Sharjah24 – AFP: Once famed for its exceptional wildlife, Libya's Farwa island risks becoming just another victim of lawlessness in the war-ravaged North African nation, activists struggling to save it warn.
An uninhabited 13-kilometre-long (eight mile) sandbar cut off at high tide in far western Libya, Farwa appears picture-postcard idyllic, with scattered date palms on white sandy beaches and ringed by the sparkling Mediterranean Sea.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has said Farwa is potentially the "most important coastal and marine site in western Libya, in terms of its high marine and coastal biodiversity".
But it faces a long list of threats, said Fawzi Dhane from local environmental group Bado, identifying illegal fishing and pollution as key worries.
Climate change is also exacerbating the situation, making Farwa more vulnerable to the pressures already heaped on its fragile environment.
For decades there were few visitors, apart from occasional school trips to the island.
In a country awash with weapons, some find lobbing grenades into the water an easy way to fish -- a destructive method killing everything in the blast zone.
The island, which lies close to the border with Tunisia, is made up of sand dunes stretching over 4.7 square kilometres (1.81 square miles). Its lagoon and salt marshes are also home to flamingos.
One of the only buildings is a crumbling lighthouse built in the 1920s under Italian colonial rule.
Farwa is among the most important areas in Libya for many migratory birds, according to Tarek Jdeidi from the University of Tripoli. It is a key staging post for those travelling over Africa to rest before flying across the Mediterranean to Europe.
Today, Farwa has become a popular spot for Libyan holidaymakers, with dozens visiting every weekend.
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