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Sir Bu Nair Island Declared A Nature Reserve | |
| Staff Writer |
Sir Bu Nair Island is a critical green spot on the Middle East map owing to it playing home to the endangered hawksbill turtle and features on the International Union for Conservation of Nature list.On 1st June, a hawksbill turtle landed on the island bringing the number of nests to more than 300 spread across 27 beaches in Sharjah in just 3 months.
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The 13 square kilometres island is home to the sooty seagulls (Abu Sannin) and other terns who make thousands of nests in its red soil. Sharjah has incorporated strict laws to preserve all living creatures on the island. It is rich in rare green sea turtles, deer, hedgehogs, and reptiles, forming a perfect nature reserve away from human interference. The island has also recorded the discovery of the red coat fish.
Sir Bu Nair Island has long preserved moments of history too with pottery vessels found on the island dating back to the Iron Age, about 3,500 years ago, confirming the continuation of marine activity on the island during the past 35 centuries.
The island is known as the 'Red Island' because of its red terrain with sandy beaches, coral, and marine life, boasting more than 76 types of fish and 40 types of coral reefs.
The Sir Bu Nair reserve enjoys strategic global importance and is included in the International Convention on Wetlands because of its rich marine life and features on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list with an international agreement on the protection and management of sea turtles in the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia.
The 22nd Sir Bu Nair Festival was held in the presence of H.H. Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, on 3rd and 4th June, to highlight the island's environmental and touristic strength in the Emirati relationship with environment and heritage.