Steps to protect Bahrain’s Tubli Bay
|
|
|
Recent efforts of Central Municipality to increase awareness of environmental issues facing Tubli Bay and take steps to correct it, have met with the approval from Tubli Bay residents and the nascent Tubli Bay committee which has been raising the alarm recently on environmental deterioration.
“Central Municipality recently met the authorities concerned and raised the issue of unplanned land reclamation in the Tubli Bay vicinity,” said environmental activist and Tubli Bay resident Maitham Al Oraibi.
“We’re very happy that the authorities agreed to back municipality representatives in this matter. We feel such a step will help greatly to stem the tide of deterioration of the bay,” he said. For some time now, the condition of Tubli Bay has been worrying environmentalists.
The area, long known as one of Bahrain’s best bird-nesting sites and designated a World Natural Heritage site by the United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation (Unesco), has faced the choking of its mangrove swamps because of the illegal dumping of garbage, especially construction-site waste and unchecked land reclamation. “Unchecked dumping of rubbish and construction waste and land reclamation have choked the mangrove swamps that are the lungs of the bay,” explained Dr Saeed Abdullah, founder of the Kingdom’s first eco-tourism-development office: Al Reem Environmental Consultation and Eco-tourism.
“Recent changes in sewage channels from Tubli sewage-treatment plant have also contributed to the damage, according to environmentalists, and endangered a big cluster of mangrove trees by cutting off water supply to them.” He said the destruction of Tubli Bay signalled the loss of one of Bahrain’s major bird-nesting sites.
Unplanned land reclamation has disturbed the eco-system and led to a decline in the prawn population in the area,” said Dr Abdullah. “The presence of crustaceans like shrimp is a good indicator of the health of the eco-system because it denotes the presence of plankton.
“Conversely, the disappearance of these two links in the delicate eco-chain indicates disturbances that can have very serious consequences for the entire environmental prognosis of the area.” He called upon the Environmental Agency (EA) to take urgent action against dumpster trucks which have taken to tipping refuse into the mangrove swamps.
“Everyone knows this is illegal, and that it’s still going on but the EA is hampered, I think, by a lack of adequate staff to fight this dangerous trend. The public must use the agency hotline to report any violation of environmental rules so that we can all actively protect our environment,” Dr Abdullah said.
“Mangrove swamps are the most important link in the nation’s biodiversity since they offer nesting grounds for migrating birds and micro-organisms. The destruction of mangrove swamps in the Tubli vicinity and, to a lesser extent, along Sitra Bay is a very disturbing trend.”
Recently, a group of Tubli residents and concerned citizens came up with a plan to involve the community and a group of Bahrain residents from different communities to form the Tubli Bay Committee. The panel seeks to work under the umbrella of different environmental groups to involve people, especially those living in the Tubli area, in a series of projects designed to raise awareness about Tubli’s unique eco-system and the need to preserve it for the sake of Bahrain’s future generations. “Tubli Bay is a vital and valuable part of Bahrain’s heritage, and we want the community to come forward
|
| Back to main page
|
|
|
Positive sentiment for Bahrain business travel
The future of Bahrain’s meetings and incentive and business travel sector looks positive, with the Bahrain Exhibition and Convention Authority reporting an increase in the number of specialised (13/10/2012)
|
|
Gulf Air resumes flights to Iran and Iraq
Bahrain’s national carrier, Gulf Air will resume its services to Iran and Iraq from 20 September 2012 following the Bahrain Government’s approval. (16/08/2012)
|
|
|
|
|
Showing 7 news articles
Back
To Top
|
|
