DEFORESTATION destroys the plant community of a given environment, which in turn denies a suitable niche for animals to thrive. This has a devastating effect on the environment and the food web upon which our life is based.
The same analogy applies to the marine environment. Sand dredging and extraction are similar to deforestation in many ways when it comes to destroying environments where the benthic communities (seabed organisms) live.
At a time where the world considers sustainable environment as a key to future development, the ban on sand dredging announced by His Royal Highness Prime Minster Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa came at the right time. As we remember, the Premier’s name is associated with the promotion of environmental sustainability, which earned him various awards.
Bahrain is marching on infrastructure development and construction including land reclamation projects that use sand as the basic ingredient for building purposes extracted from the seabed. However, this practice negatively affects the marine fauna and flora. The environment in which the marine organisms thrive is seriously disturbed and can reach where no place is left for the creatures to live. Reports on the subject indicate that dredging releases toxic chemicals into the sea, increases water turbidity and litter harmful metals throughout the marine food chain. Dredging primarily involves the physical removal of the substratum where organisms live. The first victims are the various species of fish.
Striking a balance between the construction booms we are witnessing and preserving marine life is an urgent task the government should confront, if its programme of achieving sustainable environment is to materialise.
This needs a concerted effort to study the implications of the current practice in relation to its effects on the current marine biodiversity. That was the main reason behind the Premier’s immediate ban on extracting sand from the seabed.
Hope to see the study done as soon as possible so development projects will not be delayed and our marine environment is saved before substantial damage occurs.
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