Inscription on the World Heritage List UNESCO comes with certain obligations for the requesting state. UNESCO reserves the right to remove a site from the list if these commitments have not been met or the site has lost its value.
This right was first exercised in 2007, in the case of the Arabian oryx reserve, following the decision of the Omani authorities to reduce the area of the reserve by 90 percent. In addition, the Arabian oryx population in the area had declined from 450 to 65 animals, indicating inadequate management of the area by the local authorities.
