The Yemeni government refused to set up an investment project in the "Sharma" natural reserve in Hadramout governorate in the east of the country, after the governor of Hadramout, Major General Faraj Al-Bahsni, had agreed to the request of the investor Mohammed Salem Jubran to establish the project on the coast of the reserve.
A memorandum issued by Salem Al-Khonbashi, Deputy Prime Minister and Acting Minister of Transport, in the middle of last June, addressed to the governor of Hadramout, to stop the procedures for granting land to the investor, and to search for an alternative site that complies with laws and regulations. Al-Khonbashi said that the turtle is a natural sanctuary for turtles, and has antiquities.
The documents revealed by a number of activists about the delivery of the Sharma Natural Reserve to an investor for the establishment of an oil and gas port and the export of stones, confirm that the corrupt people hold the decision. It is true that the deal was suspended from within the Sharia Foundation, but once the initial approval for its completion by the Governorate Authority is considered a disaster. pic.twitter.com/OizOQlMOQn
- Anwar Al-Tamimi (@ anwaraltamimi71) July 10, 2020
The General Authority of Lands, Surveying and Urban Planning of the Yemeni Prime Minister said in a message addressed to the governor of Hadhramaut on June 21, that it is "shameful at a time when the world is moving towards increasing natural reserves to work to destroy the Sharma reserve."
The letter indicated that the Ministry of Transport also expressed its refusal to agree to the investment project, because the area is a natural reserve for turtles.
#Yemen
Sharma / Jethmun protected coastal area - Hadramout Governorate.
Sharmah / Jathmoun Reserve - Hadramout Governorate pic.twitter.com/FHKJ7mq2IR
- Yemen (@GOVYEMEN) February 19, 2017
The project owner sent a letter on June 7 to the governor of Hadhramaut, requesting approval for the establishment of an investment project in the Sharma region. The project includes the establishment of a marine tongue with a 3-star hotel, warehouses and tanks for oil derivatives and domestic gas for the purpose of import and export.
The Yemeni Council of Ministers previously classified in 2001 a "sanctuary" within the natural reserves, and the reserve is located in the Eastern Dis region, and in the following year it was adopted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) within the global reserves, and it is one of the most important natural marine environments in the country, and contains Coral reefs and many birds migrate to it.