The Arabian Oryx Sanctuary

　Another place/which was delisted as a World Heritage site/was the Arabian Oryx Sanctuary.// It was the first site/to be taken off the World Heritage list.// Unlike Germany,/the Omani government requested the delisting/because it wanted to search for oil,/which was not allowed/under UNESCO guidelines.// It reduced the Sanctuary area by 90%/and let the habitat decline.// Finally,/the World Heritage Committee agreed/to delist the site in 2007.//
　In 1996,/the wild Arabian Oryx population at the Sanctuary was 450,/but by 2007,/it had dropped to 85/because of illegal hunting and declining habitat conditions.// But there is good news.// The animal became a symbol/for the UAE,/and countries in the area are now taking steps/to save it from extinction.// In 2021,/the wild oryx population had increased/to approximately 1,200.//