Documents Artificial Reefs Coral Reefs Eco half yearly report of Kuwait Environment (Arabic) Eco monthly report of additive June 99 UVABC (Arabic) Electricity in Kuwait Hazardous Waste Disposal Kestrels of Kuwait PET Red Tide (English) Red Tide (Arabic) 1-Eco-Conditions-Information-Copyrights-Trademarks-V2-2002 2-Eco-How to use this CD-V2-2002 3-Eco-Kuwait Environmental Strategy-V2-2002 EIA Booklet Artificial Reefs Agenda 21: The United Nations Programme of Action, Rio. "Coastal states, where necessary, should improve their capacity to collect, analyse, assess and use information for sustainable use of resources ... Information for the management purposes should receive priority support in view of the intensity and magnitude of the changes occurring in the coastal and marine areas. To this end, it is necessary to, inter alia: (a) Develop and maintain database for the assessment and management of coastal areas and all seas and their resources; (b) Develop socio-economic and environmental indicators; (c) Conduct regular environmental assessment of the state of the environment of coastal and marine areas; (d) Prepare and maintain profiles of coastal area resources, activities, uses, habitats and protected areas based on the criteria of sustainable development". Statement of the problem To over come the problem of ecological disturbance and decline to Bahrain's coral reefs and marine fisheries resources, both individual and government organizations started deploy artificial reefs made from man-made materials. From reviewing 2 papers presented to the workshop by researchers working in DFMR and BCSR, in the state of the Bahrain, it seems that artificial reefs deployment are creating adverse impact on Bahrain marine environment. Statement of causes Natural coral reefs and their ecosystems in Bahrain needs to be sustainably managed in order to protect it and safeguard other significant marine organisms living in such habitat. Factors that contribute to the creation of a stressful ecosystem for Bahrain's corals reefs, both natural and man-made, and marine environment, include: Unsustainable coastal land reclamation. Unsustainable dredging activities which can lead to an increase in water turbidity due to such activities. Unsustainable fishing. Unsustainable liquid waste discharges. Sudden changes in trophic levels in coral reefs ecosystems. Certain factors are leading to population explosion of specific species and subsequent disturbance in prey-predator relationship and also subsequent food web and food chain imbalance. Such disturbances are mainly due to unsustainable human activities e.g. Unsustainable commercial and spear fishing. Unsustainable diving activities, mooring and spear fishing. Sudden decrease or increase in sea water temperature due to global warming. Statement of solutions Active scientific planning always stems as a major factor in sustaining and managing coral reefs and fishery resources for present and future generations. What is required to ameliorate the current situation is to adopt 2 approaches. The first is to adopt a swift action plan (Fig 1) in order to ensure the sustainable use of these natural resources. The second is to work on formulating a sustainable strategy that can be implemented (Table 2). In general both actions plans are considering the following issues: Strict environmental regulations, implementation and execution of penalties (polluter pay). Adopting and implementing Environmental Impact Assessment Studies (EIA) for coastal development projects and artificial reefs constructions. Conducting environmental assessment for potential sites that will be used to construct environmentally sustainable artificial coral reefs in which the out-come will be collecting detailed environmental inventory for potential sites in order to be used monitoring and the construction of artificial reefs. Regulating artificial reefs construction. Current practices in relation to this issue should be halted by all parties involved whether NGOs or government organizations. Avoiding using environmentally unfriendly materials for the construction of artificial reefs and the need to conduct toxicity studies on materials before their deployment and also to conduct biomonitoring studies. Determining the causes of any disturbance and developing solutions to alleviate degradation of coral reefs ecosystem and fishery resources. Controlling diving activities by encouraging sustainable ones and penalizing unsustainable ones. Restricting spear-fishing activities. Conducting short and simple workshops for fishermen, fishing companies and divers to educate them about the "Tragedy of the commons" concept and consequences related to unsustainable fishing or diving practices. Educating children in schools about biodiversity issues and the importance of protecting marine organisms and systems. Using the media and taking sustainable actions towards protecting the marine environment either in individual or group forms or both. Tragedy of the commons: an environmental concept with economic consequences In 1968 Garett Hardin wrote about the tragedy of the commons. He indicated that: “The freedom of access to a common resource ultimately brings ruin to all who enter." In simple words whenever there is a resource held in common by a large number of individuals or political entities each will try to maximize its own gain from that resource because no to do so will allow another to do so. The adverse impacts of this principal ,when applied, are: 1- Overexploitation (rate of harvesting exceeds rates of reproduction). 2- Species existence, diversity and abundance are threatened. 3- Less fish stock, thus, less fishing catches which in turn will lead to an adverse socio- economic impact on fishermen and the state revenues . 4- Violating international treaties. 5- Increase in socio-economic disturbances. 6- Impact on food web and food chains Why constructing artificial reefs and possible impacts The construction of artificial reefs is carried-out due to various factors. These, in order of significance, are: 1- To get rid of solid waste, non-hazardous waste, in order to increase the operation period of landfill sites. 