UNESCOBiosphere Reserve
Sian Ka'an
Mexico
MexicoJaguar · howler monkey
November to April
See parkNicknamed "the Galápagos of the Indian Ocean"; a third of its plants exist nowhere else on the planet
Area
3,796 km²
Designated in
2003
Region
Middle East (Arabian Sea)
Made a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 2003 and a World Heritage Site in 2008, the remote Yemeni island of Socotra has been cut off from the African and Asian mainlands for some 6-7 million years, an evolutionary isolation that has earned it the nickname of "the Galápagos of the Indian Ocean": close to a third of its plant species, the iconic dragon's blood tree among them with its upturned-umbrella crown, exist nowhere else on the planet. The island has stayed largely clear of the armed conflict that has torn mainland Yemen apart since 2015, though its tourism and its connections have suffered all the same from regional instability and from recent extreme weather.
Threatened:
Ecosystems found in Yemen, where Socotra lies.
Which other parks are like this one?
Same type of protected area: Biosphere Reserve
Same type of protected area: Biosphere Reserve
Same type of protected area: Biosphere Reserve
Based on what we already know about this park.
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Climate
Arid / desert, Temperate, Mountain
Endemic species of Yemen:
Same type of protected area: Biosphere Reserve
