| Bahrain | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Location | Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia | ||||||||||||||||||
| National websites | ArabNet - Bahrain |
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| Embassy / Chancery in U.S. |
Bahrain Embassy 3502 International Drive, NW Washington D.C. 20008 |
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| Agencies responsible for biological inventory and conservation |
Ministry of Health Ministry of Commerce and Agriculture Water Resources, Dept. Bahrain Centre for Studies and Research (BCSR). |
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| Non-governmental organizations concerned with conservation | |||||||||||||||||||
| Major Natural Resources | Oil, associated and non associated natural gas, and fish
are the major natural resources of Bahrain. Being a small set of islands, the major food export is Fish.
Oil is the other major industry creating the most revenue, through the export of petroleum products.
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| Major Environmental and Conservation Issues | Desertification, coastal degradation, and fresh water.
Desertification is taking place due to drought and constant dust storms. The coast line is being damaged
from the oil industry and other human pollutants. There are no natural sources of fresh water other than
groundwater so groundwater and treated sea water are the only sources for all water needs.
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| Statistics | Information Sources | ||||||||||||||||||
| Land area | 706 Sq. km | ||||||||||||||||||
| Area of forest | None | ||||||||||||||||||
| Area of wetlands | little or none | ||||||||||||||||||
| Area of territorial waters | 161 km of coastline | ||||||||||||||||||
| Population: | 629,090 | Density: | 909 / Sq. km | ||||||||||||||||
| Area protected (ha) (only areas >1000ha) at all IUCN levels: | 0 | Fraction of land area protected (%): | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| Major Protected Areas | List of Major Protected Areas The whole of central and southern Bahrain is a restricted region which has the effect of protecting the wildlife of this part of the country Al-Areen Wildlife Park Ras Sanad Mangrove Reserve. Protection of Hawar Islands and the adjacent Territorial Waters. |
Information Center for the Environment Earth Summit 5 |
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| Endemic Species |
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| Endangered, Threatened and Vulnerable Species |
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World Conservation Monitoring Centre - Animal | |||||||||||||||||
| Extinct Species |
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World Conservation Monitoring Centre - Animal | |||||||||||||||||
| Species listed on CITES Appendices | CITES-listed Species Database | ||||||||||||||||||
| Legislation | |||||||||||||||||||
| Laws protecting endangered or threatened species | |||||||||||||||||||
| Laws protecting endangered ecosystems | The Amiri decree-law No. 21 (1996) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Signatory to CITES | Has Not Signed | ||||||||||||||||||
| Signatory to Ramsar Wetlands Convention | February 27, 1998 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Signatory to Convention on Biological Diversity | August 8, 1996 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Signatory to Migratory Bird Treaty | |||||||||||||||||||
| Member of International Whaling Commission | Never Signed | ||||||||||||||||||
| Signatory to other international treaties designed to protect or manage biological resources |
March 29, 1971 - International Plant Protection Convention January 21, 1986 - International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea by Oil ,1954, as amended in 1962 and 1969 October 12, 1997 - International Convention to Combat Desertification in those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, particularly in Africa |
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| Natural Resource Use | Information Sources | ||||||||||||||||||
| Fisheries | 1% Gross Domestic Product -- 8,958 tonnes Marine Fish catch per year | ||||||||||||||||||
| Forestry / deforestation | None | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ecotourism | Little | ||||||||||||||||||
| Trade in wildlife products | Little | ||||||||||||||||||
| Hunting | Little | ||||||||||||||||||
| Other uses of natural resources | Mainly Trade in Oil Products | ||||||||||||||||||
| Human Impacts on Natural Resources | Information Sources | ||||||||||||||||||
| Air pollution | Air pollution concentrations vary in different time and place.
The main particles found in the air include
Sulfur dioxide, sulfur, Nitrogen oxides, Carbon monoxide, Ozone, Methane,
Non-methane hydrocarbons and Inhalable Particulate(PM10) in the air. These chemicals most likely are a result of industrial processing. |
Earth Summit 5 | |||||||||||||||||
| Water pollution | Marine - Urbanization along the coast causes tremendous stress to the
vulnerable coastal environment. Sewage runoff and industrial and irrigation drainage are
the main culprits. The other main problem comes from oil tankers, oil refineries, and
distribution stations through oil spills and other problems causing oil to get into the sea.
There is much damage to coral reefs and sea vegetation because of this.
Fresh - Several sources of ground water pollution such as septic tanks and cesspools, deep well injection of oily water from oil fields and intrusion of sea-water have contributed to the deterioration of the quality of ground water. |
Earth Summit 5 CIA world Factbook |
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| Development activities | East Coast Reef and Seagrass Zone. Northern Edge of Fasht Adhm. Inner, Northern and Eastern Tubli Bay. The Outer Reefs, Jarada and Fasht Dibal. |
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| Introduced species | Many species from Arabia and Africa have been introduced
successfully to the Al Areen Wildlife park. These programs dealing with
endangered and rare species in particular have show very good results.
No Introduced Species have caused noticable problems |
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| Legislation addressing these issues | The Amiri decree-law No. 21 (1996) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Restoration and Reintroduction | Information Sources | ||||||||||||||||||
| Programs for restoration of damaged habitat | Environmental Public Awareness (EPA) program | ||||||||||||||||||
| Programs for ex situ conservation (captive breeding and reintroduction) of endangered species | Many successful programs in the Al Areen wildlife sanctuary. | ||||||||||||||||||
Return to Endangered Species Protection around the World
Page compiled by Will Kitto aspart of a class project in h90 "The Science of Biodiversity and Conservation " (Peter J. Bryant, Instructor), University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA