Socotra Governorate#Ecology

Scholars' views vary regarding the origin of the name of the island. The name Socotra may derive from:

• A Greek name that is derived from the name of a South Arabian tribe mentioned in Sabaic and Ḥaḑramitic inscriptions as Dhū-Śakūrid (S³krd).{{cite web |title=Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Ancient South Arabia through History |url=https://www.cambridgescholars.com/ancient-south-arabia-through-history |access-date=20 February 2020 |website=www.cambridgescholars.com |pages=5–6 |quote="As for Śakūrid (S³krd), this name appears to be the basis of the Greek name for Soqoṭrā, Dioskouridēs, via a reconstructed *Dhū-Śakūrid.12 |archive-date=13 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230313000239/https://www.cambridgescholars.com/ancient-south-arabia-through-history |url-status=live }}
• The Arabian terms suq, market, and qutra, a vulgar form of qatir, which refers to dragon's blood.[https://web.archive.org/web/20060806223654/http://www.aiys.org/webdate/socot.html A Historical Genealogy of Socotra as an Object of Mythical Speculation, Scientific Research & Development Experiment].

{{main|History of Socotra}}

Since before British rule, Socotra had been part of the Mahra Sultanate but later the British captured it and made Socotra a part of Bombay Presidency in British India and so it remained till 1937. In 1937 British made it part of Aden Protectorate. With the independence of South Yemen in 1967, the archipelago was attached to the Aden Governorate, despite its distance. In 2004, it was moved to the Hadhramaut Governorate.{{cite news |last=Abulohoom |first=Ali |date=29 October 2013 |title=INDEPENDENT SOCOTRA GOVERNORATE: PAVING THE WAY FOR A FEDERAL YEMEN OR A HINT AT SEPARATION? |url=http://www.yementimes.com/en/1724/report/3058/Independent-Socotra-governorate-paving-the-way-for-a-federal-Yemen-or-a-hint-at-separation.htm |access-date=10 April 2015 |agency=Yemen Times |archive-date=14 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150414093721/http://www.yementimes.com/en/1724/report/3058/Independent-Socotra-governorate-paving-the-way-for-a-federal-Yemen-or-a-hint-at-separation.htm |url-status=dead }}

File:Protests (6408227511) (cropped).jpg, November 2011]]

The formation of the Socotra governorate is linked to the desire of Socotrans for greater political autonomy and direct governance. During the Arab Spring in 2011, Socotrans expressed opposition to the proposed "Socotra Authority", advocating for the archipelago to be integrated more closely into the mainland's administrative structure. They sought to elevate Socotra from its division from two local districts under the governorate of Hadhramaut to a single governorate. This change was aimed at ensuring that all funds allocated to Socotra would reach its elected local councils directly, rather than being channeled through Hadhramaut, where they feared embezzlement or misallocation{{Cite journal |last=Peutz |first=Nathalie |date=2012 |title=Revolution in Socotra: A Perspective from Yemen's Periphery |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41702556 |journal=Middle East Report |issue=263 |pages=15 |jstor=41702556 |issn=0899-2851 |quote="...to "past" regimes, many Socotrans are eager to weigh in as impassioned debates take place over the best political system and administrative structure for their islands. From Authority to Autonomy? When, in early 2011, Socotrans expressed their opposition to the proposed Socotra Authority, they did so largely out of the conviction that the archipelago should become more integrated into the mainland's administrative structure, not less. What they wanted instead, these pastoralists with little pati..." }} Since December 2013, it has been a governorate of its own.{{cite news |last=Yaseen |first=Mohammad |date=14 May 2014 |title=Socotra, promising tourist site facing challenges |url=http://www.sabanews.net/en/news353285.htm |access-date=10 April 2015 |agency=Saba News Agency |archive-date=11 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190611062612/http://www.sabanews.net/en/news353285.htm |url-status=live }}

