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the Arabian Peninsula — there are better rates of pay, better working
conditions and regular hours of work. In addition, there has been the
siting of ancillary industries, such as fertiliser plants and development
of a modern commercial infrastructure in the area. In such a society,
leisure time activities assume a greater importance and can easily lead
to increased pressures on the environment, especially in specific
localities such as beaches and woodland. Great care has to be taken
to ensure the correct management of the environment when it is
subjected to the pressure brought about by the large population in
the area (McGregor, 1972, estimates the population of the Dammam,
Dhahran, al-Khubar complex alone as being 100,000, and that of
QatTf oasis about 80,000).

Discussion
For man-environment relationships to be successful in such a
delicately balanced ecosystem as that prevailing in eastern Saudi
Arabia, conservation of resources must be the keynote. This does not
mean that the status quo must be preserved - indeed, the reverse is
the case, for technology is allowing society to break out of the
environmental constraints that have regulated its development in the
past. However, the impact of technology on traditional society is a
complex phenomenon and, without an evaluation of its effect on the
physical environment, can give rise to unexpected problems. For the
imposition of technology to be successful the social environment
(education in particular) must advance at the same rate, or faster,
than the technological improvements, for society is then aware of the
implications of technology. It is also most important that adequate
scientific data relating to the physical environment is available and
the natural resource survey for the eastern part of Saudi Arabia,
completed in 1969, is an essential first step to any integrated
development.
For too long, too little has been known about the desert
ecosystem, a point that is constantly emphasised by McGinnies
(1968) in his book Deserts of the World. In Saudi Arabia, there have
been a number of studies undertaken for the Government since the
middle 1960s by FAO, UNESCO and other organisations which are
now allowing predictions to be made about the introduction of
technologies and their effect on the environment. While some of
these are concerned with restricted areas and specific projects e.g.
Harad, much of the material and data obtained is applicable to the
immediate surrounding area. It is through such studies that the
adverse effects of man-environment relationships have, so far, been