Endangered species may just about find a
safe haven in the Arabian
desert. Regional governments in the oil-rich Gulf
have poured in billions of
dollars into the transformation of dry, dusty deserts to
terraform them into natural
sanctuaries.
Among the recent success stories is Saudi Arabia's
transformation of a vast
desert into the Uruq Bani
Ma'arid reserve. The sanctuary, which houses around
100 Reem gazelles and oryxes, is supervised by the Saudi
Wildlife Protection Commission with the aid of helicopters and wireless devices
attached to the animals. In
the United Arab Emirates,
the Sir Bani Yas Island is now
home to 35,000 animals and
birds from the Gulf, India,
Africa, Australia, Europe and
Latin America.
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