Aqaba Marine Reserve

Why this place matters

UNESCO’s assessment of its heritage significance, adapted in formatting from the source dataset.

Brief synthesis

The Aqaba Marine Reserve (AMR), located at the northernmost tip of the Red Sea, contains a mosaic of habitats, including coral reefs, seagrass beds, and mesophotic reefs, which collectively sustain diverse marine life and vital ecological processes. These interconnected ecosystems make the AMR a cornerstone for marine biodiversity conservation and protection of threatened marine ecosystems. AMR is globally recognised as the northernmost tropical coral reef system, known for its thermally resilient corals. It is predicted that these corals will remain among the most resilient by the end of century.

Moreover, the property hosts numerous endemic species, safeguards unique marine genetic resources, and provides a critical habitat for rare and threatened marine species.

Criterion (ix):

Eco-evolutionary processes over the last 10,000 years have facilitated the adaptation of coral populations and associated benthic assemblages to hostile climate conditions including marine heatwaves, high salinity, and recurring elevated summer extreme temperatures with limited bleaching and rapid recovery, to the degree possible, in the long term. The thermally resilient corals and other benthic invertebrates in the Gulf of Aqaba have high survival and recovery rates to acute and chronic thermal stress, making the area a critical research site and important genetic repository for understanding climate change-related resilience and restoration. The maintenance of trophic interactions and functional ecology representative of the northern Red Sea’s extreme conditions contributes to the evolutionary processes maintained in situ. Habitats such as seagrass meadows stabilise sediments, sequester carbon, and serve as nurseries for juvenile species.

Criterion (x):

The benthic and mesophotic ecosystems of the AMR are home to over 150 species of hard coral (of which 40 are assessed as globally threatened at the time of inscription), in addition to over 500 species of fish and 1000 species of molluscs. The property’s coral endemism is globally significant, supporting approximately 61% of all Red Sea endemic hard coral species. Over 80% of all fish species in AMR are associated with benthic habitats with over 80 species endemic to the Red Sea or Gulf of Aqaba.

Integrity

The AMR effectively encompasses all major habitats, including shallow and mesophotic coral reefs and seagrass beds, necessary for ecological functionality. While compact, it is of a sufficient size, to enable key processes including, intra reef reproduction and larval recruitment of heat adapted species for the ongoing in situ adaptation to thermal stress and nutrient cycling. A buffer zone surrounds the entire property and supports the ecological resilience of these species’ communities. The state of conservation of AMR’s marine natural features, at the time of inscription, is secure and well preserved with intact ecological communities and functioning biological processes that maintain ecological integrity.

Although being effectively mitigated, the property is particularly prone to impacts from external pollution, water quality and tourism-related impacts due to its close proximity to significant infrastructure. A robust and continued monitoring system to monitor and respond to these threats is essential to maintaining the long-term integrity and high ecosystem health of the property and minimise impacts.

Protection and management requirements

The AMR is designated nationally as a protected area and benefits from a multi-layered governance and management regime led by the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) under the Aqaba Marine Reserve Bylaw and its associated regulations. The management of the reserve is overseen by the AMR Management Committee, consisting of a wide variety of relevant local, national and international stakeholders. The day-to-day management of the property is guided by the AMR Management Plan focusing on ecosystem preservation, biodiversity monitoring, and sustainable tourism in furtherance of AMR’s primary conservation objectives. Regulations on fishing, tourism, and other activities, along with the enforcement of restricted and prohibited zones, ensure the conservation and long-term sustainability of the reserve’s coral reef ecosystems and associated biodiversity.

The protection framework also prioritises scientific research, education, and stakeholder and local community engagement, with collaborative efforts involving international research institutions to advance coral resilience and global conservation strategies. Given the property’s small size and location, effective protection and management of the property also relies on the sustained strong collaboration with and support of other Jordanian national institutions, including the Maritime Commission, Environmental Police, Navy and Coast Guard, the Aqaba Container Terminal and other shipping operations, tourism operators and local communities.