Kuwait - Boubyan Island and Mubarak Al-Kabeer Marine Reserve (MAKMR)

Boubyan Island is comprised of pristine marine and terrestrial ecosystems and habitats of international and regional importance. It is the largest island in Kuwait with an area of 863 square kilometers, and is the second largest island in the Arabian Gulf. Boubyan is located in the most north-western point of the Gulf and includes the Mubarak Al-Khabeer Marine Reserve (MAKMR) - recently designated as a RAMSAR Convention Site, neighboring Warba Island and the open waters of its surrounding khors. The island is composed of marine silty-clay with low plasticity and alluvial sediment deposits accumulated from river flows of the adjacent southern Iraq delta system (Shatt-al-Arab). The site is generally low lying with intertidal flows breaching into some interior sabkha areas below mean sea level (the island’s terrestrial high ground areas range from 1 to 4 meters in height above mean sea level). The dynamic processes of high tides and increased current velocity in the far north reaches of the Gulf produced the special environment characteristics of the area. These processes resulted in a variety of terrestrial, intertidal and marine ecosystems populated with rich biodiversity.