Current view: Text account
Site description (2014 baseline):
The Aden wetlands comprise:
Al Haswa Natural Protected Area. A large area of grazing marsh and pools at the edge of Aden Harbour. Reserve established in 2008. Co-ordinates: 12.8315/44.97017. c50 ha of pools, flooded marsh (grazed by sheep and cattle). Typha reeds and Prosopis juliflora woodland created through run-off of treated effluent. Might be threatened by future port expansion and change of sewage treatment regime.
Intertidal flats: extensive mudflats covered by tide twice daily.
Aden lagoons: four large lagoons on the east side of the Aden Causeway
Abyan beach: long stretch of sandy beach, regularly disturbed, being much used for recreation.
Aden Sewage treatment works: concrete lagoons for the treatment of sewage effluent.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Threats: Might be threatened by future port expansion and change of sewage treatment regime; impacted by floating rubbish, especially plastic. The managers have engineered it so that almost all of the water is channelled to a region that is far from where the people are allowed to go though this is not necessarily a bad thing. Abyan Beach and the Causeway are also important for birds as are the sewage lagoons. Al Hiswah has not been properly studied for accumulation of heavy metals and toxins so we really don't know the effects these might pose to the bird populations there.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Aden (Yemen). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/aden-iba-yemen on 23/11/2024.
