The Ajloun Forest Reserve is a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

located in the

Ajloun Governorate Ajloun Governorate (alternative spelling Ajlun Governorate) ( ar, محافظة عجلون) is one of the governorates of Jordan, located north of Amman the capital of Jordan. Ajloun Governorate has the fourth highest population density in Jordan ...

in north-west

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

. Established by the

Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature The Royal Society for The Conservation of Nature (RSCN) is an independent voluntary organization that is devoted to the conservation of Jordan's natural resources; it was established in 1966 with the late King Hussein as Honorary President. R ...

in 1988 in the area around the village of Umm Al-Yanabi, it comprises an area of . The reserve is houses a

captive breeding Captive breeding, also known as captive propagation, is the process of plants or animals in controlled environments, such as wildlife reserves, zoos, botanic gardens, and other conservation facilities. It is sometimes employed to help species that ...

programme for the locally extinct roe deer and has been declared an Important Bird Area by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

. There are also a number of hiking trails for tourists. In October 2018, Ajloun Natural Reserve won a place among the top 100 sustainable destinations on the global tourism map.

Geography and climate

The climate in the reserve is rare in Jordan as wooded areas account for only 1% of Jordan's area. The geography of the reserve contains mostly rolling hills and valleys as well as some springs. The reserve enjoys a Mediterranean-like climate but has been affected by

desertification Desertification is a type of land degradation in drylands in which biological productivity is lost due to natural processes or induced by human activities whereby fertile areas become increasingly arid. It is the spread of arid areas caused by ...

and deforestation for the past 200 years.

Flora and fauna

The reserve is home to a wide variety of plants and animals. The following animals can be found at the reserve: *

Evergreen oak Live oak or evergreen oak is any of a number of oaks in several different sections of the genus ''Quercus'' that share the characteristic of evergreen foliage. These oaks are not more closely related to each other than they are to other oaks. ...

, (''Quercus calliprinos'') *

Carob The carob ( ; ''Ceratonia siliqua'') is a flowering evergreen tree or shrub in the Caesalpinioideae sub-family of the legume family, Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated for its edible fruit pods, and as an ornamental tree in gardens and landscap ...

, (''Ceratonia siliqua'') *

Terebinth ''Pistacia terebinthus'' also called the terebinth and the turpentine tree, is a deciduous tree species of the genus ''Pistacia'', native to the Mediterranean region from the western regions of Morocco and Portugal to Greece and western and s ...

(''Pistacia terebinthus'') * Strawberry tree, (''Arbutus andrachne'') *

Black iris ''Iris chrysographes'', the black iris, is a plant species that belongs to the genus ''Iris''. It is native to Southern China and Myanmar (Burma), growing in meadows, streamsides, hillsides and forest margins. Other irises with black flowers ...

, (''Iris nigricans''), the national flower of Jordan *

Wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

(''Sus scrofa'') *

Stone marten The beech marten (''Martes foina''), also known as the stone marten, house marten or white breasted marten, is a species of marten native to much of Europe and Central Asia, though it has established a feral population in North America. It is li ...

(''Martes foina'') *

Golden jackal The golden jackal (''Canis aureus''), also called common jackal, is a wolf-like canid that is native to Southeast Europe, Southwest Asia, South Asia, and regions of Southeast Asia. The golden jackal's coat varies in color from a pale creamy y ...

(''Canis aureus'') *

Red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...

(''Vulpes vulpes'') * Striped hyena (''Hyaena hyaena'') *

Persian squirrel The Caucasian squirrel (''Sciurus anomalus'') or Persian squirrel, is a tree squirrel in the genus ''Sciurus'' found in temperate broadleaf and mixed forests in south-western Asia. The species is usually said to have first been described in 1778 ...

(''Sciurus anomalus'') *

Indian crested porcupine The Indian crested porcupine (''Hystrix indica'') is a hystricomorph rodent species native to southern Asia and the Middle East. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. It belongs to the Old World porcupine family, Hystricidae. De ...

(''Hystrix indica'') *

Wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...

(''Canis lupus'') *

Roe deer The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...

(''Capreolus capreolus'')

RSCN programs

The RSCN manages the reserves public and touristic programs. Tourists can stay in tented lodges or cabins between the months of March and November. The RSCN also leads an educational initiative for local youth to learn about biodiversity. Students are taught to measure soil quality, monitor tree renewal and classify plants and animals. The RSCN has also re-introduced the locally extinct roe deer from specimens taken from Turkey. Today there are approximately 12 deer living within the reserve as part of a captive breeding program.

References

External links

Environmentalists Fight Building Plans on Ajloun Reserve

Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) Ajloun Forest Reserve Page

{{Nature reserves in Jordan Ajloun Governorate Tourism in Jordan