According to observers, the dangers of removing Yemen's Socotra (the country's most important natural reserve) from the World Heritage List are increasing, because of the absurd practices of the coalition forces that control the island since the start of the war on Yemen in 2015.

 

Environmental experts confirmed that the UAE is deliberately destroying the natural reserve that characterizes the island of Socotra, which is classified as one of the most important biodiversity sites in the world, by tampering with natural reserves and threatening marine life through reckless interventions.

 

Experts warned against the absence of the environmental and biological identity in the Yemeni island, which is characterized by an exceptional level of biodiversity, and is rich in hundreds of species of rare wild and marine organisms and endemic plants that have become increasingly threatened with extinction in recent years.

 

The recent increase in the rate of illegal hunting of hundreds of rare turtles threatened with extinction recently under the control of the coalition countries is an environmental massacre that requires urgent intervention to protect Socotra from these practices that violate local, international and global laws.

 

Socotra island has become a victim of UAE’s crimes of plundering and dredging fish wealth and coral reefs with giant fishing vessels in an unjust manner, targeting rare wild and marine animals, and throwing waste left by giant ships in the archipelago.

It is worth noting that the pro-aggression government, during the Islah Party's control over it, had covered up the tampering happening in Socotra. It received during the year 2021 official notes from the UNESCO World Heritage Committee and a number of organizations working in the field of the environment and offered to provide assistance to protect the island of Socotra from any activities resulting from the military presence of the coalition of aggression.

 

However, this government denied at the time the existence of any threats to the environment of Socotra Island. It claimed in some memorandums of response to international organizations that “the coalition served the environment of Socotra Island” before the Islah party was excluded by the coalition countries. The party later took different positions and accused the coalition countries of occupying the island of Socotra.

 

Source YPA translated by Almasirah English website