Baa Atoll (includes Southern Maalhosmadulu Atoll or Maalhosmadulu Dhekunuburi, Fasdhūtherē Atoll, and Goifulhafehendhu Atoll) is an

administrative division Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

of the

Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...

. It consists of three separate natural atolls, namely southern Maalhosmadulu Atoll (which is 42 km long and 32 km wide and consists of 9 inhabited islands), the Fasdūtherē Atoll (wedged in between the two Maalhosmadulu Atolls and separated from north Maalhosmasdulu Atoll by Hani Kandu or Moresby Channel) and the smaller natural

atoll An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical parts of the oceans and seas where corals can develop. Most ...

known as Goifulhafehendhu Atoll (Horsburgh Atoll in the Admiralty charts). Situated on the west of the Maldives atoll chain, it consists of 75 islands of which 13 are inhabited with a population of over 11,000 people. The remaining 57 islands are uninhabited, in addition to eight islands being developed as resorts. Thulhaadhoo Island is traditionally well known for lacquerwork handicrafts.

Geography

Baa Atoll consists in two roughly circular sub-atolls, separated by the narrow Kudarikilu Kandu channel. The total measures approximately 38 km wide (east-west) for 46 km long (north-south), covering a surface of 1 127 km² surface.Paul S. Kench et al., « The geomorphology of Baa (south Maalhosmadulu) atoll and its reef islands », in Andréfoüet & al., ''Biodiversity, resources, and conservation of Baa atoll (Republic of Maldives) : a UNESCO Man and Biosphere Reserve'', Washington DC, Atoll Research Bulletin, 2012. The atoll is formed by 105 coral reefs, representing a reef surface of 263 km². This reef surface is 61 islands provided with vegetation, and a variable number of sandy bays (between 4 and 14). Half (38) of these islands are less than 10 hectares, constituting less than 20% of the atoll lands. The biggest island is Dharavandhoo (45,5 ha), followed by Kunfunadhoo (35 ha). The highest point, although difficult to establish, is situated in Funadhoo., with 3,19 m over the sea level. Image:Baa atoll islands.JPG, Sky view of a part of Baa atoll. Image:Maldives island.JPG, A typical desert island of Baa atoll, with its reef on the first ground. Image:Reethi Beach Maldives.jpg, Sight of Fonimagoodhoo, a resort island.

Biodiversity and ecology

Maalhosmadulu Atoll is also considered as a good example of the rich

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

found in the Maldives, including large mangroves and a unique diversity of fauna, such as the benthic fauna. Furthermore, the ring-shaped reef forms known as ''faru'' in the

Dhivehi language Dhivehi, also spelled Divehi, is the main language, used in the Maldive Islands. This may refer to: * Dhivehi people, an ethnic group native to the historic region of the Maldive Islands * Dhivehi language, an Indo-Aryan language predominantly sp ...

is a

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic component, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition (geol ...

structure which is unique to the

. The southernmost uninhabited island of Olhugiri in the North Maalhosmadulu Atoll lies 13 km north of Goifulhafehendhu Atoll. Olhugiri is well known for its unique natural vegetation and for providing two of the only perching sites for the

great frigatebird The great frigatebird (''Fregata minor'') is a large seabird in the frigatebird family (biology), family. There are major nesting populations in the tropical Pacific Ocean, such as Hawaii and the Galápagos Islands; in the Indian Ocean, colonies ...

in the Maldives. Likewise, other marine creatures such as sea turtles and hawksbill turtles can be encountered. The Fisheries Ministry of the Maldives has banned catching turtles or taking eggs from Olhugiri, which also applies to 11 other islands. Image:Baa Atoll Maldives.JPG, A typical underwater landscape of Baa atoll, with a hawksbill turtle and a Maldivian clownfish. Image:Baa Atoll (Voavah).JPG, Coral landscape in Voavah. Image:Manta alfredi Maldives.JPG, Baa atoll shelters an important population of manta rays ('' Manta alfredi'') Image:Tursiops truncatus Maldives.jpg,

Bottlenose dolphin The bottlenose dolphin is a toothed whale in the genus ''Tursiops''. They are common, cosmopolitan members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Molecular studies show the genus contains three species: the common bot ...

s off Baa Atoll

Biosphere reserve

The Maldives harbors globally-significant biodiversity in its numerous reefs and demonstrates a long history of human interaction with the environment. Covering approximately 139,700 ha of coastal/marine areas, the site is representative of the Maldives’ high diversity of reef animals, with hard and soft corals, reef-associated fish species, marine turtles, Manta Rays and Whale Sharks. In addition to its 12,170 inhabitants, some 350,000 tourists visit the biosphere reserve annually. As part of a Global Environment Facility (GEF) project, the site has great potential for demonstrating sustainable development throughout the Maldives and the region, while relying on a green economy. Hanifaru Bay which is known locally as Vandhumaafaru Adi is thought to be one of the few places in the world where

whale sharks Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully Aquatic animal, aquatic placental mammal, placental marine mammals. As an informal and Colloquialism, colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea ...

congregate to mate, although recent research suggests otherwise with the vast majority of the whale sharks seen there being young males. The bay however regularly sees some of the largest gatherings of manta rays worldwide with up to one hundred individuals in the small inlet when the tide pushes plankton into the bay. The designation of Baa Atoll as a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Biosphere Reserve in June 2011 was a significant achievement for the Maldives. placing it in the company of world famous sites such as Komodo island in Indonesia,

Uluru Uluru (; ), also known as Ayers Rock ( ) and officially gazetted as UluruAyers Rock, is a large sandstone monolith. It outcrop, crops out near the centre of Australia in the southern part of the Northern Territory, south-west of Alice Spri ...

(Ayer’s Rock) in Australia and the

Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands () are an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Eastern Pacific, located around the equator, west of the mainland of South America. They form the Galápagos Province of the Republic of Ecuador, with a population of sli ...

Voavah

Voavah (also known as Hafnas) is the first island designated by

as an exclusive use island. Voavah is owned by the Four seasons company and is available for hire.

References

* ''Divehi Tārīkhah Au Alikameh''. Divehi Bahāi Tārikhah Khidmaiykurā Qaumī Markazu. Reprint 1958 edn. Malé 1990. * ''Divehiraajjege Jōgrafīge Vanavaru''. Muhammadu Ibrahim Lutfee. G.Sōsanī. * Xavier Romero-Frias, ''The Maldive Islanders, A Study of the Popular Culture of an Ancient Ocean Kingdom''. Barcelona 1999.

External links