Ghuba Mangroves Restoration Project on Socotra Island
The Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage (ARC-WH), in collaboration with Friends of Soqatra (Fos) and with the support from the Environment Protection Authority (EPA), is pleased to announce the launching of the “Ghuba Mangroves Restoration Project on Socotra Island” initiative. The project is implemented by the Al Tamek local Association responsible for mangrove restoration.
The project aims at restoring and rehabilitating lost mangrove ecosystems in a targeted area and to support the mitigation and minimisation of coastal erosion (thereby countering cyclone impacts), and will serve as one of the climate change mitigation measures, since mangroves are considered one of the best carbon sinks.
Additionally, this important ecosystem provides a habitat for several endemic bird species, such as the Socotra Warbler and Socotra Cisticola, as well as shellfish and endemic reptile species that live in local mangrove habitats.
The team has considered the economic benefits that Mangrove Systems provide at a local community level. Therefore, this project will help to instil a sense of the value of mangrove conservation, and their surrounding environment in the local community and their youth.
