This week mid-term break starts for all students in the Kingdom. Many of them will go abroad with their friends and families to explore different parts of the world. Many others who will be staying in the Kingdom are most likely to head to the desert to camp for a few days.
Sandy beautiful deserts cover more than 30 percent of Saudi Arabia. If it rains properly during the months of October or November, a huge area of the desert will turn green. There are some areas, where green desert plans can grow as high as one meter. Desert camping is part of the Saudi society and now many expatriates spend time in the desert. The largest sand desert in the Kingdom is the Rub Al-Khali (Empty Quarter), which covers an area of 650,000 square kilometers and it is the largest continuous sand body in the world. The second largest sand body is the Great Nafud, which has one of the most spectacular transverse sand dunes that can reach up to 120 meters. The sand of Nafud is reddish in color unlike the yellowish hue in other deserts. Then there is the Al-Dahna, which stretches from north to the south. There are other smaller deserts in the Kingdom and spending few days in these deserts is a good retreat, away from the noisy cities.
Desert has a very fragile environment because the plants, insects, lizards, rodents, snakes, birds, and everything else is highly dependent on each other for survival in the harsh environment. This is the reason behind the disappearance of larger animals, which used to roam around before the human interference with nature. Now, the Saudi government is declaring some parts of the desert as protected areas and it is normal to see gazelle, oryx and even small wild animals. The bottom line is that the desert environment is very fragile and we are not helping.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of people in the Kingdom camp around in the deep parts of the desert and they erect tents. The campers take with them all the needed material. But many leave their campground leaving behind tons of waste, which contains many poisonous or harmful materials such as plastic containers or metallic substances such as food cans.
These materials when consumed by lizards or insects cause their deaths. In addition to that, when metallic things are left behind, they become rusty and affect the natural lifecycle in the desert. So, it is very important for people to treat the desert with respect. Many people see the desert as a vast wide area but at the end it will be full of leftover of garbage and other harmful materials. Campers must take with them garbage bags and collect any materials, which are harmful to the desert. It is true that some of the leftover is considered consumable by the rodents or insects but is very easy for any driver along any Saudi highway going through the desert to see the sun’s reflections on plastic, glass bottles or metallic cans. Making the desert dirty is easy but cleaning it is almost impossible. So, it is important to keep our deserts clean. Not just for the insects or lizards but also for future generations.
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@mulhim12
