When the Environment Society of Oman was established in 2004, environmental work in the country was mostly happening inside government institutions and scientific bodies. What was missing, according to ESO, was an organization that could sit between science, communities, and the public, translating research into action people could actually take part in. Two decades later, that's still fundamentally the role ESO plays, even as the scope of the work has grown considerably.
From Species to Systems
ESO's focus has shifted over the years from individual species toward entire ecosystems, climate change, and how businesses and communities reduce their impact on nature. The organization now works across research, conservation, education, capacity building, and private sector partnerships, but the throughline hasn't changed: bringing different stakeholders together and turning scientific knowledge into practical conservation action.
A Tree That Isn't Just a Symbol
Frankincense carries enormous cultural weight in Oman, particularly in Dhofar, but ESO's research treats it as an ecological question as much as a heritage one. The trees face a mix of pressures: overgrazing, human disturbance, unsustainable harvesting, habitat degradation, and climate-related shifts in rainfall and temperature.
"Protecting existing mature trees alone is not enough if young trees are not successfully replacing them. ESO's approach is therefore not simply about protecting individual trees. It is about understanding the wider ecosystem and the factors that determine whether frankincense populations can remain healthy in the long term."
Environment Society of Oman
That approach extends to the people who live alongside these landscapes. ESO frames local communities, who've depended on frankincense habitats for generations, as part of the solution rather than a separate concern from the ecology itself.
A Correction Worth Making
When I asked about ESO's Arabian Tahr research, an endemic mammal found in Oman's northern mountain ranges, the honest answer was that ESO isn't currently involved in that work, though the organization said it hopes to find supporters for it soon. It's a small admission, but a telling one: even Oman's only dedicated conservation NGO can't cover every species that needs attention, a limitation that says more about the scale of the challenge than about ESO itself.
Proof That Behavior Actually Changes
Asked what ESO is most proud of, the answer wasn't a single project but a body of long-term work, particularly on turtles, where sustained research and monitoring have deepened understanding of the species and the threats to its nesting habitats.
What does success actually look like?
One concrete example: members of turtle-nesting communities have replaced traditional home lighting with turtle-friendly alternatives, reducing light pollution that disorients nesting turtles and hatchlings. For ESO, the real measure of success isn't the number of projects delivered, but whether people's understanding of Oman's natural heritage actually shifts, including young programme participants who go on to become environmental advocates themselves.
Making the Case That Conservation Isn't Optional
The hardest part of the job, by ESO's own account, is doing long-term conservation work on short-term funding, a mismatch that shapes almost everything the organization does. But the deeper challenge sits underneath that: convincing people that environmental conservation isn't a luxury or an optional cause, but something directly tied to Oman's economy, communities, and health.
"A big part of our role is therefore not only implementing conservation projects, but also building partnerships, raising funds, engaging the public and helping businesses understand why investing in nature matters."
Environment Society of Oman
What's Next
ESO's next phase centers on making conservation part of Oman's broader development conversation, not a separate track from it. That includes expanding work with businesses and decision-makers on natural capital, helping organizations understand their own impact on and dependency on nature, alongside continued investment in environmental education and youth engagement. Financial resilience is part of the plan too: diversifying fundraising and building longer-term private sector relationships so the work doesn't live or die with individual grants.
About ESO
The Environment Society of Oman, founded in 2004, is Oman's only NGO dedicated entirely to environmental conservation. Learn more at www.eso.org.om.
Sources & Attribution
- All quotes and figures in this article were provided directly by the Environment Society of Oman, via Partnership Manager Hanan Al Muscati, in response to written questions from Greenly, September 2026.