In the spring, 2008, the National Park Service (NPS), began a partnership with the Department of the Interior's International Technical Assistance Program (ITAP). Three Middle Eastern endangered species specialists were invited to the US. Two Jordanians and one Bahraini were selected and were placed into US national parks to work alongside NPS wildlife biologists to learn and observe how the Service manages its threatened and endangered species.
One Jordanian interned at Mojave National Preserve while the other one was in Death Valley National Park. The Bahraini underwent an internship at Biscayne National Park.
Following that successful program, two additional interns were invited during the fall of 2008. A Moroccan interned at Bryce Canyon National Park, while an Omani interned at Redwood National Park.
This summer, 2009, two new interns from Jordan will arrive into the United States to again undergo endangered species fellowships at Canyonlands National Park.
The NPS/ITAP fellowship is an opportunity to provide for exchanges of information between Middle Eastern and US NPS personnel on the issue of endangered species conservation and management. The selected participants arrive to the US and first undergo a short introductory program overview in Washington, DC. They then transit to their hosting parks and spend up to seven weeks learning about endangered species management. Upon completion of their park internships, they return once again to Washington, DC for a close-out program.
In 2000, the government of Qatar, through the US Embassy and Qatar Gas, contacted the US National Park Service and requested advice in establishing its first national park. The NPS responded by sending a three person team to assist Qatar's Supreme Council for the Environment and Natural Resources with selecting appropriate sites as possible national park units. Ultimately the Inland Sea region was selected from an initial list to become Qatar's first national park. This area is a large tidal bay stretching nearly 25km into the interior. In early October 2002, Qatargas again invited a second NPS team to Qatar to conduct a site-specific feasibility study of the Khor Al-Adaid region (Inland Sea) to develop the resource information and management framework needed to establish the area as Qatar’s first National Park.
To further the project and continue the close relationship the two countries have enjoyed, the Supreme Council for the Environment was invited to send two of its employees to the US to participate in a study tour of US National Parks. The tour was focused on developing management plans for new parks and was designed to show the thoughts and processes that go into the creation of a newly protected parkland. Two senior staff members from Qatar's Supreme Council were selected: Director of Wildlife and Conservation Ghanim A. Mohammed and Director of Human Resources Sultan al-Jamali. They visited the US for two weeks in September, 2006, and had opportunities to meet with a wide-range of NPS park and office employees. Meetings focused on a variety of topics, including management of off-road vehicle use, environmental education and interpretation, general park management plans, protection of marine coastal zones, and volunteer programs. Several national park areas and program offices were visited including the NPS National Headquarters in Washington, DC; Assateague Island National Seashore; Denver Service Center; Intermountain Regional Office; Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument; Great Sand Dunes National Park; Joshua Tree National Park and Channel Islands National Park.
Qatar's Supreme Council for the Environment and Natural Resources invited the NPS to send another small team of specialists to the country in January, 2008, to assist the government with preparing general management plans for the park. A three person team traveled to the country to visit the park, meet with local stakeholders, and to discuss possible management guidelines for Khor Al-Adaid National Park with SCENR staff.
Upon completion of the visit, the NPS team met with His Excellency Khalid Al-Ali, Secretary General of SCENR, Mr. Ghanem Mohammed, Director of the Conservation Department, and other staff to provide them with suggested recommendations on management strategies for the new park.
Links:
Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency
Israel Nature and National Parks Authority
Petra World Heritage Site, Jordan
Qatar Supreme Council for the Environment
Saudi Arabia's National Commission on Wildlife Conservation and Development