ESO Completes Landmark Environmental Assessment of Wadi Dawkah

A scientific assessment of Oman’s famed frankincense landscape has produced a new benchmark for protecting Wadi Dawkah, where the Boswellia sacra tree remains both a cultural emblem and a valuable natural resource.

The Environment Society of Oman surveyed wild, plantation and transplanted frankincense trees in the protected valley near Salalah. Its findings are intended to support future conservation planning, habitat management and biodiversity protection across the site.

Wadi Dawkah lies about 40 kilometres north of Salalah and covers 1,500 hectares of semi-desert terrain. It forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage property known as the Land of Frankincense. Alongside its frankincense trees, the reserve supports plants, birds, reptiles, mammals and arthropods, making it an important arid-land ecosystem and research site.

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Omani Frankincense is one of the nation's most treasured natural and cultural assets, recognised worldwide for its historical significance, medicinal properties and use in fine perfumery.

ESO Executive Director Suaad Al Harthi said the assessment would help guide management while addressing climate change, pests and habitat degradation. “Omani Frankincense is one of the nation's most treasured natural and cultural assets, recognised worldwide for its historical significance, medicinal properties and use in fine perfumery,” she said.

Amouage funded the assessment in collaboration with FairSource Botanicals. Matthew Wright, the company’s director of natural ingredient platforms, said frankincense was both an ingredient in its products and “a symbol of Oman's natural heritage.” He said the partnership would generate knowledge for the long-term conservation of Wadi Dawkah and the species it supports.

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A symbol of Oman's natural heritage.