| Kapitel | Titel | Seite |
|---|---|---|
| Abstract / Résumé / Samenvatting / Zusammenfassung | 5 | |
| 1 | Acknowledgements / Team Meübers | 7 |
| 2 | Introduction | 9 |
| 2.1 | General remarks | 9 |
| 2.2 | Fauna and flora of Soqotra Island (by Kay Van Damme) | 9 |
| 2.2.1 | Flora of Soqotra Island (by Kay Van Damme) | 9 |
| 2.2.2 | Fauna of Soqotra Island (by Kay Van Damme) | 10 |
| 3 | The karst of Soqotra Island | 10 |
| 3.1 | Geomorphological overview | 10 |
| 3.2 | Climate | 12 |
| 3.3 | Geological overview | 13 |
| 3.3.1 | The Momi karst plateau | 14 |
| 3.3.2 | The Deksam/Shebehan karst plateau | 14 |
| 3.3.3 | The Mahlez karst plateau | 14 |
| 3.3.4 | The Ghubbah cenotes | 14 |
| 4 | The caves of Soqotra Island | 17 |
| 4.1 | General remarks | 17 |
| 4.2 | Desriptions of surveyed caves | 18 |
| 4.3 | Desriptions of sketched caves | 54 |
| 5 | Palaeoclimatic studies | 58 |
| 6 | Biospeleological notes (by Kay Van Damme) | 58 |
| 7 | Archaeological notes | 62 |
| 8 | Protection and management | 66 |
| 9 | Conclusions and Outlook | 66 |
| 10 | References | 67 |
| Appendixes: | Foldable surveys |
This volume presents a summary of the Soqotra Karst Project (SKP) — an ongoing multidisciplinary speleological investigation, focused on the island of Soqotra (Yemen). Palaeoclimate, biospeleological, archaeological and sustainable development studies are being conducted by Belgian experts in close co–operation with several Yemeni and other international project partners. This report is based on the recent “Soqotra Karst Project 2000–2004” (SKP 2005) publication that has been primarily released in Dutch and covers the six expeditions made by the SKP to Soqotra Island through Deceüber 2004. Since the first visits in 2000, a total of 28 caves have been mapped yielding 22,707 m of passageway. The longest cave explored so far is Giniba Cave at 7.5 km, while the deepest is Pit Cave (–145 m). Twelve more caves were visited but not surveyed, however three of them were sketched. Some of the caves provide significant freshwater resources. The scientific achievements with regard to speläothem dating are briefly explained, together with the biospeleological discoveries and intriguing archaeological remains found underground.