We don't deserve our beaches!

Well to tell you all the truth; We really don't deserve our free public beaches in Bahrain.

Why you ask?

Simple! Have you ever visited public beaches? During an event or the weekend

There are no or few waste containers, but that is no problem for the hundreds of visitors.

They will drop it where they stand. Because in Bahrain there are many societies, clubs and schools putting in time and effort to clean op after them as part of continuing community projects. For volunteering check out the Bahrain beachcombers on Facebook, cleanup Bahrain on instragram

Image source: News of Bahrain

One of the more recent beach clean-up's (Aug 2023) was combined with planting of mangroves at the Ma’ameer Channel-Southern Area. was done by 200 Bapco Energies employees and their families, along with the attendance of representatives from the Supreme Council of Environment, Southern Municipality, and the Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture.Participants planted 2,350 new mangrove seedlings and removed approximately 5,000 kilograms of general waste from the beach.

Want to make a difference?

Change your own habits.

Many people are unaware how their daily activities, from driving a car, to not properly disposing of their garbage, or even throwing a cigarette butt on the ground, can impact the plants and animals on our shores and in the sea.

This debris can harm or kill beach organisms. Pollution also makes using the beach less enjoyable for humans. Solving our water pollution problems requires everyone's involvement.

It is estimated that there is over 46,000 pieces of plastic debris floating on every square mile of ocean today. Roughly 60 to 80 percent of that debris comes from land-based sources.

And debris in the marine environment means hazards for animals and humans

Environmental damage caused by plastic

The millions of free plastic bags that are given out every day by the Island's retailers are flying about freely, despite being banned in Bahrain since Nov 2020.

Just look around and you can see many carelessly thrown plastic bags sticking to bushes and fences.

Clogging up gutters and storm drains.

There is no part in Bahrain where you don't see them flying about.

Birds, fish and mammals often mistake plastic for food. Some birds even feed it to their young.

With plastic filling their stomachs, animals have a false feeling of being full, and may die of starvation.

Sea turtles mistake plastic bags for jellyfish, one of their favourite foods

What we do with plastic rubbish now…

Landfill - plastic in landfill is a big problem - because it doesn’t rot, it is there for ever. Consequently the landfill is filling up. Plastic buried deep in landfills can leach harmful chemicals that spread into groundwater.

Plastic litter - as individually dropped, wind borne or deliberately tipped into rivers and the sea

( boats apparently are allowed to dump their rubbish into the oceans)

Burning plastic - in small fires or incinerators either way its a hot debate with very wildly opposing opinions expressed strongly by all involved. Burning plastic is not a safe, green or economic alternative to landfills. It may seem like waste takes up less space if you burn it, but all we're really doing is transforming that waste into something else that's just as bad…and sometimes worse. Plus what a waste of resources

Recycling - melting down plastic rubbish to make new plastic products is a better way of dealing with our plastic rubbish and needs to be promoted more

Degradable Plastic - Biodegradable plastics are often claimed to be sustainable and better for the planet. These properties are inaccurate and misleading. Not only are biodegradable plastics made from fossil-fuels, they also end up creating microplastics and contaminating other plastics recycling streams

Plastic eating microbes - can they eat all that plastic rubbish?

Crafty Plastic = use old throwaway plastic rubbish to make something new and beautiful

OR ….just stop creating plastic rubbish

****What YOU Can DO****

We're all responsible for this mess, and it will take all of us to stop it from getting worse. It's time to completely rethink how we as a society use (or abuse) plastic. Here are some things that you can do right now:

Every time you see litter, pick it up and dispose of it properly.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle — you've heard it before, but now you know what happens when you don't. Be conscious of all that you buy, and be sure to avoid products with excessive packaging, especially in disposable products.
Demand more and better recycling facilities in your area.
Take part in local stream, river and beach cleanups - or organize one yourself. Though these don't solve the problem, they are very effective at drawing attention to the greater problem offshore.
If you live near the ocean, or a river that drains into it, your storm drains are probably washing garbage right out to sea. Be conscious of potential sources of marine litter in your area. Demand that these are eliminated.
Be very conscious of your ecological footprint. Encourage change though your decisions and do no accept the current paradigm of use and waste

The 5 Ocean gyres

Ocean gyres circle large areas of stationary, calm water. Debris drifts into these areas and, due to the region’s lack of movement, can accumulate for years. These regions are called garbage patches. The Indian Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, and North Pacific Ocean all have significant garbage patches. The garbage patch in the North Pacific Ocean is sometimes called the Pacific trash vortex or the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Garbage patches are created slowly. Marine debris makes its way into the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, for instance, from currents flowing along the west coast of North America and the east coast of Asia. Some of the debris is also dumped from ocean vessels.

The circular motion of the gyre draws in the debris, mostly small particles of plastic. Eventually, the debris makes its way to the center of the gyre, where it becomes trapped and breaks down into a kind of plastic soup.

BUILD UP - Plastic has accumulated in five ocean hot spots called gyres, seen here in this world map derived from information published by 5 Gyres. The movement of the world’s major ocean gyres helps drive the “ocean conveyor belt.” The ocean conveyor belt circulates ocean water around the entire planet. Also known as thermohaline circulation, the ocean conveyor belt is essential for regulating temperature, salinity and nutrient flow throughout the ocean.

Image source: oceansplasticleanup.com

Arabian Gulf pollution

Most of Bahrain is low-lying and barren. Its surface is limestone rock covered with varying densities of saline sand which supports only the hardiest desert vegetation.

Along the northern coast is a wide fertile strip of land. It was known for many years as “the island of a million palm trees” which flourished because of the abundant fresh water springs, particularly in the northern areas.

