For the first time in about four decades, sea turtles returned this year to nest on a beach at Khor Kalba on the Indian Ocean.

 

A Green turtle and a Hawksbill turtle produced hatchlings in the spring that successfully found their way to sea.

 

Before 2012 this would not have been possible when the beach and the adjacent mangrove were declared a protected area out of bounds to residents and visitors alike.

 

Before the ban, the area had been frequented by tourists and fishermen. The resulting noise and light pollution kept female turtles away, while off-road vehicles jeopardized eggs laid on the beach.

 

Spread across 1,494 hectares, the Al Hafiya protected area consists of mangroves, mud flats, coastal sands, a gravel plain covered in acacia trees and a mountains.

 

Waters within a nautical mile of the protected coastline are out of bounds to fishermen. The protection was declared in March 2012 and the following year it was registered with the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.

 

In addition to the turtles’ return, there are other signs of recovery, with new mangrove trees growing in the channels. Small patches of sea grass and sea sponge can also be seen.

 

The mangrove, some 300 years old, provide the only place in the UAE where the white-collared kingfisher breeds. The bird, also known as mangrove kingfisher, can be found from the Red Sea to Australia. Its subspecies, kalbaensis, however, can only be found in Kalba and at two sites in Oman.

 

Kalba’s coastal dunes, covering an area of approximately two hectares, are the only remaining habitat example on the east coast. The dunes are also the only place in the UAE where a colony of Blanford’s fringe-toed lizards still live.

 

 

PHOTO: A 2012 move to restrict fishermen and the public at the Kalba nature reserve has helped sea turtles, such as the Hawksbill, to return to the area.

CREDIT: Romeo Gacad / AFP.