Boa Vista Island, Cape Verde: Paradise on the Brink
Posted on June, 01 2005
Boa Vista is the furthest east island of the archipelago nation of Cape Verde, 600 km off the coast of Senegal, West Africa. The island has an area of 620km2, a population of about 4,200 and boasts some 50km of beautiful wind-swept white sand beaches.
Cape Verde’s biodiversity is of global importance as it includes many endemic species of plants, birds, insects, as well as marine species. Its beaches provide important nesting sites and feeding grounds for endangered marine turtles, and breeding humpback whales that are frequently seen around Boa Vista and Sal, Boa Vista’s northern neighbour. Approximately 3,000 loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) nest in Boa Vista and Sal annually making these areas the second most important nesting site in the entire Atlantic OceanRecent studies have found local coral reefs to be among the world’s most important and most threatened. The nearby João Valente seamount, an underwater mountain between Maio and Boa Vista Islands, also hosts a particularly rich biodiversity. Seamounts are known to fisherman for high concentrations of fish, and to researchers as rare and unique habitats.
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