English children book on nature and environment in Oman launched

Muscat: Oman’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs (MECA) has published its first English children story, titled "Fattoom in the Dimaniyat Islands," which deals with the theme of nature and environmental awareness in a fun fashion and a simple style.
Written by Eng. Amran Mohammed Al kamzari, a specialist in nature reserves at MECA, the newly released graphic novel is part of a narrative series previously published in Arabic.
“Written as an effort to protect Oman's environment and wildlife, the story has been translated into English at the behest of a number of foreign schools in the Sultanate,” the author said, adding that English is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, and publishing it in English will help target students of various nationalities.
He emphasised that spreading environmental awareness among children can positively affect their mindset and behaviour towards environment at an early age.
The 20 page long story includes an introduction to Al Dimaniyat Islands, which is a natural habitat for many threatened species, including varied and brightly coloured corals and marine creatures.
“Fattoom in the Dimaniyat Islands” is the second part of an ongoing series of short stories which have been widely distributed in schools and educational centres in Oman.
“My latest story will be available at schools and exhibitions inside and outside Oman for free,” he said, adding that he hopes that such stories can reach every house in the Sultanate.
Amran Al Kamzari told the Times of Oman that he is planning to publish similar books in the near future, hoping that some would be turned into cartoon TV programmes.
Nestled in the north of the Muscat governorate and east of Barka, the Dimaniyat islands are a string of nine small islands, declared a nature reserve in 1996.
In his introduction, the author wrote, “I hope it (the story) helps to preserve Oman’s environment in all its beauty and cleanliness for the future generations.”
“Fattoom,” the main character of the story, is a little Omani girl who lives in a village near the sea with her family.
The story begins by showing how enthusiastic she is about marine life as she enjoys watching dolphins daily with her brother Hamad, before they all disappeared, along with birds.
After crying for her lost friends, Fattoom’s father takes her to a nearby island where she finds the dolphins and turtles and asks them why they have left her.
The animals answer by giving Fattoom a short lecture about importance of cleanliness and dangers of pollution. Later, the father too weighs in by sharing his knowledge about Al Dimaniyat islands.
It is worth mentioning that pollution, in all its forms, is considered a threat to the marine environment and its natural resources, and is responsible for the migration of marine organisms.
The book also features a maze game for children, challenging them to locate Al Dimaniyat, in addition to a 'colour with Fatoom' page.
The book was launched in cooperation with the PDO as a community service to deliver information to various sectors of society, according to Al Kamzari.