Sanganeb Marine National Park and Dungonab Bay – Mukkawar Island Marine National Park

Sanganeb lighthouse (Clifton Beard/Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0).

Sudan (Port Sudan; Suakin; Tokar)

N19 44 10 E37 26 35

Date of Inscription: 2016

Criteria:

vii. to contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance;

ix. to be outstanding examples representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial, fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of plants and animals;

x. to contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation.

Property : 199,523.908 ha

Buffer zone: 401,135.66 ha

Ref: 262rev

One of the many marine species in the area (Cathy Thomas/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).

The property consists of two separate areas: Sanganeb is an isolated, coral reef structure in the central Red Sea and the only atoll, 25 km north-east off the shoreline of Port Sudan city. The second component of the property is made up of Dungonab Bay and Mukkawar Island, situated 125 km north of Port Sudan. It includes a highly diverse system of coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass beds, beaches and islets. The site provides a habitat for populations of seabirds, marine mammals, fish, sharks, turtles and manta rays. Dungonab Bay also has a globally significant population of dugongs.

Sanganeb Marine National Park is one of the most unique reef structures in the Sudanese Red Sea whose steep slopes rise from a sea floor more than 800 m deep. The Atoll is characterized by steep slopes on all sides. The dominated coral reef ecosystem harbors significant populations of fauna and flora in a stable equilibrium with numerous endemic and endangered species. The reefs are distinctive of their high number of species, diverse number of habitats, and high endemism. The atoll has a diverse coral fauna with a total of 86 coral species being recorded. The total number of species of algae, polychaetes, fish, and Cnidaria has been confirmed as occurring at Sanganeb Atoll.

Dungonab Bay is engulfing Mukkawar Island, which is 30km offshore Dungonab Peninsula. The area was declared a Marine Protected Area in 2004; it contains extensive and diverse seagrass beds, a regionally important population of dugong, regionally or globally important nesting areas for marine turtles and seabirds, and seasonal aggregations of whale sharks and manta rays that are unique in the entire western Indian Ocean region. The area is known to be of particular significance for birds and is designated as an Important Bird Area. The eastern shore of Mukawwar Island is a turtle nesting site of regional and possibly international significance. The Dugongs population occurring in Dungonab Bay/Mukawwar Island may be the most important remaining on the coast of Africa.