A trio of Oman Animal and Plant Genetic Resources Center (OAPGRC) publications dedicated to the sultanate’s amazing biodiversity will take pride of place as the centre participates in the 24th Muscat International Book Fair at the Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre till March 2. 

Covering three diverse topics, the informative and educational volumes are certain to be of interest to students, academics, environmentalists and conservationists as well as members of the general public keen to find out more about the nature that surrounds us, approaches to its protection and the possibilities it holds to contribute to our future well-being and economic development. 

Dr Nadiya al Saady, OAPGRC executive director, said, “We are always keen to share information about Oman’s incredible and immensely valuable animal, plant, marine and microbial genetic resources with as wide an audience as possible and to reach out to members of the community who may not be familiar with our work and activities.  

“This highly popular event is a fantastic opportunity for us to do exactly that. We encourage anyone interested in the natural world to come along to this great book fair and talk to us whether they’re interested in our publications or in any other aspect of biodiversity or conservation.” 

The first of these volumes, the Socioeconomic Plants Conservation Strategy for the Sultanate of Oman, has been produced by OAPGRC in conjunction with the Oman Botanic Garden, Natural History Museum and the UK’s School of Biosciences and offers a complete inventory of Oman’s 1,000 plus indigenous plant species. The highly regarded opus gives an overview of current conservation activities and presents recommendations. 

The other two publications are the Shallow Water Echinoderms of the Sultanate of Oman by Sultan Qaboos University marine ecology expert Dr Michel R Claereboudt, and A Guide to the Marine Phytoplankton of Oman’s Waters by Dr Khalid Abdullah al Hashmi of Sultan Qaboos University’s Department of Marine Science & Fisheries.