AMMAN — It is World Wildlife Day, and the
Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) is hard at work tending to and
celebrating the Kingdom’s wildlife as a major part of Jordan’s natural,
national and human heritage.
اضافة اعلان
Despite its
small geographic area, Jordan boasts a rich environmental diversity, with
varying elevations, temperatures, rainfall, and other physical characteristics
contributing to a unique topographical and
biological diversity. The Kingdom
spans four distinct biogographical regions: the Mediterranean, the
Irano-Turanian, the Sudanese or Tropical Penetration and the Sahara-Arabia.
RSCN’s General
Manager Fadi Al-Nasser said that despite the fact that Jordan is not a vast
country, it encompasses a rich diversity of habitats and bioclimatic regions
which are the home of many wild plant and animal species.
Plant studies
researcher Bilal Aysrah says that the diversity of regions and climates within
a small area has helped to sustain Jordan’s rich
biodiversity, with over 2500
plant species spanning 13 vegetation types distributed throughout the country.
Field studies
Coordinator Thabit Sharaa said that such a unique diversity of regions in
Jordan is the reason Jordan is home to such a variety of animal species
including predators, rodents, reptiles and other
animals.
He explained
that 82 mammal species have been recorded in Jordan, classified into 24
families divided as follows: five species of insect-eaters traced to two
families; 26 bat species traced to nine families; 16 predators traced to five
families; hoofed mammals, hyraxes, and one species of wild rabbit all traced to
one family; and 28 species of rodent traced to seven families.
In general,
Jordan’s wild mammals continues to be exposed to numerous human threats and
practices which have led to a decrease in populations across the board, as well
as the total extinction of some species which historically inhabited the Kingdom’s
environments, including the Arabian leopard, Syrian brown bear, Arabian or
Syrian ostrich, mountain gazelle, and the Persian fallow deer.
On a more
positive note, the resettlement of a number of wild animal species has been
carried out through the breeding programs of the RSCN, including the Arabian
oryx, European fallow deer, and the Syrian wild ass.
99 species of reptiles have been recorded
during studies and research carried out by RSCN research teams in Jordan, and
the country is also home to several species of
amphibians, including frogs, toads and salamanders. Two species, the
Syrian salamander and frog, have become extinct, and the existing amphibian
community in Jordan is at significant risk because of habitat destruction and
human practices in and around the habitats in which these species are present.
Database
specialist Ansam Ghlelat noted that the RSCN has established the Biological
Information Management System (BIMS), which compiles and organizes data for
animal and plant samples. The BIMS collects data for animal and plant samples
in one place, effectively organizing and making it freely available so that
academics, interested individuals and decision makers in
Jordan and around the
world can benefit from the data.
She added that
all of the data samples on Jordan’s plant and animal life have been documented
according to the Linnaeus system of scientific classification, along with a
generic description of each species and references and spatial distribution
information which may be of interest to academics. An updated distribution map
for each species will soon be added. The database also includes reports from
RSCN’s Biodiversity Monitoring Centre, which has worked for many years to
monitor biodiversity in Jordan, reduce biodiversity knowledge gaps and keep the
BIMS database updated.
Geographic Information
Systems Specialist Lea Majed said that the Geographic Information Systems team
at the RSCN is working to collate spatial information and use it to build
digital models of changes in biodiversity values, as well as to assist policy
makers in making decisions about land usage based on solid scientific
information. The team is also working to update Jordan’s protected area
geographical databases and prepare maps of environmental surveys.
Read more Around Jordan
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