On 30 April 2018, the United Arab Emirates, as a part of the ongoing Yemen Civil War, deployed troops and took administrative control of Socotra Airport and seaport.{{cite news |title=Yemen officials say Emiratis boost forces on Socotra island |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/yemen-officials-say-emiratis-boost-forces-on-socotra-island/2018/05/02/84efa860-4e27-11e8-85c1-9326c4511033_story.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180502195745/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/yemen-officials-say-emiratis-boost-forces-on-socotra-island/2018/05/02/84efa860-4e27-11e8-85c1-9326c4511033_story.html |archive-date=2 May 2018 |newspaper=The Washington Post }}{{cite web |date=6 May 2018 |title=SOCOTRA: HOW A STRATEGIC ISLAND BECAME PART OF A GULF POWER STRUGGLE |url=https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Socotra-How-a-strategic-island-became-part-of-a-Gulf-power-struggle-553599 |website=Jerusalem Post |access-date=11 May 2018 |archive-date=18 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718042523/https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Socotra-How-a-strategic-island-became-part-of-a-Gulf-power-struggle-553599 |url-status=live }} On 14 May 2018, Saudi troops were also deployed on the island and a deal was brokered between the United Arab Emirates and Yemen for a joint military training exercise and the return of administrative control of Socotra's airport and seaport to Yemen.{{cite web |title=Yemen PM: Crisis over UAE deployment to Socotra over |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/05/yemen-pm-crisis-uae-deployment-socotra-180514155240735.html |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=14 May 2018 |archive-date=18 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180518212452/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/05/yemen-pm-crisis-uae-deployment-socotra-180514155240735.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Yemen, UAE Agree on Deal Over Socotra |url=https://www.albawaba.com/news/yemen-uae-agree-deal-over-socotra-1131236 |website=Albawaba News |access-date=14 May 2018 |archive-date=11 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411032102/https://www.albawaba.com/news/yemen-uae-agree-deal-over-socotra-1131236 |url-status=live }}

The Southern Transitional Council seized control of the archipelago in June 2020.{{cite news |last1=Mukhashaf |first1=Mohammed |last2=El Yaakoubi |first2=Aziz |date=21 June 2020 |editor-last=Kasolowsky |editor-first=Raissa |title=Yemen separatists seize remote Socotra island from Saudi-backed government |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-separatists/yemen-separatists-seize-remote-socotra-island-from-saudi-backed-government-idUSKBN23S0DU?il=0 |publisher=Reuters |quote=On Saturday, the STC announced it had seized government facilities and military bases on the main island of Socotra, a sparsely populated archipelago which sits at the mouth of the Gulf of Aden on one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. |archive-date=21 November 2021 |access-date=4 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121224115/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-separatists/yemen-separatists-seize-remote-socotra-island-from-saudi-backed-government-idUSKBN23S0DU?il=0 |url-status=live }}

{{See also|Geology of Socotra}}

The archipelago consists of four larger islands, Socotra, Abd al Kuri, Samhah, and Darsah, as well as 3 small islets to the north of the archipelago. Socotra has most of archipelago's land mass and population. Abd al Kuri and Samhah are also inhabited. The islands are located between 12° 06′ and 12° 42′ N and 52° 03′ and 54° 32′ E.Banfield LM, Van Damme K, Miller AG. Evolution and biogeography of the flora of the Socotra archipelago (Yemen). In: Bramwell D, Caujapé-Castells J, eds. The Biology of Island Floras. Cambridge University Press; 2011:197-225.

The islands lie east of the Horn of Africa, separated from Cape Guardafui in Somalia by the Guardafui Channel. Abd Al Kuri is the westernmost island, located about 100 km from Cape Guardafui. Socotra is the easternmost approximately 380 km south of the Arabian Peninsula and 225 km east of Cape Guardafui. Samhah and Darsah, known as The Brothers, are southwest of Socotra and east of Abd al Kuri.

The islands are composed largely of limestone. The Hajhir Mountains on Socotra have areas of exposed granite.

