Klein Curaçao
- Country:Netherlands (Kingdom of the) (Curaçao)
- Site number:2355
- Area:248.5 ha
- Designation date:31-07-2018
- Coordinates:11°59'N 68°38'W
Materials presented on this website, particularly maps and territorial information, are as-is and as-available based on available data and do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
Overview
The Site consists of the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao and the surrounding sea. The eastern shore features a near-pristine, well-developed and still growing coral reef system that supports an enormous diversity of marine organisms. Such self-sustaining reef systems are increasingly rare in the Caribbean: this is one of the few remaining healthy examples and is representative of Caribbean reef communities in general. Its dense populations of branching corals protect the coastline by dissipating wave energy. The island is of global importance for its breeding population of the least tern Sterna antillarum, while a 600-metre stretch of sandy beach is the most important nesting area within Curaçao’s jurisdiction for the critically endangered hawksbill turtle Eretmochelys imbricata and the endangered green sea turtle Chelonia mydas. The main threat to the Site is uncontrolled tourism, which may negatively affect the nesting activities of the sea turtles and terns.
Administrative region:
Curaçao
- Last publication date:06-09-2018
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