Amna Al Ruheili

Rapid urbanization, climate change, and biodiversity loss are intensifying environmental pressures on arid coastal cities through extreme heat, water scarcity, salinity intrusion, and increasing flood risks. Despite substantial investment in urban green spaces across the Gulf region, many public parks provide limited ecological functionality and climate adaptation benefits. This study evaluated the ecological performance of three coastal parks in Muscat, Oman Sarooj Beach Park (23,080 m²), Ghubrah Beach Park (34,818 m²), and Al Athaiba Beach Park (17,370 m²), to identify opportunities for more resilient landscape design. The assessment revealed that although green space occupied 76.8–82% of park areas, tree canopy cover remained low (8–12%), limiting thermal comfort, habitat provision, and ecological performance. Based on these findings, a Functional and Climate-Responsive Planting Strategy (FCRPS) was developed by integrating the 10–20–30 biodiversity guideline with performance-based planting criteria tailored to arid and saline environments. The framework was applied to the proposed Majis Beach Ecological Park in Sohar, Oman, to demonstrate the implementation of ecological urbanism and nature-based solutions in a hyper-arid coastal environment. The resulting design incorporates biodiversity-enhancing planting, blue–green infrastructure, wetland restoration, and climate-responsive spatial planning. The study demonstrates how multifunctional landscapes can enhance biodiversity, improve thermal comfort, strengthen stormwater management, and support community well-being while providing a transferable framework for resilient public park design in arid coastal cities.

The red palm weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier)) is one of the most destructive pests of palm trees worldwide, with severe ecological and economic impacts. This review synthesizes current knowledge on its invasion history, global distribution, host range, biology and damage mechanisms, while assessing advances in detection, monitoring and integrated pest management (IPM). Since its first record in India in 1790, human-mediated trade of infested palms has facilitated its spread across Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and Europe, with Oman reporting infestations since 1993. Temperature, humidity and other environmental factors strongly influence its lifecycle and dispersal, often enabling hidden infestations that remain undetected until irreversible damage occurs. Conventional management approaches primarily insecticides face limitations due to resistance, environmental risks and high costs. Recent advances in eco-friendly biological agents, pheromone trapping, RNA interference, remote sensing and artificial intelligence (AI) offer promising pathways to strengthen IPM frameworks. Case studies in the Gulf highlight both successes and persistent challenges, particularly in farmer participation, surveillance systems and cost-effective implementation. Future directions should prioritize reliable early-detection technologies, predictive modeling of pest distribution under climate change, enhanced quarantine measures and the integration of AI- and Internet of Things (IoT)-based monitoring tools. A coordinated regional strategy, supported by sustainable policies and farmer engagement, is critical to reducing the global threat of red palm weevil (RPW).

In an arid climate, lack of water constitutes a challenge. One solution can be to use storage dams as a tool to facilitate groundwater recharge and provide water for various uses. However, dams cannot be constructed without affecting the environment of the coastal shoreline and its ecological habitats. This study investigated the structural changes (i.e. accretion or erosion) of the coastline along the Wadi Ma’awil watershed. The Wadi Ma’awil watershed was dammed in 1991, providing a 10M m3 dam capacity. Satellite images were obtained for 1972, 1984, 1994, 2008, 2014, and 2018, and coastlines were digitized. For this research, we employed the Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) to calculate the rate of coastline movement and the changes arising from dam construction or anthropogenic changes to the beach. The results showed that from 1972 to 2018, the shoreline experienced erosion of up to -0.70 m/yr for 56% of the watershed coast. This loss could result in remarkable coastal change. This study can be used by urban planners as support for the importance of preserving natural resources and ecological habitats.

Coastal areas and coastal communities are facing threats due to the impacts of climate change. Therefore, assessing their vulnerabilities and the potential for natural habitats to contribute to protecting coastal areas and communities is essential for effective long-term planning, sustainability, and resilient coastal management. This study modeled and mapped coastal vulnerability using the InVEST 3.9.1 model developed by the Natural Capital Project Coastal Vulnerability model to explore the role of natural habitats in mitigating coastal hazards in Southern Al Sharqiya and Al Wusta Governorates of the Sultanate of Oman. The results showed that the highest hazard classification > 2.67 represented 18% of the coastal distribution, the intermediate hazard classification ranging between 2.31 and 2.66 represented 38% of the coastal distribution, and the lowest hazard classification ranging between 1.22 and 2.30) represented 44% of the coastal distribution. These results, however, did not account for the role of natural habitats in coastal protection. In terms of the role of natural habitats in mitigating coastal hazards, the presence of natural habitats reduced the extent of the highest exposed shoreline by 14% and 8% for the highest and intermediate areas, respectively. Under the natural habitat’s scenario, the habitats could provide 59% protection for the coastal communities under the highest exposure category and 41% under the intermediate category. Under a no-habitat scenario, about 75% of the coastal communities are exposed and vulnerable to coastal hazards under the highest hazard exposure category and 25% under the intermediate category. These results demonstrate that it is critical, especially for policymakers, to enhance the protection of coastal ecosystems to achieve coastal resilience. This study buttresses the importance of coastal ecosystem assessments in ensuring coastal resilience and climate change adaptation processes for any coastal countries.