The lowlands have a mostly arid climate, averaging 150 mm of annual precipitation. Most of the rainfall occurs during the northeast monsoon in the winter months (November–March). The southwest monsoon brings drying winds from the African continent during the summer months (April–October). Sea-facing slopes and mountainous areas receive more moisture from sea fogs and orographic precipitation, with up to 1000 mm annually at high elevations in the Hajhir Mountains. Year-round rivers and streams are found only in the mountains of Socotra.{{cite web |last1=Martin |first1=Emma |last2=Burgess |first2=Neil |title=Socotra Island Xeric Shrublands |url=https://www.oneearth.org/ecoregions/socotra-island-xeric-shrublands/ |website=One Earth |access-date=9 September 2024 |archive-date=10 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240910122413/https://www.oneearth.org/ecoregions/socotra-island-xeric-shrublands/ |url-status=live }}

{{See also|Geology of Socotra}}

File:Hoq_Cave_-_speleothem2.jpg (Arabic: كهف هوق) in the east of the island]]

File:Dixam_canyon_(6407166887).jpg]]

Socotra is one of the most isolated landforms on Earth of continental origin (i.e. not of volcanic origin). The archipelago was once part of the supercontinent of Gondwana and detached during the Miocene epoch, in the same set of rifting events that opened the Gulf of Aden to its northwest.{{cite journal |title=Socotra Archipelago – a lifeboat in the sea of changes: advancement in Socotran insect biodiversity survey |url=http://www.aemnp.eu/PDF/52_s2/52_S2_1.pdf |journal=Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae |volume=52 |issue=supplementum 2 |pages=1–26 |archive-date=11 November 2013 |access-date=11 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111152542/http://www.aemnp.eu/PDF/52_s2/52_s2_1.pdf |url-status=live }} Culturally and politically, the island is a part of Yemen, but geographically it belongs to Africa as it represents a continental fragment that is geologically linked to the continental African Somali Plate.{{cite journal |last1=Beydoun |first1=Z. R. |last2=Bichan |first2=H. R. |date=1970 |title=The Geology of Socotra Island, Gulf of Aden |journal=Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London |volume=3 |pages=413–466 }}

The archipelago consists of the main island of Socotra ({{cvt|3665|km2|sqmi|disp=or}}), three smaller islands, Abd al Kuri, Samhah and Darsa, and two rocky islets, Ka'l Fir'awn and Sābūnīyah, both uninhabitable by humans but important for seabirds.{{cite journal |last1=Shobrak |first1=Mohammed |last2=Alsuhaibany |first2=Abdullah |last3=Al-Sagheir |first3=Omer |date=November 2003 |others=Photographs by Abdullah Alsuhaibany |title=Status of Breeding Seabirds in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden |url=http://www.persga.org/Files//Publications/Technical/TS/TS8_Status_of_Breeding_Seabirds.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=PERSGA Technical Series |language=en, ar |location=Jeddah, Saudi Arabia |publisher=Regional Organization for Conservation of Environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden (PERSGA) |issue=8 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190215010336/http://www.persga.org/Files/Publications/Technical/TS/TS8_Status_of_Breeding_Seabirds.pdf |archive-date=15 February 2019 |access-date=7 May 2013 }} The island is about {{convert|125|km|mi}} long and {{convert|45|km|mi}} north to south.{{cite web |title=Natural History |url=http://www.socotraislandadventure.com/Socotra_%20fauna%26flora.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160318032156/http://socotraislandadventure.com/Socotra_%20fauna%26flora.htm |archive-date=18 March 2016 |access-date=8 October 2011 |publisher=DBT Socotra Adventure Tour }} and has three major physical regions:

