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Yemen's Socotra island granted province status

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2013-12-20 By Faisal Darem in Sanaa

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Yemen's Socotra islands are famous for their unique vegetation, with botanists ranking the flora of Socotra among the 10 most endangered island flora in the world. [Khaled Fazaa/AFP]

Yemen declared its Socotra archipelago on the Indian Ocean an independent province on Wednesday (December 18th).

The Yemeni parliament and president approved the law, which confirms the new status of Socotra, which was previously part of Hadramaut province.

"The conversion of Socotra into an independent province came because it has a natural make-up that is unique in the world, and also so it can be given more attention in terms of projects and infrastructure, and granted independence in its decision-making," said Issa Abdullah al-Qaisi, deputy governor of Hadramaut province for Socotra affairs.

The inhabitants of Socotra have long asked that the islands be designated an independent province as they lie approximately 500 kilometres from Hadramaut and encompass 3,600 square kilometres, "an area larger than that of some countries", he told Al-Shorfa.

"Thus it was necessary to convert it and the surrounding islands into a province in order to focus development efforts towards it on a broader scale, as for any other province," al-Qaisi said.

The law that established the province also provides for the implementation of a variety of projects to develop Socotra while preserving its diverse natural wealth, he said.

Yemen's parliament has directed the government to speed the completion of infrastructure and service projects in the new province and to provide equipment and resources to enable the local authorities to carry out their duties.

Before development work begins in Socotra, however, an environmental impact study must be conducted, parliament said.

"Socotra has all the elements of a province in terms of diversity of resources," said Mehdi al-Abbasi of the Ministry of Local Administration.

"Implementing infrastructure projects must be expedited, especially those pertaining to the sewage system, treatment plants, roads and electricity, and in such a way as to preserve the unique environmental and natural diversity of the island," he said.

Investment projects should be established far from Socotra's nature reserves, al-Abbasi said, and local residents and their environment, culture and customs must be taken into account in order to achieve development that is economically and culturally balanced.

A TOP TOURIST DESTINATION

The political unrest in Yemen over the past few years hurt the economy in general and tourism in particular, said Yahya al-Sakkab, director general of the eco-tourism department at the Ministry of Tourism.

"The island of Socotra was the exception, as tourists continued to flock to it for its environmental and natural diversity," he said.

It is therefore necessary to put in place infrastructure and tourism projects to help it maintain its position as a top tourist site, which will benefit the province, its inhabitants and Yemen, he said.

The Ministry of Tourism is considering several such projects for the island, including a diving centre that would offer training and integrated services for divers, he said, noting that several experts are set to visit the island to help select a site for the centre.

The island is "one of the top tourist destinations in the world for its unique characteristics and coral reefs", al-Sakkab said.

Besides tourism, Socotra has other economic resources, including fish, meat and honey, said Mustafa Nasr, head of Yemen's Studies and Economic Media Centre.

The decision to designate Socotra as a legally independent province is in its best interest and will lead to an increase in its budget, he told Al-Shorfa.

"The local authority should work on accounting for all the essential projects it needs done so they can be included in the general budget," Nasr said.

"The island is in dire need of infrastructure and services, as well as the establishment of a number of government investment projects to help it attract additional private sector investment," he said.

UNESCO designated Socotra a World Heritage Site in 2008.

Yemen's Socotra granted province status | Al-Shorfa

A few photos of the beautiful Socotra island:


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by Andy Sudeten, on Flickr


swimming pool in natural rock at homhill, Soqotra Island, UNESCO, yemen
by anthony pappone photographer, on Flickr


Far Away ~ Socotra Island, Yemen
by Martin Sojka .. www.VisualEscap.es, on Flickr


Wadi Ayhaft, Haggier Mountains
by twiga_swala, on Flickr

5214220767_3de71916ef_b.jpg
[/url]
Hug Cave-soqotra island-yemen by anthony pappone photographer, on Flickr


Soqotra168
by Alex Martin Ros, on Flickr


Diksam Plateau, Haggier Mountains
by twiga_swala, on Flickr


silence
by Katea ♥, on Flickr


Socotra Island - a man walks along Shouab beach
by sadaiche (Peter Franc), on Flickr
 
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What was your thought process when you were making this thread?
 
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What was your thought process when you were making this thread?

