimeter pen and used an eraser or a fine needle to make corrections when needed, although he was meticulous to minimize errors as much as possible.

He explained that he had to devote himself fully to this work, so he decided to seclude himself in his home for six months — avoiding all distractions and social visits — so that he could finish writing the Holy Qur’an in conditions that would help him concentrate and achieve his goal.

Al-Zahrani said that his project remained out of the public eye until a relative filmed him writing and posted the video in a family WhatsApp group. The video quickly went viral, drawing widespread admiration and attention.

He added that while he received numerous requests for media interviews, he chose to delay them until he had fully completed the Qur’an, emphasizing that a task of such significance required unwavering focus and could not afford any distractions.

Al-Zahrani said that his transcription of the Qur’an was far more than an artistic pursuit or personal project: It was a profound spiritual journey that drew him into deep contemplation of God’s verses and their meanings. Every letter he penned resonated within him, as if he were living and interacting with the words themselves.

He explained that the experience strengthened his bond with the Qur’an, deepening his connection to its message while instilling a profound sense of responsibility toward the sanctity of the words he transcribed.

He also expressed the hope that his work would inspire younger generations to reconnect with the art of Arabic calligraphy, not simply as an aesthetic pursuit but as a powerful means of drawing closer to and honoring the Qur’an.

Al-Zahrani believes that his experience taught him profound lessons in patience and perseverance, calling it one of the most meaningful chapters of his life.

He expressed hope that his story would inspire others with long-delayed dreams to take the first step toward realizing them, no matter how late it may seem, proving that with sincere determination, dreams can indeed become reality.