Hawf – Al Mahrah, Yemen
Coordinates: 16.635864, 53.033672
Nearby Places
- Tarim, city of Prophets and Saints 435.10 Km W (262°)
- Tomb of Hz. Hud عليه السلام 374.89 Km W (261°)
- The shrine of Imam Sheikh Abu Bakr bin Salem رحمة الله عليه 419.58 Km W (262°)
First Heading
Hawf District is a district of the Al Mahrah Governorate, Yemen. As of 2003, the district had a population of 5,143 inhabitants. The Hawf Area was nomination to be a natural UNESCO World Heritage Site in August 2002. Current the status is listed as tentatively approved.
The area as a whole including Dhofar region in Oman and Hawf region in Yemen has been described as a center of plant diversity, and as a ‘fog oasis’ in the Arabian Peninsula which is predominantly arid. Even if at the Omani side protection measures would be undertaken, particular protection of the Hawf pilot area would be justified from an international point of view because of the supposedly local ecological variation and lower land pressure at the Yemeni side.
Overall low population densities in southern part of Yemen, concentration of population in urban areas, and the poor accessibility, have so far spared the natural environment in Hawf pilot area from the radical adaptation and biodiversity decline typical for many parts of Arabia and Yemen as a whole. Within Yemen, the Hawf pilot area constitutes the second largest area with a high tree cover and a high plant and animal diversity.
