The Hawar Islands

The Hawar Islands are an archipelago of smaller off-shore islands. The island hosts herds of reintroduced Gazelle and Arabian Oryx while the surrounding waters support the second largest population of Dugongs Dugong dugong in the world. Since 1997 it has also been recognized by Birdlife International as an Important Bird Area. The Hawar Islands archipelago is the largest Protected Area in Bahrain.  Hawar Islands are featured by the highest level of ecosystem integrity with extensive desert, mudflats and sea grass beds serving as valuable feeding and breeding grounds for a wide range of terrestrial and marine species. The breeding colonies of Socotra cormorant P.nigrogularis is the largest in the world. Hawar Islands have been considered the most Important Bird Area anywhere in the region by Birdlife International. The entire island group and the associated territorial waters are under full protection, and hunting and fishing are particularly prohibited. Exceptionally, fishing by traditional methods is intentionally permitted to encourage the protection of these sustainable methods. Apart from a small constrained resort area, public access to the majority of Hawar Islands is restricted and continuously monitored by the Coast Guards.  For those reasons, Hawar Islands are still largely maintained in pristine condition.