RIYADH, 19 December 2004 — The Kingdom has intensified its awareness campaign in the Farasan Islands. The aim is to save the protected area from environmental pollution and to prevent motorists from killing wild animals. The island and its surrounding waters provide the habitat for a wide variety of marine and wildlife species.
“The campaign aims to educate the public about keeping the area free from environmental pollution and from human interference on wildlife species,” said Dr. Abdul Aziz Abu Zinada, secretary-general of the National Commission For Wildlife Conservation and Development.
A group of 84 islands in the Red Sea some 40 km from Jizan on Saudi Arabia’s southwestern coast, the Farasan Islands Reserve is rich in seabird life. The islands are breeding grounds for a number of birds and the adjacent marine feeding grounds attract a variety of species: Osprey, sooty falcon, pink-backed pelican, white-eyed gull and flamingo among others.
The reserve also protects the Farasan Islands gazelle; the island’s gazelle population is the largest in Saudi Arabia. The island’s waters are home to such marine life as dugongs, sea turtles and numerous manta rays.
The commission recently organized a three-day clean-up program on Farasan Island. Its aim was to clean up the coast and educate local people. Some 55 students from six neighboring schools assisted by six teachers underwent a course to learn how they could preserve the islands without environmental pollution.
Negligent drivers have killed a number of gazelles, said Dr. Abu Zinada. “This is a serious threat to the gazelle population.” He said the commission had plans to put warning signs and speed-breakers on the roads to slow down careless motorists.
Dr. Abu Zinada explained that those participating in the program had been taught to clean the island’s beaches that had been polluted with rubbish and small oil spills.
