May 2010 ISSUE 7 Tayf the Soqotra Newsletter Issued By FRIENDS OF SOQOTRA and SOCOTRA CONSERVATION FUND Soqotra in a Time of Change Friends of Soqotra Conference and AGM 2010 Exeter University, UK 25 - 26 September The Friends of Soqotra AGM and Conference for 2010 will be hosted by the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter, by Julian Jansen Van Rensburg. We would hereby invite members to attend. The AGM follows the Red Sea V Conference at Exeter which is expected to attract wide interest. The subject for this year focuses on the changing nature of the Shaheb, Soqotra. This beach is planned to be developed into a large commercial Soqotra Archipelago, looking at past harbor, funded by Kuwait – the photo shows the first stone. Environmental as well as and current issues that have affected esthetic impacts are expected to be severe, as the new port will provide a major the ecology, environment and people. invasion pathway to exotic species. Photo Kay Van Damme. Deadline for abstracts is June 15th, 2010, contact
[email protected] France Provides €1 Million Iranian Boats Seized http://projects.exeter.ac.uk/mares/ for Biodiversity on Soqotra Friendsofsocotraconf.html Two Iranian boats were seized at The French Agency for Development Hawlaf, Soqotra, for illegal fishing (AFD) granted €1 million for supporting Tourist Numbers Increase practices. Alarmed by local people, the biodiversity in the Soqotra Archipelago. army at Soqotra stopped one of the Around 3,786, tourists visited Soqotra in The grant agreement signed by Minister boats and questioned the crew. Illegal 2009, an increase over numbers in 2008 of Planning and International fishing at Soqotra shores is common of 2530.