Countries

Forests and the forestry sector

Resources
The total land area of Oman is 21.3 million hectares of which only 1 000 hectares are forested. The annual rate of change in forest cover was 5.3 percent from 1990 to 2000.

The country does not have forests, in the accepted meaning of the word. However, there are a number of woodland communities that constitute important natural resources. The date palm (Phonex dactylifera) is the country¿s most important tree; almost 10 million palms grow in the northern parts of Oman. Scattered areas of Juniperus forest grow in the Hajar mountains.

The southern Governorate of Dhofar has significant areas of low wooded land and grassland, while tree cover that can be classified as forests is only found in the middle slopes of the Dhofar range and, to a lesser extent, in the upper plateaux. Sparse tree cover is found in the foothills or Feemoot, with occasional dense groves in the wadis. The narrow coastal plain bears little vegetation as it is subjected to intensive grazing and cropping. Some coastal mangrove pockets of Avicinia marina are still found. The upper plateaux, Qatan, bear low bush thickets alternating with grasslands, whereas the northern dry slopes, Mohufi/Fegar, are devoid of any significant tree cover except for scattered single trees or small groups along the wadis.

The desert plain, Nejd, on the other hand, is treeless except for oases formed where water from sporadic rains have seeped into the sands. Grazing and browsing of livestock is by far the most important land use to which natural forests of Dhofar are subjected, as livestock herding has been and still is the major economic activity in the area.

Oman has a relatively extensive network of close to 20 national reserves and protected areas.

Products and trade
Trees provide fuelwood and are important as food, fodder and shade trees. The use of forests for sherlterbelts in Dhofar can be seen in the coastal plain of Salalah, where many farms are partially or completely surrounded by shelterbelts of coconut trees and others. Tree plantations in Dhofar between 1990 and 1998 accounted for almost 172 000 native and some introduced tree species in an area of about 185 hectares, planted mainly for in situ conservation of promising indigenous tree species.

Important non-wood forest products in Oman includetannins, medicinal plants, dyes and fibres. Demand for timber and paper products is met through imports.

The small forest cover in Oman is entirely government owned and the contribution of forests to the GDP is negligible.

Last updated: May 2004