Public Commission for the Protection of Marine Resources, Environment and Wildlife vice-president Dr Ismail Al Madani said that having a strategy would promote greater co-operation among the government's various organs when it comes to the environment.

The strategy, which was approved by Cabinet last week, calls on the government to take more steps to measure pollution, reduce its impact and to plan better for future increases in population.

It says that better use must be made of Bahrain's limited land area and natural resources, including water.

"The aim is to implement this vision through various programmes," said Dr Al Madani.

"We have already implemented a few of them, but more are on the way which will be within the framework of this strategy.

"It will also mean that ministries, especially those which have environment-related responsibilities, should more closely follow our programmes.

"Approval at the Cabinet level means that the government as a whole will be obliged to implement it."

The General Directorate of Environment Protection and Wildlife, which is also headed by Dr Al Madani, will be responsible for following through the strategy.

The strategy - covering air, water, agriculture, marine environment, tourism, transportation and waste management - is the result of over two years of work by more than 80 researchers and specialists,

Dr Al Madani added, however, that the strategy wouldn't mean immediate changes in procedures.

"Procedures in place, such as those requiring permission from the public commission and from the municipalities before projects that are potentially harmful to the environment, will still be in place," he continued.

"It also doesn't mean that there will be an end to reclamation. That will still go ahead in an environmentally sustainable way."

In its strategy, the public commission said that some of the main environmental issues related to air included the lack of information on some pollutants and the stations that measure the quality of air.

It said that one of the main concerns in this category was the overlapping of industrial and residential areas and the deterioration of the quality of air due to emissions from power generators, industries and car exhausts.

The commission has since set up mobile stations to monitor air quality around the country.

The strategy also calls for the drafting of legislation boycotting polluting technologies and offering incentives to environmentally friendly technologies.

In the water category, the commission highlighted the deteriorating levels of ground water due to over consumption and pollution from various human activities.

It said that the agricultural lands were decreasing either due to the lack of access to sweet water or demands for new housing projects.

It recommends in the strategy making drinking water available based on international standards by building more water purification stations and reviving natural springs by regulating consumption purposes.

The commission said that Bahrain's agricultural sector had a negative impact on the environment compared to its contribution to the Gross National Product (GNP).

It said that the share of the agricultural sector to the GNP was one per cent in the past 10 years and that it generates an average income of BD32 for each individual working in the sector.

It is not feasible enough, particularly when the sector contributes to water depletion and the deterioration of air and soil quality due to the use of fertilisers and chemical pesticides, says the commission.

It proposes expanding the uses of treated sewerage water to replace the ground water used for Irrigation and integrating new agricultural technologies to further conserve water usage.

In marine environment category, the commission expressed its concern over the deterioration of fish stocks and the continued reclamation to keep up economic and population growth.

It criticised the concentration of most of the new tourism projects on various shores and industrial areas on the country's eastern shores.

The strategy calls for a national work plan aimed at protecting the natural resources and eco systems at the country's shores against pollution and various measures resulting from economic and population growth.

The commission also called for expanding the shore environment monitoring system and setting up an early pollution detection system.

On the environmental impact of tourism in the country, it said that the increasing number of tourists required a plan that would safeguard the environment.

The commission proposes that the allocation of areas for tourism projects must take into consideration the country's ecological system.

It also called for policies that take into consideration the increasing number of tourists that result in the increase in energy and water demands, waste and traffic congestions in view of harmful exhaust emissions.

Bahrain also lacks new technologies to deal with waste while taking into consideration environmental issues as well as the number of recycling projects, said the commission.

It called for identifying the quantity and type of wastes and their impact on public health, the environment and natural resources.

The commission also recommended the launch of awareness programmes aimed at promoting conserving consumption and recycling.