You could start asking yourself that question. What is itching you? Can't you read the article? Or are the photos too beautiful for your liking? In short what the **** is your problem?

Images from a sci-fi film? No, the 'lost world' of Socotra, a remote island with plants up to 20 MILLION years old
  • Socotra Island is home to around 800 rare species of flora and fauna
  • A third of the species found on the Indian Ocean island are endemic and cannot be seen anywhere else on Earth
  • The trees and plants on the island have evolved to suit its hostile climate and some varieties of plant are a staggering 20 million years
By SARAH GRIFFITHS

PUBLISHED: 15:54 GMT, 25 September 2013 | UPDATED: 17:44 GMT, 25 September 2013

The landscape of remote Socotra Island looks as if it comes from a sci-fi film but in fact has evolved to look so other-worldy as the 'lost world' island has been separated from mainland Africa for between six and seven million years.

Much like the Galapagos Islands, which are known for their incredible array of wildlife, Socotra Island is home to around 800 rare species of flora and fauna, around a third of which are found nowhere else on the planet.

Nestled in the Indian Ocean some 250km away from Somalia and 340km from Yemen, the island's harsh environment includes wide sandy beaches, limestone caves and towering mountains, but is for the most part very hot and dry leading to the distinctive appearance of its plants.

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The landscape of remote Socotra Island looks as if it comes from a sci-fi film but in fact has evolved to look so other-worldy as the 'lost world' island has been separated from mainland Africa for between six and seven million years. A dragon's blood tree is pictured

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Much like the Galapagos Islands, which are known for their incredible array of wildlife, Socotra Island is home to around 800 rare species of flora and fauna, around a third of which are found nowhere else on the planet

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Nestled in the Indian Ocean some 250km from Somalia and 340km from Yemen, the island's harsh environment includes wide sandy beaches, limestone caves and towering mountains (the Haghier Mountains are pictured) but is for the most part very hot and dry leading to the distinctive appearance of its plants

The trees and plants on the island have evolved to suit its hostile climate and some varieties of plant are a staggering 20 million-years old, according to Bin's Corner.

Only Hawaii, New Caledonia and the Galapagos Islands have more endemic species after botanical field surveys led by Centre for Middle Eastern Plants, which is part of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh, found that 307 of the 825 plan species could only be found on the island and nowhere else on Earth.
Read more: The 'lost world' of Socotra, a remote island with plants up to 20 MILLION years old | Mail Online
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook


 
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What is the population of Socotra Islands.
 
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About 50.000 inhabitans on all islands.

The figure is disputed though since there has been no census since 2004.

Are they ethnic arabs? Beautiful island btw and good step by the yemini government to make it a seperate province.
 
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Are they ethnic arabs? Beautiful island btw and good step by the yemini government to make it a seperate province.

Yes, the vast majority are Yemeni Arabs. Then you have Southern Semitic natives who speak the Soqotri language which belongs to the Modern Southern Arabian language family.

Modern South Arabian languages - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Soqotri language is distinctive though but closely related to the Mehri language.

Soqotri language - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There are also minorities of Afro-Arabs, Somalians and 100 or 200 Indians.

But of course people have mixed. Some of the Soqotri people look very distinctive for that reason.

Yes, it is. It will increase the awareness of the treasure that is Socotra and improve the tourism sector. Hopefully without putting the unique natural life in jeopardy.
 
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Are they ethnic arabs? Beautiful island btw and good step by the yemini government to make it a seperate province.

Here you can listen to Shehri which is spoken in the mountains of Dhofar in southwestern Oman and which belongs to the South Arabian language family which in reality is a different language family. That language family belongs to the Semitic language family that is part of the larger Afro-Asiatic language family which is widely known to linguists and historians as the oldest of the major language family branches.

Mehri and Soqotri is related to those languages.

Shehri below:


The language has that -ot suffix that you can find in Hebrew. For instance like "banot" - "girls" in Hebrew as apposed to "banat" in Arabic is one example that I can think of.

They are such funny languages. I do not hope that they will become extinct although that will happen ultimately if nothing is done to preserve all those ancient South Arabian languages.

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Modern South Arabian languages - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
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What is this bird called ? i've never seen it before.

As you might now 7abibi then the Arabian Peninsula is one of the most rich regions in terms of bird life, especially KSA and Yemen. There are a dozens of endemic birds found only on Socotra.