Underground aquifers originate from Saudi Arabia and bring sweet water to Bahrain under the sea.

There are three aquifers, the high, medium and the low.

Out of these only the medium aquifer contains water usable without treatment. Once there were 220 natural springs, almost all are dried up and now water has to be pumped from artificial wells. The salinity 34.8 and 34.9 ‰ (2014) of even the best ground water is high, barely suitable for irrigation and unsuitable for drinking. The quantity is limited and sufficient for the irrigation of less than half the agricultural land.

According to the World Research Institute, Bahrain tops the list of the 167 countries studied to become the most water-stressed country by 2040

Around 1972, the MENA region "ran out of water" as the consumption surpassed the rate of resource renewal. Since then, MENA has relied heavily on desalinization, and is poised to remain for the foreseeable future the largest desalinization market in the world.

The most important users of desalinated water are Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain, which use about 70% of worldwide capacity.

Most of this desalinated water comes from the Arabian (Persian) Gulf, one of the busiest and most important tanker shipping lanes in the world; one ship passes the strait approximately every 6 minutes, another statistic indicates that more than 40 % of the world’s total oil transportation passes through the region.

About 15.5 million barrels of oil per day is transported through the Strait of Hormuz. Contamination influx is mainly from tankers releasing ballast, tank cleaning, and leakage from drilling rigs and production platforms, and maritime accidents.

Who knows what else gets released into the gulf by warships and coastal nuclear facilities in Iran. Depleted Uranium used in weapons in Iraq and Afghanistan has polluted water and food resources.

Lately about everybody I know seems to be coming down with thyroid problems, and no-one looks strange when you hear this or the other person has cancer.And we get to drink that water

Putting maps of Principal natural springs and water pollution due to industrial effluents next to each other one can see that they are in the same geographical area.

Left Image

Natural water springs

Right image

Industrial effluents

Bahrain Pollution levels perception source

"According to Zainal et al (2012) the total cumulative loss of the major maritime habitats, due to dredging in Bahrain, was roughly 160 square kilometers.

According to findings in a report by the United Nations Development Program roughly 80 per cent of Bahrain’s coastline has been subjected to land reclamation (Fuller, 2006), resulting in a loss of a fertile coral reef between Qatar and Bahrain."

A closer look into the feasibility of future, large scale landreclamation case study Arabian Gulf - Page 49 Bahrain

Author Michael de Lange - Stockholm

Coastal and Marine environment in Bahrain by Dr Humood Naser et al (2012) PDF

Beaches in Bahrain

Bahrain has quite a few public beaches. Although Bahrain is very liberal, on the public beaches you are advised to dress appropriately. For men that means long swimming shorts, speedo’s are discouraged. For women that means covering shoulders and knees.

Since 2008 a debate has been raging about Bilaj Al Jazayer Beach and its development

- they want to put to much developments.

It is fine as it is now, the entry fee can be used at the restaurants on the beach for

drinks and snacks, you can rent chair to sit - although the last time i went the pillows were

in bad condition as they were not stored away from the weather during the night.

Why can't beaches remain mostly in its natural state, with necessary services -

but no hotels

Al Jazayer Beachfront development – the first part of the project was completed in the third quarter of 2019

The project will also include two luxury hotels, Avaniand Tivoli, which will be Minor Hotels Group’s first hospitality projects in the Kingdom.Scheduled to open in 2025, the two hotels will support the growth of the nation’s tourism and hospitality sectors, contributing to the nation’s Economic Vision 2030

As per information of the Edemah website Project Contents:

Two 4-star and 5-star Branded boutique hotels and resorts
Mixed-use residential apartment buildings with supporting retail outlets
Parks and Public beaches
Family entertainment and watersport activities

Bilaj Al Jazayer - Zallaq

Edamah has reintroduced Bilaj Al Jazayer beach after conducting extensive beach improvement works, to make Bilaj Al Jazayer a beautiful waterfront destination for Bahraini families and international visitors to enjoy.

Over time, the resort development will grow to offer full facilities.

Right now, the beach is beautiful, clean and pristine – offering an amazing destination for a family fun day out, with just enough basic infrastructure to make sure you have everything you need.

In addition to the beach regeneration, upgrading of existing facilities, new food outlets, improved parking, and enhanced landscaping have been constructed.

The beach is best for swimming, snorkeling, surfing, or simply sunbathing on this Bahrain private beach area. The lifeguards are appointed to make it a safe and secure place for all. The beach is lovely, clean, and fresh, making it an ideal destination for a family fun day out.

Timings: 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM (no swimming after sunset)
entry fee 2 BHD voucher can be used to pay from drink or snack
The now private beach is located near the F1 circuit passed the endurance village (horses).

We don't deserve our beaches!

Want to make a difference?

What we do with plastic rubbish now…

The 5 Ocean gyres

Arabian Gulf pollution

Beaches in Bahrain

Bilaj Al Jazayer - Zallaq

Dry dock Asry beach - Hidd

Abu Subh Beach Diraz

Arad Lagoon Beach park

Budaiya Beach

Bahrain Bay beach

Al Sayh Beach Busaiteen

Hidd beach

Karbabad Beach

Malkiya Beach

More Free Public beaches

Sanad Beach

Jid Al Haji Beach

Dumistan Beach

Nurana Beach

Asker Beach

Juffair Beach

Private beaches for payment

Bahrain Yacht club

Bahrain Beach Bay resort

Al Bander beach resort

Coral Bay Hotel Resort

Marassi Beach

Aldar Island

City Beach- Reef

Solymar Beach

Azul Beach pavilion