2- To support damaged coral reefs systems due to unsustainable man-made activities. 3- To mimic a reef habitat for tourism purposes to attract tourists. 4- To mimic reef habitats to aggregate fish communities and increase fish stocks. In the state of Bahrain tires, concrete structures, concrete filled tires, cement pipes, fiber glass, boat hulls, steel drums car bodies were deployed to construct artificial reefs (Table 3). Both concrete and tires are widely used in Bahrain as materials for constructing artificial coral reefs. Concrete is a hardened mixture of specific ingredients. The mixture consists of Portland cement fine aggregate such as sand, coarse aggregate such as gravel or crushed stone and water. The ingredients, for example, should be proportioned i.e. in 1:3:4 proportions (1 Portland cement 3 fine aggregate and 4 coarse aggregate). Cement is the glue that binds the aggregates into concrete. Fine and coarse aggregates make-up up to 75% of concrete. The combination of fine and coarse aggregate gives strength to the finished concrete. Both fine and coarse aggregates should be free from clay, vegetable matter and washed or cleaned with drinking water. If not then the concrete will be weak and lose its strength instantly or with time. Scientific studies shows that concrete is a low toxicity material. However, this is true and only true if it is not subjected or exposed to manufacturing or external factors i.e. it is not lead painted, treated with chemicals or mixed with harmful additives. In a study by Sadecki et al., (1994) it was indicated that there is an environmental concern in relation to the quality of runoff water from salvaged pavement stockpiles. In their experimental study on 3 different pavement stockpiles made of coarse concrete, fine concrete and salvaged bituminous material, by using approved EPA methods and quality control procedures, it was noted that: 1- There are sediments and leachate discharges from the stockpiles. 2- The chromium and pH exceeded Minnesota Sate standards for surface water. 3- Parameters such as alkalinity, chloride, sodium, potassium, total solids and conductivity were higher in the concrete in comparison to the bitumiouns stockpile. PAH concentrations from the bituminous pile were near at or below detectable limits. On the other hand, tires might release hydrocarbon pollutants and sulphur. Therefore, it is very important that toxicity tests are carried-out before deploying any material to be used for the construction of artificial coral reefs. The use of rubble, tires and concrete is not an environmental friendly way to preserve the quality of the marine environment for present and future generations. The marine environment should be preserved by taking natural aesthetic values into consideration. Sustainable fishing and diving practices should be encouraged. If there is a need for the construction of artificial reefs then sound and sustainable environmental engineering should be adopted to construct artificial reefs in special designs and only from environmental friendly materials. Environmental regulations and laws should emphasis on such issues. In the USA, for example, there are protocols related to artificial reefs constructions. The Alabama Department of Conservation and natural resources, Marine Resources Division, USA follows certain regulations and procedures for artificial reefs constructions. To quote: "Materials to be used in the construction of artificial coral reefs should be chosen with safety to the marine environment, durability and stability in mind. All reef material must be substantially weighted to insure that the material will stay in place on the bottom. All materials which could be float during deployment must be removed, and materials must be cleaned to ensure that no visible or other chemical "Sheen" will be evident upon deployment." Materials that will not be allowed and permitted in the construction of artificial reefs include: 1- Automobiles, automotive and truck bodies or parts. 2- House appliances such as fridge and freezers. 3- Shopping carts. 4- PVC pipes. Sustainable development It is very important to shed the light on the issue of development, in an attempt to analyse the concept of development. The term development in its simplest meaning indicates, theoretically, a change and transformation, in any given society, to a better situation. This can be achieved by meeting specific sets of objectives through short-term and long-term strategies, policies, programmes and plans. Traditionally, such objectives are measured through an increase in economic indicators such as GNP, GDP of industrial, commercial and agricultural sectors and per capita income. These indicators are usually referred to as economic development indicators. However, such concept has a perception limitation as it mainly indicates economic growth. It neglect health, social and environmental factors. For example, Meir, (1976) defines development as: "A process whereby the real per capita income of a country increases over a long period of time, subject to the stipulation that the numbers below an absolute poverty line do not increases and that the distribution of income does not become more unequal". On the other hand, Seers, (1979) shed doubts about accepting per capita income as an indicator of development, even if it increases, and suggest other indicators. These include decrease in poverty, unemployment and inequality between genders. Also, increasing aid to education levels, encouraging public participation in the decision making process and finally independent economic and political identity that is not imposed by others. This approach to the concept of development is more rational than Mier limited approach as its concomitant with the contemporary approach that development should be sustainable. The new concept of development incorporates new