• The narrow coastal plains with its characteristic dunes, formed by monsoon winds blowing during three summer months. The wind takes up the coast sand in a spiral and, as a result, forms the snow-white Socotran sand dunes.[https://socotra.info/sand-dunes-of-archer.html Sand dunes of the NE-coast] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240805100635/https://socotra.info/sand-dunes-of-archer.html |date=5 August 2024 }} Retrieved 4 March 2023.
• The limestone plateaus of Momi, Homhil and Diksam with its characteristic karst topography based on limestone rock areas intersected with inter-hill plains. For centuries until recently Socotra's main economic activity was subsistent transhumant animal husbandry, predominantly goats and sheep on these plateaus. The outcome is a unique and still active cultural landscape of agro-pastoralism with its characteristic rainwater harvesting systems.{{cite journal |last1=Elie |first1=Serge D. |date=2008 |title=The Waning of Soqotra's Pastoral Community: Political Incorporation as Social Transformation |journal=Human Organization |volume=67 |issue=3 |pages=335–345 |doi=10.17730/humo.67.3.lm86541uv4765823 }}
• A central massif, the Hajhir Mountains, composed of granite and metamorphic rocks.{{cite web |title=Socotra Fauna and Flora |url=http://www.socotraislandadventure.com/Socotra_%20fauna%26flora.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160318032156/http://socotraislandadventure.com/Socotra_%20fauna%26flora.htm |archive-date=18 March 2016 |access-date=10 January 2010 }} rising to {{convert|1503|m|ft}}.{{cite web |title=Socotra High Point, Yemen |url=http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=11317 |access-date=8 October 2011 |publisher=Peakbagger.com |archive-date=28 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828170141/http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=11317 |url-status=live }}

File:Socotra - Momi Plateau.jpg|Momi Plateau with rainwater harvest structures, water storage body, shelter for herders

File:Socotra Island (11007223546).jpg|Hajhir Mountains

File:Wadi, Socotra Island (14495206039).jpg|A wadi in Socotra

{{Main|Socotra Island xeric shrublands}}

{{See also|List of spiders of Socotra}}File:Великі дерева з Африки.jpg (Dracaena cinnabari) in the Diksam Plateau|left]]

File:Cucumber_tree_(6407165121).jpg, the cucumber tree]]

Socotra is considered the jewel of biodiversity in the Arabian Sea.[https://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL23671476 FACTBOX-Socotra, jewel of biodiversity in Arabian Sea] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309020616/https://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL23671476 |date=9 March 2021 }}. Reuters, 23 April 2008 In the 1990s, a team of United Nations biologists conducted a survey of the archipelago's flora and fauna. They counted nearly 700 endemic species, found nowhere else on earth; only New Zealand,{{cite web |last=Taonga |first=New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu |title=1 – Native plants and animals – overview – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand |url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/native-plants-and-animals-overview/page-1 |access-date=9 June 2017 |website=www.teara.govt.nz |language=en |archive-date=19 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170619165733/http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/native-plants-and-animals-overview/page-1 |url-status=live }} Hawaii, New Caledonia, and the Galápagos Islands have more impressive numbers.{{cite web |last=Burdick |first=Alan |date=25 March 2007 |title=The Wonder Land of Socotra |url=http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/03/25/travel/tmagazine/03well.socotra.t.html |access-date=9 November 2009 |work=T Magazine |publisher=The New York Times |location=New York |archive-date=10 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510220458/http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/03/25/travel/tmagazine/03well.socotra.t.html |url-status=live }}

The long geological isolation of the Socotra archipelago and its fierce heat and drought have combined to create a unique and spectacular endemic flora. Botanical field surveys led by the Centre for Middle Eastern Plants of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, indicate that 307 out of the 825 (37%) plant species on Socotra are endemic.{{cite book |last1=Miller |first1=A.G. |title=Ethnoflora of the Socotra Archipelago |last2=Morris |first2=M. |publisher=Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh |year=2004 }} The entire flora of the Socotra Archipelago has been assessed for the IUCN Red List, with three Critically Endangered and 27 Endangered plant species recognised in 2004.