The impact of urbanization on vegetation is poorly studied in sparsely vegetated desert steppe-type vegetation. This study investigates the spatial and temporal impacts of urbanization over 40 years on plant species in Dhofar’s mountains, plains, and bay areas. Satellite images covering 1978 to 2018 were used as Remote Sensing (RS) tools, along with Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques, to detect changes in vegetation patterns. The results showed an increase in urban development in Dhofar over the 40 years, reaching 173.3%, which contributed to the decline in vegetation cover of 36.4%. However, both percentages indicate that other factors, including climate change, have also impacted the vegetation. It was found that air temperature in the study area increased from 1978 to 2018 by 0.8°C, whereas precipitation decreased by 104 mm. The results also indicate a 23.2% and 18.5% reduction in plant species in coastal areas and mountains, respectively, between 1978 and 2018 due to the increase in urbanization. This warns of the impact of urban expansion on rare plant species in the governorate, as 48 plant species only found in Dhofar are threatened with extinction due to construction and urbanization. We recommend making the biodiversity of Dhofar a priority in developing any urban projects, especially at sites that house rare species.

The COVID-19 caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus was reported in China in December 2019. The severity and lethality of this disease have been linked to poor air quality indicators such as tropospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and dust surface mass concentration particulate matter (PM2.5) as possible contributors. The Arab League has 22 member countries and is home to almost 420 million people. The primary objective of this study is to assess the relationship between NO₂, PM2.5 and vertical pressure velocity (hereafter: OMEGA) (extracted from the Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2) database), socio-economic factors (the population and geographic area of each member country) and COVID-19 deaths using Bayesian model averaging. The total plausible models (2⁵) were estimated. The results show that the posterior inclusion probability (PIP), which indicates the probability that a particular indicator is included in the best model, was 0.69, 0.94, 0.68, 0.47, and 0.61 for OMEGA, PM2.5, NO₂, geographical area, and population, respectively, meaning that these variables are important contributors in predicting COVID-19 fatalities in the Arab League states. This study shows that atmospheric satellite measurements from MERRA-2 datasets are capable of being used to quantify trace gases in pandemic studies.

Natural hazards due to climate change have become the new norm in our cities. These events show the vulnerabilities of our cities to extreme conditions, mainly displayed as flash wadi flooding as a result of a short duration of intensive and eroded its shoreline along the coast, resulting in huge impacts, including human losses and urban and infrastructural damages. This study used the urban flood risk mitigation model through an open-source tool—Integrated Evaluation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-off (InVEST)—to estimate the amount of runoff due to two extreme rainfall events for each watershed considered. We used a digital shoreline analysis system (DSAS) to quantify the Al Khaboura shoreline erosion as a result of Shaheen’s storm surge. With the DSAS, the model showed that, during the short period of the event, the Al Khaboura coastal line was eroded by 16.33 m/y, representing 7.82% of its coastal line, up to a maximum erosion distance of 1428.5 m. The weighted linear regression showed the average mean rate of shoreline change of 6.79 m/y. These models could provide a clear picture of the city vulnerability to allow us to propose a corrective measure for interventions at local and regional scales.

Coastal areas and coastal communities are facing threats due to the impacts of climate change. Therefore, assessing their vulnerabilities and the potential for natural habitats to contribute to protecting coastal areas and communities is essential for effective long-term planning, sustainability, and resilient coastal management. This study modeled and mapped coastal vulnerability using the InVEST 3.9.1 model to explore the role of natural habitats in mitigating coastal hazards in Southern Al Sharqiya and Al Wusta Governorates of the Sultanate of Oman. The results showed that the highest hazard classification > 2.67 represented 18% of the coastal distribution, the intermediate hazard classification ranging between 2.31 and 2.66 represented 38% of the coastal distribution, and the lowest hazard classification ranging between 1.22 and 2.30 represented 44% of the coastal distribution. These results, however, did not take into account the role of natural habitats in coastal protection. In terms of the role of natural habitats in mitigating coastal hazards, the presence of natural habitats reduced the extent of the highest exposed shoreline by 14% and 8% for the highest and intermediate areas, respectively. Under the natural habitat’s scenario, the habitats could provide 59% protection for the coastal communities under the highest exposure category and 41% under the intermediate category. These results demonstrate that it is critical, especially for policymakers, to enhance the protection of coastal ecosystems to achieve coastal resilience. This study buttresses the importance of coastal ecosystem assessments in ensuring coastal resilience and climate change adaptation processes for any coastal countries