Thanks to the Sultanate’s natural beauty landmarks, the country has developed into a unique world of imagination and inspiration. The Sultanate is considered one of the world’s most richly diverse ecosystems in the west Asia region. The country boasts a wide range of mountain series, valleys, inland plains, slopes, rocky hills and coastal plains. It is a natural habitat for green turtles (in marine habitats), red tortoises (in land habitats), sharks, dolphins, whales and predator birds like the Egyptian vulture and the golden falcon.

Oman is home to 99 species of different mammals, including some endangered species like the Arabia Tahr (mountain goat), the Arabia Oryx, the Arabian leopard, the red fox, gazelles and rabbits that dwell wadis (valleys) and mountains. The Governorate in Dhofar, in particular, constitutes a natural habitat for rodents, wolves, hyenas, the blue lizard, water snakes, Arabian frogs and cave inhabiting bats. The Sultanate of Oman was the first GCC state to establish a Ministry of Environment. This helped enact a law on environment protection. Oman was also the first country to accord a prize for conservation protection known the Sultan Qaboos Environment Preservation Prize.