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JORDAN'S NATURE RESERVES
The Qur’an asserts an exceptional environmental ethic. Humankind
is given the Earth but is warned that all creatures are a
“people like unto you” with the function to bear witness to
Allah’s majesty. Reality in the Middle East, however, seems to
mock Islam’s environmental scruples. Forests, woodlands, and
wetlands are gone along with their wildlife, while places that
recently supported pastures and fields are entirely
de-vegetated. Explanations for environmental degradation are
many, but of greater concern is the seeming indifference of many
countries to calamitous environmental degradation. Nature, and
its conservation, has been neglected in the face of
nation-building, economic development, and regional geopolitical
realities.
 There
are, however, encouraging changes in the Arab World’s approach
to nature conservation, and in Jordan, this change is
dramatic. Jordan has a rich and diverse natural and cultural
environment that offers exceptional opportunities for
conservation through establishment of nature reserves.
Typically British-colonial in the origin, Jordan’s reserves
evolved uniquely to give a private organization responsibility
for its nature reserves. Jordan is developing a national
policy, administrative structure and a secure management
environment in which representative reserves can prosper.
Consequently, Jordan is able to marshal an unusual mix of
natural and institutional resources for accomplishing its
goals and is becoming a regional leader in nature
conservation.
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