Burqu Nature Reserve was established in the year 2018 and is
located in in the North-Eastern Badia within Mafraq Governorate's borders. Its
suggested northern borders are located around 12km's away from the
Jordanian-Syrian borders, approximately 200 km's east the capital Amman, and
north the international road connecting Amman and Baghdad. The reserve's
suggested area is about 906 square kilometers, and its suggested borders are
outside the boundaries of the municipal areas. Ruwaished Municipality region is
considered the nearest municipal location to the suggested reserve with the
distance of about 14 km's from the far north Ruwaished Municipality border.
The significance of Burqu region as a site qualified as a nature
reserve since the seventies, where the first study on Nature Reserves in
Jordan's history was conducted by the Royal Society for the Conservation of
Nature with support from the International Fund for Animal Welfare and the
International Union for Conservation of Nature in the seventies and recommended
the conservation of 4% of Jordan's area. This study, known as
"Clark's Study" suggested 12 sites that jointly cover the various
ecosystems in Jordan and together formed the basis for the national plan for
creating a network of national reserves. Burqu site was one of the sites
included in Clark's list of suggested reserves since it represents a unique
ecosystem and the increasing applications that threaten the region's ecosystem.
In 1997, the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature conducted
a comprehensive review and assessment of the nature reserves' network using
international standards developed by the International Union for Conservation
of Nature. The study considered the changes that occurred to the sites
suggested in Clark's list due to the absence of protection and land use changes
in the recommended natural reserve sites. This list was reviewed again in 2008,
where the assessment criteria were amended in proportion with the specificity
of biodiversity in Jordan.
As for National Governmental Strategies regarding biodiversity, the
National Strategy for Biodiversity and Action Plan (2015-2020) emphasized the
need to prepare Burqu and Petra nomination files, and move forward with the
establishment and operation of both reserves by 2018 under the third strategic
goal surrounding the protection of main ecosystems, species and genetic
resources. The preparation of this file submitted to the Ministry of
Environment is a practical legal first step towards the announcement and
establishment of Burqu site as a nature reserve. The file includes the legal
requirements that must be met in a request to declare any nature reserve as
specified by the " Regulation No. 29 of 2005 on protected areas and
national parks."
The reserve represents the most important areas of bird migration
in Jordan and is considered one of the important wetlands for bird resting
areas in the northeastern desert
The reserve was established for several goals:
Protection of the dominant ground patterns of the Burqa’ reserve,
which are not currently represented in any of the protected areas established
in Jordan
Protecting the unique biodiversity associated with the Al Hammad
area, where endemic species that do not exist in other areas outside the
basaltic desert live there.
Protecting the area from threats and regulating grazing and hunting
of birds and deer, and developing the concept of responsible and sustainable
hunting.
Enjoy the experience of training falcons in Burqa’ reserve within
an area that takes up around 20% of the reserve, and on specific types of
Houbara birds that are multiplied in captivity for this purpose. Contributed
with us to nature protection programs in the eastern desert and the application
of the concept of sustainable hunting.