OMAN BOTANIC GARDEN

Thanks to the know-how of the Scots, creators of Edinburgh's superb Royal Botanic Garden, the pharaonic project of a conservatory of Omani flora is currently being developed over four hundred and thirty hectares. Once completed (at a date that remains absolutely unknown at the moment, especially as construction is behind schedule - 2025?), this botanical garden will be one of the largest in the world. Conceived as a research and preservation site, it will include a resource and information center for the public, and will eventually showcase the eighty endemic species of the sultanate and a large sample of the twelve hundred species identified throughout the different ecosystems. Located in the wilderness of Al Khoud, thirty kilometers from Muscat and thirty minutes west of the airport, the garden will gradually open up to visitors. The site was not chosen by chance; it is one of the few places in the world where the ancient seabed is still visible after tectonic activity raised the bed to an altitude of one hundred meters. Landscape architects and engineers have worked around existing natural ridges and ravines to design the various buildings and walkways that will ultimately form a spectacular undulating landscape. Visitors will be able to wander around Oman's wadis, mountains and deserts in just a few hours. Two of the most sensitive biomes (ecozones) will be developed in huge spherical buildings that reproduce the natural temperatures and humidity of these unique habitats. A sinuous glass enclosure will house the northern mountain ecozones and their ancient terraced plantations. A shimmering, undulating glass sphere will protect the rich and varied habitats of the Dhofar region, immersing visitors in a green rainforest similar to that around Salalah during the Khareef (monsoon) season. Both the buildings and the garden site have been designed to meet and benefit from the internationally recognized LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for high environmental quality buildings and sites. A strategy has also been developed to ensure that water, a particularly precious resource in the region, is produced sustainably and that not a drop is wasted. Given its size, ambition and richness, it's a safe bet that this project will turn this conservation area into an exceptional botanical garden. To be continued...