[2] The islands have a lush tropical climate and include huge dunes, forest and savannah, inland lakes and wetlands.

[3] They host several endemic terrestrial gastropods and lizards, as well as important[peacock prose] aggregations of Palaearctic migrant water birds.

[7] All five regional turtle species nest here, making it the only known place in the western Indian Ocean where this happens.

The BANP gives protection to the largest and the only remaining viable population of dugongs in the Western Indian Ocean.

70% of households rely on small-scale fishing to survive, while others harvest sand oysters and other marine resources, grow crops and raise livestock.

Resources may not be sufficient to maintain the population, leading to decreased catches of fish, reduced harvests and increasing poverty and food insecurity.

[4] Jobs developed after African Parks began management have positively impacted the economy.

The hotels make an important contribution to the local economy through employment and tax revenues.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has a program to help the local communities to become more sophisticated in realizing a share of revenues in return for protecting valuable ecological resources.