Detwah Lagoon

Detwah Lagoon

Detwah Lagoon is an Important Bird Area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it has been designated as a Ramsar site since 2007. The area is a coastal lagoon on the north-western side of Socotra Island, which is known as the "biodiversity jewel" of the Arabian Sea. The site is a tidal bay that opens out to sea and is surrounded by sand dunes and 400 meters high limestone and granite cliffs. The fairly intact seagrass habitat offers ideal shelter from predators, provides feeding grounds and shelter for young fish, and is the only place on the island where the endangered Leopard Stingray Himantura Uarnak and the near threatened Bluespotted Ribbon Ray Taeniura Lymma have been observed. The site is an important resting and feeding area for waterfowl, with 32 species recorded, 10 of which are permanent breeding species and 16 wintering species. The Egyptian Vulture Neophron Percnopterus and the vulnerable Socotra Cormorant Phalacrocorax Nigrogularis nest in the area. Socotran endemic flora can be found here, including Croton socotranus and Jatropha unicostata.