YEMEN 
A conservation workshop was held in Sana/a in mid March on Yemen's biodiver- 
sity, it was hosted by the Environmental Protection Council (EPC) and 
chaired by Mr Al-Hamdani, EPC's chairman. The workshop was well attend- 
ed by officials from various ministries who heard presentations on Yemen's 
Important Bird Areas, the conservation of endemjc birds, threats to birds 
caused by land-use changes, and a programme for the conservation of the 
Leopard Panthera pardus. Particular attention was drawn to the need for con- 
servation of the highland terrace ecosystem, which has 12 endemic birds, and 
the island of Socotra, which has six endemics. (Source: Netvv^ork News 3 (2).) 
Socotra - a recent article in the Nezv Scientist (29 July 1995) highlights the chal- 
lenge between development and conserving the island's unique flora. 
OMAN 
Convention on Biological Diversity - Congratulations to the Omani Government, 
who have now signed and ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity. 
There are now three Arab countries in the region that have ratified the 
Convention (the others are Lebanon and Jordan). (Source: Network News 3 
(2) .) 
Rhinoceros horn - Oman banned the import of rhinoceros horn as from 18 
October 1994 and plans to prohibit the sale of rhino horn in due course. This is 
a very welcome move particularly in view of the cultural importance of dag- 
ger handles. Currently Oman is not a party to CITES (the Convention on 
International Trade in Endangered Species) and has no other legislation to 
control trade in CITES-listed species. However Oman is examining the possi- 
bility of joining CTTES. (Source: Oryx 29:2 from Traffic Bull. 15 (1).) 
Oryx reintroduction complete - Seven Oryx Oryx leuceryx from the USA are to be 
released in Oman to join the estimated 288 currently living in the wild. These 
are the last captive bom Oryx that it is planned to release. (Source: Oryx 29 
(3) .) 
SAUDI ARABIA 
Reimroduction of Ostrich - Saudi Arabia's National Commission for Wildlife 
Conservation and Development (NCWCD) has started a programme to rein- 
troduce the Ostrich Struthio camelus into the former range of the subspecies 
syriacus. Seven from Sudan (S. c. camelus) were released in the Mahazat As 
Sayd Protected Area in western Saudi Arabia in June 1994. They are being 
monitored to see if they will survive and breed without supplementary food 
and water. (Source: Oryx 29 (3) from Re-introduction News 5sfo.9) 
Fauna of Saudi Arabia - Volume 14, containing 400 pages and covering marine 
fishes, scorpions and Branchiopoda amongst others, will be available shortly 
(price 159 Swiss Francs), whilst Volume 15 is in active preparation. Orders 
52 
