Shidvar Island () or Marou (

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

: مارو) is an

uninhabited island An uninhabited island, desert island, or deserted island, is an island, islet or atoll which lacks permanent human population. Uninhabited islands are often depicted in films or stories about shipwrecked people, and are also used as stereotypes ...

in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

east of the larger inhabited island of Lavan. Administratively, the island forms part of the

Lavan Rural District Lavan Rural District () is in Kish District of Bandar Lengeh County, Hormozgan province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, T ...

Kish District Kish District () is in Bandar Lengeh County, Hormozgan province, Iran. Its capital is the city of Kish Kish may refer to: Businesses and organisations * KISH, a radio station in Guam * Kish Air, an Iranian airline * Korean Internationa ...

Bandar Lengeh County Bandar Lengeh County () is in Hormozgan province, Iran. Its capital is the city of Bandar Lengeh. History After the 2006 National Census, Dezhgan and Mehran Rural Districts were separated from the Central District in the formation of Mehr ...

, Hormozgan Province, Iran. The name ''shetor'' or ''shotor'' in Persian means

camel A camel (from and () from Ancient Semitic: ''gāmāl'') is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock, they provid ...

Environment

The whole island is part of a natural reserve called the Shidvar Wildlife Refuge. It was designated a

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

because it supports breeding

Socotra cormorant The Socotra cormorant (''Phalacrocorax nigrogularis'') is a threatened species of cormorant that is endemic to the Persian Gulf and the south-east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is also sometimes known as the Socotran cormorant or, more ra ...

s as well as

colonies A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their '' metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often or ...

of bridled and

white-cheeked tern The white-cheeked tern (''Sterna repressa'') is a species of tern in the family Laridae. It is found around the coasts on the Red Sea, around the Horn of Africa to Kenya, in the Persian Gulf and along the Iranian coast to Pakistan and western In ...

s. It is also a breeding site for

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

and

hawksbill sea turtle The hawksbill sea turtle (''Eretmochelys imbricata'') is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Eretmochelys''. The species has a global distribution that is largel ...

s.The hotspot area northeast of the Shidor Islands and then the northern line of Lavan Island shows better ecological conditions. This is due to the presence of coral reefs and the presence of shelter and therefore more nutrients, which leads to a greater diversity of fish.

Threats

Despite its ecological significance, Shidvar Island faces increasing environmental pressures, primarily due to unsustainable

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

practices. Unregulated visits by tourists, especially during peak seasons, have led to

habitat degradation Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

, littering, and disturbance to sensitive breeding areas for birds and

sea turtles Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerh ...

. Reports indicate that the number of birds on the island has declined in recent years, with some species showing reduced breeding success, possibly linked to the increased human presence. The use of boats and watercraft near the island’s shores has also been identified as a source of noise and

water pollution Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of Body of water, water bodies, with a negative impact on their uses. It is usually a result of human activities. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and ...

, further stressing the island’s fragile ecosystems. Conservationists have raised concerns that, without stricter regulations and enforcement, continued tourist activities could jeopardize the island’s role as a critical refuge for migratory birds and

marine life Marine life, sea life or ocean life is the collective ecological communities that encompass all aquatic animals, aquatic plant, plants, algae, marine fungi, fungi, marine protists, protists, single-celled marine microorganisms, microorganisms ...

. Calls have been made for limiting visitor access during sensitive breeding periods and enhancing public awareness of Shidvar's ecological importance.

Cultural Significance

Although uninhabited, Shidvar Island holds cultural significance in the Hormozgan region. The remains of

ancient Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient h ...

settlements tell the stories of the people who once called Shidvar home. The island is like a

living museum A living museum, also known as a living history museum, is a type of museum which recreates historical settings to simulate a past time period, providing visitors with an experiential interpretation of history. It is a type of museum that recr ...

connected to the

cultural heritage Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by socie ...

of the region, evoking a history of the lives of those who inhabited the island in the past.

References

Important Bird Areas of Persian Gulf islands Important Bird Areas of Iran Ramsar sites in Iran Bandar Lengeh County Landforms of Hormozgan province Uninhabited islands of Iran {{BandarLengeh-geo-stub

Environment

Threats

Cultural Significance

See also

References