Page 156 - Arabian Studies (I)

140 A rabian Studies I

Prior to the unification of the country by King Ibn Saucl, the
Bedouin tribes were frequently at war with each other and the
capture of another tribe’s livestock was a constant aim. Warfare and
feuding served to keep the total number of livestock within the limits
imposed by the physical environment. With political stability, the
numbers of livestock increased and while total numbers may not be
out of balance with the resources provided in the area available,
overgrazing has become a major problem especially in Eastern
Province which, during the 1960s, suffered from severe drought.
The rainfall regime of eastern Saudi Arabia is very irregular and
any storms are often localised. In drought periods, there is
concentration of livestock on areas where there is good grazing or
where water is available and this causes marked overgrazing. The
problem is being accentuated by the increased mobility that is
available to the nomads through the advent of trucks and the
evolution of a modern road network — the author has witnessed the
loading of a flock of sheep onto a truck in the desert near the
Khurais oilfield for transport to an area south of al-Hasa oasis where
the grazing was substantially better. Additional water resources have
been discovered and the Ministry of Agriculture and Water are
providing more wells but the numbers are still insufficient to
overcome the problems of concentration of livestock in drought
periods.
However, the deterioration of the ranges has not just been caused
by the pastoralists. The upsurge in urban population in the Eastern
Province that was a direct result of oil exploitation led to an increase
in the demand for fuel. Allred (1968) comments that the fuel
gatherer takes the roots, stems and trunks of the perennial plants.
The resources of the rangeland for grazing must be assessed on the
quantity and type of perennials, for it is these plants which provide
the grazing during drought periods and thus the ultimate carrying
capacity of the land. As the perennials are removed or destroyed,
they are replaced by annuals, which, while they may provide a more
nourishing feed for animals in the good years, cannot survive drought
periods. The effects of drought are a far more potent force than
those resulting from seasons of good rainfall.
Of particular interest in man-environment relationships is the
position that the nomadic pastoralists are to occupy in modern
society. There is to be increased emphasis on livestock production in
ttie national economy and this will have to result in better
management of the range lands. The first steps have already been
taken — range improvement experiments have been initiated in the
west of the Kingdom, near Jeddah and Taif, and these will eventually