[Note: this case study originally appeared in the publication Socio-ecological Production Landscapes in Asia.]

Oman is located in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula, facing the Arabian and Oman Seas. It is one of the Gulf oil countries, with a public administrative system of 4 Governorates and 5 Regions. The country has a land area of some 310,000 km2, of which the plains account for about 3%, the mountains for some 15% and barren desert for about 82%. The mountainous area is composed of the Hajar Range stretching along the Oman Gulf in the north, and the Dhofar Mountains comprised of three mountain ranges around Salalah in the south.

In Oman, irrigated agriculture is practiced both in the coastal area of the Oman Gulf, using groundwater from the Hajar Range with the highest peak at over 3,000 m, and in the inland areas, using oases (Japan Cooperation Center for the Middle East, 1996). The current cultivation area in the country amounts to 2.3 million ha, accounting for about 7% of the total land area (Shima, 2009). Of the cultivated area, the irrigated land area constitutes over 40% (3% of the total land area). In the arid area, as well as the livestock industry, frankincense (resin from frankincense trees) as a non-timber forest product has been collected.

In Oman, where the political system is an absolute monarchy, the Sultan started an environmental conservation initiative in the 1970s to protect its unique natural environments, as well as historical remains, including the establishment of nature reserves. The Jabal Samhan Nature Reserve, for instance, covers a total area of 4,500 km2 around the habitat of frankincense trees in the Dhofar region in the south, and the Ra’s al Hadd Turtle Reserve for sea turtles is situated in the northern coastal area. In the inland area, the irrigation facilities (“flaj”) are inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List due to the highly appreciated cultural aspect of the country’s long history, representing the fact that human beings have used such natural resources since the pre-Christian era (Hammer et al., 2009). One could argue that, owing to its topographical characteristics, the country’s national land possesses a greater variety of landscapes compared to other Persian Gulf Arab states (Coppi et al, 2010).

From June to September, the Dhofar region in the south has high precipitation due to the influence of the monsoon, and hence is covered with a carpet of green as it rains almost every day in that season (Japanese Embassy in Oman, 2011). This region, with a precipitation of 182 mm/ year, is among the highest rainfall areas in Oman (Kwarteng et al, 2009). In terms of its ecological features, the Dhofar region can be categorized into desert, semidesert scrub, short grassland, long grassland and woodland areas, according to the influence of the mountain ranges (Al-Zidjali, 1995). The desert area stretches throughout the mountainous area at a higher altitude, while the grassland area spreads over the foot of the mountain ranges. The woodland is located in the coastal areas, where agriculture is also practiced. With such varied ecological characteristics, the Dhofar region has the greatest biodiversity in the country. The description below will mainly concern the desert and semidesert scrub portions of the Dhofar mountainous area, where grasslands spread out and frankincense trees grow wild.