I don't know with certainty what species that bird is but I believe it is a Egyptian Vulture but I am not sure.
Wait, that is probably wrong when I look at Google. I have to say that I do not know what kind of bird that is then. Maybe a "bird expert" would know here?
 
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Guys, I highly doubt that Socotra is similar to Baluchistan. Socotra has been a isolated island for millions of years literary and this is why it has such a unique fauna and look. Similar to the Galapagos Islands which is also a alien place unlike any other places on earth. So is Socotra. I have seen plenty of photos from Baluchistan and I would say that it looks like your typical hilly area of that part of the world. It somewhat looks similar to areas of Oman indeed. That I agree with but Socotra is quite unique from the landscapes to the fauna.
 
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Look at those fish caught in the waters of Socotra!

 
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Could Yemen’s island of Socotra — described as the most alien-looking place on earth — be the next Guantanamo Bay?
The Media Line | February 10, 2014 4:10 PM ET

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Khaled Fazaa/AFP/Getty Images/FilesThe island of Socotra. “We do not want to make our beautiful island into a big prison,” one resident says. “We will not accept to change our heaven here into a hell.”
The island of Socotra lies in the Indian Ocean between the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula and has been described as the most alien-looking place on earth.

It is home to about 800 extremely rare species of flora and fauna, a third of which do not exist anywhere else on earth, and many of its 44,000 inhabitants speak an ancient, language of pre-Islamic origin.

island-of-socotra.jpg
But there are fears the Yemeni island of rugged beauty could become a new Guantanamo Bay jail.

Amid renewed American promises to close down the Guantanamo prison in Cuba, there is speculation that Socotra could host a new prison facility for Yemenis after they are released from the U.S.-run jail.

Eighty-seven Yemeni nationals are still being held out of a total of 166 prisoners in Guantanamo, 56 of whom have been recommended for release by a United States Justice Department task force. All of the Yemeni detainees have been held without trial for the past 12 years. More than five years ago, President Barack Obama issued an order to close the Guantanamo, but it has yet to be carried out.

Residents of the island, known for its tall, umbrella-shaped plants called Dragon’s Blood trees, fear that a prison could have negative ecological implications for the area.

“We do not want to make our beautiful island into a big prison,” said Fahmi Ali Ibrahim, a teacher in Socotra. “We will not accept to change our heaven here into a hell.”

At least one Yemeni analyst said the detainees in Guantanamo should be allowed to return to their families.

“We do not want to repeat the U.S. experience of establishing a new Guantanamo in Yemen and we do not want to violate domestic and international law by detaining those inmates without a just trial,” said Ismael Al-Suhaili, a professor of political science.

island-of-socotra-2.jpg

EPA/Yahya Arhab/FilesA tourist takes photos of a Dragon blood tree on the island of Socotra. The island is home to about 800 extremely rare species of flora and fauna.

Nabil Al-Bukairi, the chairman of the Arab Forum for Studies think tank in Qatar, said establishing such a prison for Yemenis would be a boost for Al-Qaeda, which is already active in the country, and make the government look like a traitor to its people.

“If this news is true then it will be a catastrophe for the war on terrorism,” he said.

Abdul-Aziz Al-Dahri, a Yemeni government official in Socotra, said a meeting was held two months ago to discuss the possibility of opening a new detention centre, but it had been rejected.

Fouad al-Ghafari, the bureau chief for the Minister for Human Rights, also denied that there were plans to locate a prison on the island.

“At the same time, we are willing to rehabilitate the Yemeni inmates who will come home,” he said. “We are following up on the cases of 56 inmates to bring them home.”

island-of-socotra-3.jpg

Khaled Fazaa/AFP/Getty Images/FilesDragon Blood trees tower above the other flora on the virtually untouched Yemeni Island of Socotra, a site of global importance for its biodiversity.

Could Yemen’s island of Socotra — described as the most alien-looking place on earth — be the next Guantanamo Bay? | National Post

For more photos of Socotra then see page 31 in this thread below;

The Arabian Peninsula and Arab world in photos | Page 31

Just read the news. Absolutely insane and shameful if this speculation has any truth in it. Socotra is one of the most
unique and beautiful places on the planet and should not be hosting something like a new Guantanamo Base. Let the Americans find some land in Alaska, Western USA etc. for that purpose instead. Plenty of land to choose from. Some of our Arab leaders have no shame...
 
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