Bedouins, wealth, and change : a study of rural development in the United Arab Emirates and the Sultanate of Oman

In contrast to the tribal population of the Islamic Orient which experienced not only spatial disintegration but also the loss of traditional tribal structures nomads in the Arab Gulf region have been active participants in modern development. Extensive settlement projects are underway and farms are in the process of being turned over to Bedouin families. Handicrafts such as embroidery and weaving are being promoted. Financial support has been provided for the preservation of camel breeding and the planting of date groves. Credit is being extended to Bedouins for the construction of residential and business buildings. The provision of schools hospitals and vocational centers represents another government measure aimed at enabling all tribes of Bedouins to enter into modern society. This document describes measures and projects for developing Bedouin land economy and society that have been adopted in the United Arab Emirates and in the Sultanate of Oman. In the United Arab Emirates traditional nomadism has been in a state of crisis since the 1930s due to the lessened importance of the camel as a means of transportation and the decline in pearl fishing. Integration of Bedouin tribes into the development process has been achieved through measures such as low-cost housing settlements markets and consumer cooperatives womens development centers the continuation of animal husbandry in the rural Bedouin regions of Abu Dhabi and expansion of the amount of cultivated land in Bedouin areas. In Oman nomads and Bedouins have shown a tendency toward permanent settlement a reduction of migratory activity and acceptance of nonagricultural employment. The government has developed a settlement project in Tanam and a water supply and settlement project in Haima that are aimed at the countrys mobile population. Other development projects have included experimental farms date factories and land distribution. As a result there has been a reduction in the frequency and distance of nomadic movements and a transition toward permanent settlement.