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Socotra Island is an attractive natural landscape. God bestowed it with distinct bio-diversity rich in creatures and beautiful plants. These characteristics have rendered it one of the world's most important ecology islands and placed it at the top of the interests for GFF, which took up the responsibility of funding the biodiversity protection campaign and sustainability of the island's natural resources.
Many animals & plants that live today on Socotra are found nowhere else on earth. The very high degree of endemism makes the island an important place in terms of global wildlife conservation.
It is believed that some of the plants & animals found on Socotra are in fact ancient relics of a much larger land mass which has been preserved here as a result of the fact that the Haghir Massif has not been totally submerged for at least 135 Million years. The absence on any indigenous mammals is reported to be further indication of the island's very ancient origins, possibly from time before mammals appeared on earth.
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 International Organisation of Protecting Environment to classify the island archipelago among the environmental heritages.
The island is ideal for those visitors who have an interest in hiking, snorkeling, and bird watching.
