Saudi Arabia to get its first Houbara museum

The International Fund for Houbara Conservation (IFHC) has joined forces with Saudi Arabia’s Al Qassim region to launch a houbara museum, in a UAE-Saudi partnership that spreads awareness of the vulnerable bustard and the need to preserve and conserve the emblematic species, UAE state news agency, WAM, reported on Sunday.

Prince Faisal bin Mishaal bin Saud bin Abdulaziz bin Saud, governor of the Al Qassim Region, inaugurated the permanent houbara museum and the Houbara Guidance Centre in Al Qassim Park, the Kingdom’s first installation dedicated to the conservation of the houbara bustard.

The museum is designed to raise awareness of the houbara and the need to preserve and conserve the species and its natural habitats for future generations, in line with the fund’s efforts to ensure the species has a sustainable future in the wild through effective and appropriate conservation.

The launch of the museum marked the culmination of Al Qassim region’s first “Environment Week” that also saw the release of 18 captive-bred houbara into the wild.