Detwah Lagoon

Detwah Lagoon (Ditwah Protected Area). 08/10/2007; Socotra Island; 580 ha; 12°42’20”N 53°30’24”E. Important Bird Area, UNESCO World Heritage site. The site is a coastal lagoon on the northwestern side of Socotra Island, an island famously known as ‘a jewel of biodiversity’ in the Arabian Sea. Consisting of a tidal inlet open to the sea, it is surrounded by sand dunes and 400m high limestone and granite cliffs. The relatively pristine sea grass habitat provides ideal refuge from predators, acting as a feeding area and shelter for juvenile fish, and it is the only site on the Island where the vulnerable Leopard Stingray Himantura uarnak and the near-threatened Bluespotted Ribbontail Ray Taeniura lymma have been recorded. It is considered an important roosting and feeding area for waterbirds, with 32 species recorded of which 10 are resident breeding species and 16 wintering species. The endangered Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus and the vulnerable Socotra cormorant Phalacrocorax nigrogularis breed in the site. Flora endemic to Socotra can be found including Croton socotranus and Jatropha unicostata. Unregulated tourism and recreational activities pose a threat, and funding is needed to build capacity to manage and monitor the area, declared protected in 2000. Ramsar Site no. 1736. Most Recent RIS Information: 2013.

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