WADI WURAYAH BIOSPHERE RESERVE

A beautiful page in the environmental history of the Emirates is being written here, and it is a former student of the Berthelot high school in Toulouse, a rugby player in his spare time, a doctor in biology, and a former conservation manager with the country's WWF, who is largely responsible for it. Christophe Tourenq, who did his first research on the birds of the Camargue, was able to convince the Sheikh of Fujairah and the municipality of the imperative need to protect this wadi and the vast Shimayliyyah massif that surrounds it. Today, this wildlife sanctuary is a national park recognized as such by a royal decree since 2009 and a wetland of international importance since 2010, by the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. Covering 129 km², the Wurayah National Park is a symbol of the Emirates' environmental voluntarism. In 2006, thanks to the support of a major bank, in addition to public funds, a research program was developed, leading to the creation of the park, which has since been closed. The area has been frequented and used by man for thousands of years, as shown by the presence of archaeological sites dating from the Bronze Age. Honey "hunters" still roam the paths, knowing how to harvest a stamped nectar that has become an extremely expensive product, a kind of golden caviar. More problematic was poaching: poachers had decimated the last populations of mountain gazelle and Arabian tahr, a species in danger of extinction. Donkeys and goats returned to the wild impact on this ecosystem of the Omani mountains. Nevertheless, the treasure is there, saved, far from having given up its secrets: this biosphere reserve recognized by UNESCO constitutes a watershed area on an ophiolite complex (rocks of oceanic origin washed ashore) in an arid climate which is part of the Hajar Mountains chain. The site is home to fauna and flora endemic to the Arabian Peninsula. It is one of the last places in the UAE to retain traditional agricultural practices and has been recorded as containing 44% of the UAE's terrestrial plant species, 42% of the terrestrial mammals, 24% of the reptiles, 17% of the birds and the country's only two amphibians. Not to mention the stars, identified only here and thus recently added to the animal diversity, 50 new insect species for science, two of which were named in Wurayah's honour: Ochthebius wurayah, an aquatic beetle, and Nanomutilla wurayahensis, a tiny flying ant. In the mountains and wadis, Blanford's fox, the wild cat, the caracal, the mountain gazelle, the long-haired red tahr, the freshwater fish Garra barreimiae, endemic to the Omani mountains, and named after the Bouraimi oasis near Al Ain, as well as the only orchid in the emirates, Epipactis veratrifolia, are present in the park. WWF also identified the presence of the near-extinct Arabian leopard during expeditions in 2006. Sheikh Hamad and the emirate's authorities have closed the site to preserve this natural ark, in order to definitively sanctuary the immense territory and open it again when all the conditions are met. In the long term, the ultimate project is to establish a public reception centre and to develop educational programmes on the natural jewels of the reserve.