Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity

The Hawar Islands are home to the largest breeding colony of Socotra Cormorant, a bird species native to the Persian Gulf. Bahrain also hosts the largest oyster bed in the region which became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012 [ ] 56 Strengthening the protection of World Heritage Sites and increasing protected land areas In order to practice and preserve biodiversity in the Kingdom of Bah- rain, an Ecosystem Based Approach (EBA) has been implemented into national strategies, planning and legislation. Between 2012 and 2014, a project to include EBAs in legislation, was implemented by the Supreme Council of the Environment along with the Ministry of Culture in collaboration with UNEP. The project aimed to strengthen environmental protection of Bahrain’s UNESCO certified World Heritage Sites — the Najwat and Hayr Bul Thamah, Hayr Shtayyeh, and Hayr Bu Am’amah. These cultural sites and surround- ing ecosystems are important natural and economic areas for the country. It is estimated that these ecosys- tems contribute over US$ 3.4 billion annually. The EBA in the promotion of biodiversity was made to convince decision makers and the public of the importance of conserving and preserving the coastal and marine environments as an economic case. By engaging civil society in this project, several programmes were initiated to maintain and preserve biodiversity in these areas. Examples included awareness raising and beach clean ups by local society groups such as schools and municipal councils. Several NGOs have conducted sur- veys and workshops on the protection of marine habitats; the identification of shark species; conservation and re- habilitation of injured sea turtles; and the implementation of a programme to tag and study the local bird popu- lation. Also, the Ministry of Works, Municipal Affairs and Urban Plan- ning conducted a project of cultivat- ing and planting mangrove seedlings, a local coastal vegetation, successfully planting 1,500 new mangroves. Finally, the Directorate of Fisher- ies has begun a project to replenish national fish stocks by using artificial reef units, resulting in the deploy- ment of approximately 2,500 units in 6 key locations. These initiatives resulted in an increase of nearly 17 per cent of protected land areas from 2010. There has also been a positive move towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goal 15 target of restoring at least 15 per cent of degraded ecosystems, in particu- lar through stabilizing the loss of biodiversity in the Hawar Islands, Al Areen Nature Reserve, Dohat Arad and Mashtan Island. The recent integration of biodi- versity action plans and strategies within national policies has included the creation of the Directorate of Biodiversity, as well as efforts towards increasing the amount of participa- tion from civil society, local NGOs and youth groups. T he Kingdom of Bahrain is an archipelago consisting of more than 84 islands which are situated in the middle of the southern coast of the Arabian Gulf. Its land mass covers an area of 769 km 2 while its surrounding regional waters have a total area of 7,497 km 2 . It has an arid climate with rare rainfall. While being small and arid, Bahrain hosts diverse biotic ecosystems that are of high regional and international importance, including the wetlands of Tubli Bay and Hawar Islands. Bahrain has a total of seven protected areas, and has identified 1,361 different species in its relatively small total area. Socotra cormorant Hani Bader Bahrain