One of the most striking of Socotra's plants is the dragon's blood tree (Dracaena cinnabari), which is a strange-looking, umbrella-shaped tree. Its red sap was thought to be the dragon's blood of the ancients, sought after as a dye, and today used as paint and varnish. Also important in ancient times were Socotra's various endemic aloes, used medicinally, and for cosmetics. Other endemic plants include the giant succulent tree (Dorstenia gigas), the cucumber tree (Dendrosicyos socotranus), the rare Socotran pomegranate (Punica protopunica), Aloe perryi, and Boswellia socotrana.{{Cite book |last=Kingdon |first=Jonathan |author-link=Jonathan Kingdon |url=https://archive.org/details/islandafricaevol0000king |title=Island Africa: The Evolution of Africa's Rare Plants and Animals |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=1989 |isbn=978-0-691-08560-9 |location=Princeton, New Jersey |pages=[https://archive.org/details/islandafricaevol0000king/page/38 38]–42 |url-access=registration }}

The island group has a rich fauna, including several endemic species of birds, such as the Socotra starling (Onychognathus frater), the Socotra sunbird (Nectarinia balfouri), Socotra bunting (Emberiza socotrana), Socotra cisticola (Cisticola haesitatus), Socotra sparrow (Passer insularis), Socotra golden-winged grosbeak (Rhynchostruthus socotranus), and a species in a monotypic genus, the Socotra warbler (Incana incana). Many of the bird species are endangered by predation by non-native feral cats. With only one endemic mammal, six endemic bird species and no amphibians, reptiles constitute the most relevant Socotran vertebrate fauna with 31 species. If one excludes the two recently introduced species, Hemidactylus robustus and Hemidactylus flaviviridis, all native species are endemic. There is a very high level of endemism at both species (29 of 31, 94%) and genus levels (5 of 12, 42%). At the species level, endemicity may be even higher, as phylogenetic studies have uncovered substantial hidden diversity.Vasconcelos R, Montero-Mendieta S, Simó-Riudalbas M, Sindaco R, Santos X, et al. (2016) Unexpectedly High Levels of Cryptic Diversity Uncovered by a Complete DNA Barcoding of Reptiles of the Socotra Archipelago. PLOS ONE 11(3): e0149985. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0149985 The reptile species include skinks, legless lizards, and one species of chameleon, Chamaeleo monachus. There are many endemic invertebrates, including several spiders (such as the Socotra Island Blue Baboon tarantula, Monocentropus balfouri) and three species of freshwater crabs in the Potamidae (Socotra pseudocardisoma and two species in Socotrapotamon).Apel, M. and Brandis, D. 2000. A new species of freshwater crab (Crustacea: Brachyura: Potamidae) from Socotra Island and description of Socotrapotamon n. gen. Fauna of Arabia 18: 133-144.

The Socotran pipistrelle (Hypsugo lanzai) is the only species of bat, and mammal in general, thought to be endemic to the island.{{cite web |title=Endemic Fauna - SOCOTRA.CZ |url=http://www.socotra.cz/endemic-fauna-28.html?lang=en |access-date=3 February 2022 |website=www.socotra.cz |archive-date=4 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204021427/http://www.socotra.cz/endemic-fauna-28.html?lang=en |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Yemen Endemic Mammals Checklist |url=http://lntreasures.com/yemenm.html |access-date=3 February 2022 |website=lntreasures.com |archive-date=3 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220203211713/http://lntreasures.com/yemenm.html |url-status=live }} In contrast, the coral reefs of Socotra are diverse, with many endemic species. Socotra is also one of the homes of the brush-footed butterfly Bicyclus anynana.Bicyclus, Site of Markku Savela

Over the 2,000 years of human settlement on the islands, the environment has slowly but continuously changed, and, according to Jonathan Kingdon, "the animals and plants that remain represent a degraded fraction of what once existed." The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea states that the island had crocodiles and large lizards, and the present reptilian fauna appears to be greatly diminished since that time. Until a few centuries ago, there were rivers and wetlands on the island, greater stocks of the endemic trees, and abundant pasture. The Portuguese recorded the presence of water buffaloes in the early 17th century. Now there are sand gullies in place of rivers, and many native plants survive only where there is greater moisture or protection from roaming livestock. The remaining Socotran fauna is greatly threatened by goats and other introduced species.

The island was recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a world natural heritage site in July 2008. The European Union has supported such a move, calling on both UNESCO and the International Organisation of Protecting Environment to classify the island archipelago among the major environmental heritages.{{cite news |date=15 April 2008 |title=EU to protect Socotra archipelago environment |url=http://www.sabanews.net/en/news151852.htm |work=SabaNews.net |publisher=Yemen News Agency |archive-date=11 June 2019 |access-date=10 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190611234004/http://www.sabanews.net/en/news151852.htm |url-status=live }}

Previously, the archipelago pertained to the Hadhramaut Governorate. In 2013, however, the archipelago was removed from the Hadhramaut Governorate and the Socotra Governorate was created, consisting of the districts of:

• Hidaybu, with a population of 32,285 and a district seat at Hadibu, consisting of the eastern two-thirds of the main island of Socotra;
• Qalansiyah wa 'Abd-al-Kūrī, with a population of 10,557 and a district seat at Qulensya, consisting of the minor islands of the archipelago (the island of 'Abd-al-Kūrī chief among them) and the western third of the main island.

The primary occupations of the people of Socotra have traditionally been fishing, bee keeping, animal husbandry, and the cultivation of dates.{{Cite web |date=2 April 2016 |title=Welcome to one of the most exotic islands in the world - Al-Monitor: Independent, trusted coverage of the Middle East |url=https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2016/04/yemen-island-socotra-biodiversity-strategic-role-economy.html |access-date=27 September 2022 |website=www.al-monitor.com |language=en |archive-date=27 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220927224926/https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2016/04/yemen-island-socotra-biodiversity-strategic-role-economy.html |url-status=live }} Some residents raise cattle and goats. The chief export products of the island are dates, ghee, tobacco, and fish.[https://islandstudies.com/files/2016/11/Socotra.pdf Economy of Socotra] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240825230727/https://islandstudies.com/files/2016/11/Socotra.pdf |date=25 August 2024 }} Retrieved 4 January 2023.

Monsoons long made the archipelago inaccessible from June to September each year. In July 1999, however, a new airport opened Socotra to the outside world all year round. There was regular service to and from Aden and Sana'a until the start of the civil war in 2015. All scheduled commercial flights made a technical stop at Riyan-Mukalla Airport. Socotra Airport is located about {{convert|12|km|mi|abbr=off|frac=2}} west of the main city, Hadibu, and close to the third-largest town in the archipelago, Qād̨ub.{{cite web |title=aviationweather.gov |url=http://adds.aviationweather.gov/metars/stations.txt |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100114182203/http://adds.aviationweather.gov/metars/stations.txt |archive-date=14 January 2010 |access-date=3 August 2008 }} Diesel generators make electricity widely available in Socotra. A paved road runs along the north shore from Qalansiyah to Hadibu and then to the DiHamri area; and another paved road, from the northern coast to the south through the Diksam Plateau.[https://dxnews.com/7o2a_socotra_yemen/ Paved roas in Socotra] Retrieved 4 January 2023.

At the end of the 1990s, a United Nations Development Program was launched to provide a close survey of the island of Socotra.{{cite web |title=Default Page |url=http://www.socotraproject.org/index.php?page=content&id=32 |website=www.socotraproject.org |access-date=11 September 2024 |archive-date=3 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303033226/http://www.socotraproject.org/index.php?page=content&id=32 |url-status=live }} The project called Socotra Governance and Biodiversity Project have listed following goals from 2009:

• Local governance support
• Development and implementation of mainstreaming tools
• Strengthening non-governmental organizations' advocacy
• Direction of biodiversity conservation benefits to the local people
• Support to the fisheries sector and training of professionals

• List of islands of Yemen

{{Reflist}}

• https://www.friendsofsoqotra.org/Soqotra_archipelago.html

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