FOR some people, the ideal vacation is two weeks lying on the beach. Others jet off to amusement parks or sign up for spa packages. But the volunteer holiday is a new kind of vacation that’s been gaining in popularity over the last few years. On a volunteer holiday an individual might agree to build houses in a third world country or assist in clearing brush in a wildlife sanctuary. Such holidays usually aren't offered in the Gulf countries.
That's why a conservation volunteer holiday in Oman is a bit unusual. Two expeditions are being organized by Biosphere Expeditions (www.biosphereexpeditions.org), in cooperation with the government of Oman, to take volunteers to the remote desert mountains of Oman’s Dhofar region. Working alongside scientists from the Royal Omani Court, the volunteers in the exhibitions will be part of small international teams monitoring the Arabian leopard presence and contributing to important research. The Arabian leopard (Panthera pardus nimr), is the largest surviving cat species on the Arabian Peninsula and is classified as critically endangered. This big cat once ranged throughout the mountainous regions of Jordan, Oman, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Learn more about it through www.oryxoman.com/leopard_main.html.
From the team’s field base, conservation volunteers will venture out in Land Rovers and on foot, looking for tracks, scratch marks and other evidence of leopard presence, setting camera traps and talking to the local people about leopard sightings. Volunteers will also survey the area for activity at waterholes, particularly in regards to leopard prey animals such as gazelle, ibex and hyrax. Volunteers, who choose to do so, may travel to smaller advanced research camps for a night or two. Some of these camps can only be accessed on foot, with the support of camels to carry equipment and water.
Dates for the expeditions are Jan. 17 - 29, 2010 and Jan. 31- Feb. 12, 2010. Only 12 volunteers will be accepted for each expedition. They will be accompanied by two biologists and an expedition leader as well as joined by Omani scientists. Volunteers hoping to work in the most remote areas on the leopard tracking must be able to walk up to 15 km per day in mountainous terrain of up to 1000 meters altitude and have an ability to tolerate heat. Those of lower fitness levels can assist with interviews, be assigned easier survey routes or do mostly vehicle-based work.
The fee for the 12 night expedition is 1,340 GBP per person, excluding transportation to Oman. Individual volunteers must arrange their own flights to Oman and are responsible for arriving at the assembly point in Muscat on time. A complete briefing on the proposed Omani Biosphere Expeditions is available through http://www.biosphere-expeditions.org/images/stories/pdfs/briefings/briefing-oman10.pdf.
The Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities is always looking for new ideas to promote tourist activities in the Kingdom. Additionally, temporary volunteer manpower could boost the efforts of scientists engaged in conservation work particularly in Abha and on the Saudi coasts. If the Omani government can attract international talent to come to perform volunteer conservation work, it seems that the Kingdom could be an even bigger draw. It is certainly something that should be investigated. Volunteer conservation holidays would benefit both Saudi and international conservation efforts, and raise the profile of the Kingdom in the wildlife research community. They would also open new tourism opportunities that could bring financial advantages to locals in remote areas of Saudi Arabia.