Muscat – As many as 534 wildlife violations were registered in the sultanate in the third quarter of 2022, according to the Environment Authority (EA).

An EA official said specialists of the authority registered 534 wildlife violations by the end of September this year, while 12,534 environmental permits were issued to individuals in this period. EA’s specialist also received 405 environmental complaints and 39 reports of marine pollution in this period.

“EA’s specialists conducted 29,525 field visits to nature reserves to spread awareness of the importance of preserving wildlife and curb violations against wildlife,” the official said.

The authority is also working on establishing green spaces in the governorates to convert these into investment opportunities in partnership with the community and the public and private sectors. This plan is part of an ongoing national initiative to plant 10mn wild tree in ten years that started in January 2020.

According to the official, the authority has distributed 320,103 wild seedlings and planted 40,000 mangrove trees in various parts of the sultanate so far.

On its official Twitter handle, the EA cautioned that it will not tolerate violation of the Wildlife Law. ‘We call on all visitors to nature reserves to report any violation in the hotline 80071999. The authority also calls on citizens, residents and tourists to preserve the environment and not violate the Wildlife Law.’