Tuesday 02 / July / 2024
Muscat: The Environment Authority (EA) has clarified the presence of wooden pillars at the Turtle Reserve Beach in Ras Al-Hadd, South Al Sharqiyah Governorate.
A statement was issued based on posts on social media and by some media outlets, which circulated pictures of under-construction and incomplete work to install wooden pillars on a part of the beach of the Turtle Reserve in Ras Al-Hadd: “The Turtle Reserve in Ras Al Hadd is a natural reserve declared under Royal Decree No. 25/96. The Environment Authority is committed to protecting its biodiversity and taking the necessary measures in this regard in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations. The wooden pillars being installed do not prevent individuals from crossing the beach at all, but rather prevent vehicles in order to reduce the acts of beach vandalism and the destruction of nests. Note that the distance from the vehicle parking lot to the beach is easy to cross on foot, and the beach - the work site - does not have any fish landing activity.”
“There is no impact on responsible tourism that recognises the importance of the natural resource and the necessity of its sustainability as it is a major reason for its enrichment. The beaches of the Turtle Reserve are distinguished from other beaches by the presence of turtles, which represent a tourist attraction, which requires everyone’s cooperation in order to preserve them,” the statement further said.
“These types of pillars are a safe and environmentally friendly method using natural materials that do not affect the beauty of the beach and its components, and its positive impact is great in reducing beach vandalism and habitat destruction due to irresponsible driving of vehicles. It is used in various environmental sites, such as reserves and natural parks in the Sultanate and other countries, and there are many examples of this.”
The EA implements several annual programs to protect and sustain this important global natural art, which faces the threat of extinction and is unique to the beaches of the Turtle Reserve and several beaches worldwide. These programs include environmental monitoring, field surveys, awareness-raising, and protection of nests and newborns. Among these programs is the Turtle Commandos programme, which has worked over the last three seasons to return more than 200,000 stray small turtles to the sea, rescue hundreds of mothers, collect tens of tons of waste and deformities during beach cleaning campaigns, and train nearly a thousand volunteers from inside and outside the Sultanate to become environmental ambassadors.
