Wednesday 05 / November / 2025
Salalah: Wildlife specialists on Wednesday held a workshop during which they recommended updating the 2025-2030 Arabian Leopard Conservation Strategy.
Organised in the city of Salalah by the Directorate General of Environment in Dhofar Governorate, the workshop recommended steps to enhance national and regional efforts to protect the Arabian leopard and preserve its natural habitats.
In the recommendations, the specialists stressed the need to update the objectives of the Arabian Leopard Conservation Strategy in line with the achievements made during the period from 2014 to 2025. They also laid emphasis on forming a national committee, under the leadership of the Environment Authority, to follow up the implementation of the strategy and ensure integration among the parties concerned.
The workshop also recommended the establishment of a specialized research centre for the Arabian leopard in the Dhofar Governorate. The centre is envisaged to serve as a reference point that contributes to supporting studies and field monitoring, in addition to updating environmental legislation—with the prime aim of providing more comprehensive protection for the Arabian leopard, its prey and its natural habitats.
The recommendations also called for expanding the scope of nature reserves in the Sultanate of Oman and training national cadres in cooperation with the Arabian Leopard Fund in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The workshop, which was attended by experts and specialists from the Sultanate of Oman and abroad, assessed the previous national strategy and recommended ways to develop the Arabian leopard protection mechanisms.
The workshop included brainstorming sessions that addressed current environmental challenges and ways to improve the management of the natural habitats of Arabian leopard and affirm the Sultanate of Oman’s position as a leading country in the field of wildlife protection.
The programme of the workshop concluded with a field visit to Jabal Samhan Nature Reserve where the participants were briefed about efforts made with the context of the Arabian Leopard Conservation Project. The efforts highlighted the Sultanate of Oman’s commitment to preserve biodiversity and protect the Arabian Leopard as a natural symbol of national and regional heritage.