objectives, that is, the promotion of sustainable rational use of natural resources and the preservation of quality of environment and respecting human rights. Barbier and Mc'craken, (1988) indicate two definition for sustainable development. The first is a wider definition that emphasises concepts of sustainable economic, ecological and social development. This concept was promoted by the world commission on environment and development (WCED) through their renowned document "Our Common Future" or the Brundtland report. The report was published in 1987 and defines sustainable development as: "Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". This concept argues that social, economic and ecological improvement in developing countries can not occur without stressing the fact that development strategies and policies should be environmentally sustainable in the short, mid and long run. Such sustainable activities must be associated with public participation and consistent with the values of societies. The objectives of such development strategies and policies are to reduce poverty, depletion of natural resources, environmental degradation, cultural disruption, social instability, finding solutions to external debts problems and respecting human rights. However, the narrower concept emphasises sustainable economic development. For example, Pearce et al., (1987) define sustainable development as: "Sustainable economic development involves maximising the net benefits of economic development, subject to maintaining the services and quality of natural resources over time". This definition sets certain conditions to reach target for achieving sustainable development objectives. These include: 1- That renewable natural resources are to be utilised at rates less or equal to natural or managed rates that they generates. 2- That waste generated must be disposed of at rates less than or equal to the rates of absorption by the environment. 3- That exhaustible resources are utilised in an optimum way through sound technologies. Pearce, Markandya and Barbier, (1989) emphasise this by indicating that sustainable development should direct all resources towards the sound utilisation of natural resources and at the same time creating equity for present and future generations. The latter, must inherit a non-declining capital stock. Such stock includes roads, factories knowledge, skills and biological diversity ... etc. They argue that to maintain sustainable development it is essential that such capital stock is ensured for both present and future generations. This means that quality of life, health of population, education standards and general social well being are improve with time and not degraded. Sadler and Jacobs, (1989) emphasise the need to change the attitude of decision-makers, that is, restructuring the way decisions are taken, to include environmental considerations as well as economic and social considerations. The economy must be shaped and organised in such a way that natural resources are managed in an optimum manner to meet the need of present and future generations. This should be achieved without exhausting available resources, in order to achieve the goals of sustainable development. The Brundtland report, (1987) stressed about introducing a new concept for economic growth, that is, sustainable socio-economic and environmental growth. It was remarked that: "Economic and fiscal policies, trade and foreign policies, energy, agriculture and industrial policies all aim to induce development paths that are economically, socially and ecologically sustainable". Within this framework, the World Bank, (1998) indicated the significance of linking environmental management with development in order to control adverse environmental impacts of development activities on environment and human health. To achieve this objective it is indicated the importance of establishing the following: 1- A systematic system of identifying internal and external pollution sources, impacts of these forces on environment and the costs associated with curtailing the impacts of such forces on the environment and human health. 2- Environmental indicators to monitor and control changes in environment and its natural resources. 3- Environmental data base to be used as a mean to aware the public. 4- A system of information gathering and dissemination to improve government and private sectors environmental policies and sound management of resources. These criteria are very important to establish a link between environment, sustainable use of marine resources including sustainable fishing of commercial species and sustainable development; in order to manage degradation of the environment and its natural resources. However, the establishments of these criteria are not enough to achieve development or sustainable development. This is because there are always factors that question the ability of governmental establishments to formulate proper arrangement to deal with development problems due to internal and external factors. The crucial issue is are the stake-holders are interested to solve problems. If yes then natural resources such as coral reefs and fishery resources should be really looked at as economic sources on a sustainable way. This means the need to value such resources and keeping them either in same status or to or increase their stock and capacity for present and future generations. Economy is a system of manufacturing and distribution of economic goods. Goods are items or services that can 1bring satisfaction to the end user i.e. human beings. The circle of economy begins with the earth capital e.g. fishery resources, coral reefs, oil and gas. Then continues with manufactured capital. In this stage earth capital is transformed by human capital i.e. mental power and physical man-power into goods or services in their final form. To make this cycle continues the stake-holders must preserve the earth capital. If not then the Tragedy of the commons is what ones should expect.