Environmental Management

  • Gary Brown
  • Bruno A. Mies
Chapter
First Online:
Part of the Plant and Vegetation book series (PAVE, volume 7)

Abstract

This chapter sets out some of the most pressing environmental problems affecting Socotra, and attempts to offer long-term solutions to some of these major challenges. “Desertification” is generally perceived to be a serious threat in the countries of the Arabian Peninsula, and many parts of Socotra at lower to mid-altitudes are affected by this menace. The drivers are the same as in many other parts of the world. Rapid population expansion, of both humans and livestock, and poverty are two of the most important of these. In former times, complex local land management systems controlling the access of livestock to the limited natural resources during the dry season largely prevented the over-exploitation of the rangelands. However, with changes in the lifestyle of the local inhabitants and the abandonment of traditional practices, the challenge now is to develop land management systems that are relevant to the present-day situation. Implementation and enforcement of the existing conservation zoning plan would be a substantial achievement. Even so, given the severity of degradation, habitat restoration will have to play an important role, and a clear concept of what is to be restored has to be developed, bearing in mind that vegetation regeneration can be a slow process in arid and semi-arid environments. Finally, the outstanding importance of islands such as Socotra for the conservation of global plant diversity is reiterated.

Keywords

Soil Erosion Arabian Peninsula Local Inhabitant Ecosystem Degradation Perennial Vegetation 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012

Authors and Affiliations

  • Gary Brown
    • 1
  • Bruno A. Mies
    • 2
  1. 1.Department of Biology College of ScienceSultan Qaboos UniversityMuscatOman
  2. 2.Department of BotanyUniversitäet Duisburg-EssenEssenGermany

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