LAND reclamation is putting Bahrain at risk of losing its seagrass meadows – lush, underwater ‘gardens’ of flowering plants that thrive in the sea.
A study has found that filling the island’s coastal waters with sand over the last three decades has resulted in massive reduction of seagrass meadows in south-eastern shorelines – from 3,161 hectares in 1988 to just one hectare in 2018.
Destruction
“It’s alarming, plants such as these are important to fight global warming as they absorb carbon emissions,” Al Anood Fahad Al Khatlan, who did a study on the underwater ecosystem, told the GDN.
“Mangroves and seagrass also store carbon and their destruction causes the release of massive amounts of carbon which increases global warming.”
Ms Al Khatlan is a researcher at the Arabian Gulf University College of Graduate Studies (CGS) and her study, “Spatial and temporal changes in seagrass lawns in the Kingdom of Bahrain using reference points and satellite based imaging” was discussed at a recent event in the AGU.
Bahrain’s south-eastern shoreline is rich in seagrass, which provides habitats and food for a diversity of marine life – including shrimp, crabs, cod and flatfish, seahorses, green sea turtles and dulongs.
They also provide coastal storm protection by absorbing energy from waves as they hit the coast.
“Losing these meadows would mean losing these species that are already endangered,” Ms Al Khatlan pointed out.
“I took up the study to see the changes that happened in seagrass lawns over the last 30 years, which saw land reclamation and shoreline developments and projects such as Durrah, and assess their effect on the environment,” she said.
Ms Al Khatlan
“Most of the sand for projects are extracted from these seagrass-rich areas as they are of higher quality.
“The results of my study show that since 2000-2001 the density of seagrass lawns in the area of my study began to deteriorate rapidly.
“It went down from 3,161 hectares in 1988 to less than one hectare in 2018.
“There are more low-density seagrass lawns, but it is the highly dense parts that were affected the most.”
She stressed the need to stop sand extraction and reclamation to save Bahrain’s ecosystem.
“I understand that Bahrain is limited in size and needs development projects, but they can be redirected to less sensitive areas. These areas rich in biodiversity should be declared protected zones,” she said.
Bahrain-based German businessman, architect and environmental campaigner Kai Miethig told the GDN that seagrass was a hidden and mostly unknown environmental champion.
“It is a mandatory species for our life and living on the planet,” he said.
“Roughly an estimated 200,000,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide are being sequestered by macro algae/seagrass every year – about as much as the annual emissions of the state of New York and six times more than Bahrain emits which was 33,000,000 tonnes in 2018,” said Mr Miethig.
“Hence seagrass is an important species to be protected.
“A symbiosis is vital to create balance and maintain the required environment for the growth of seagrass,” he said.
The GDN reported earlier this month about a study funded under the UK-Gulf Marine Environment Partnership Programme in conjunction with the Supreme Council for Environment (SCE). It raised concern over rapid rate of land reclamation and industrialisation that had contributed to substantial losses of coral reef, seagrass and mangrove ecosystems.
Contamination
The study also found that samples collected at coastal sites adjacent to a refinery area that has several industries – and Tubli Bay – contained high concentrations of chemicals and metal contamination.
The GDN reported last year that Cefas and SCE were working on a zoning system for Bahrain’s coastlines that will determine the types of projects allowed along the country’s shores.
ghazi@gdn.com.bh
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