The Regional Organization for the Protection of the Marine Environment (ROPME) Sea Area (RSA) in the northern Indian Ocean, which comprises the Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the northern Arabian Sea, already experiences naturally extreme environmental conditions and incorporates one of the world’s warmest seas. There is growing evidence that climate change is already affecting the environmental conditions of the RSA, in areas including sea temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, and sea level, which are set to continue changing over time. The cumulative impacts of these changes on coastal and marine ecosystems and dependent societies are less well documented, but are likely to be significant, especially in the context of other human stressors. This review represents the first regional synthesis of observed and predicted climate change impacts on marine and coastal ecosystems across the ROPME Sea Area and their implications for dependent societies. Climate-driven ecological changes include loss of coral reefs due to bleaching and the decline of fish populations, while socio-economic impacts include physical impacts from sea-level rise and cyclones, risk to commercial wild capture fisheries, disruption to desalination systems and loss of tourism. The compilation of this review is aimed to support the development of targeted adaptation actions and to direct future research within the RSA.

Bahrain is a cluster of islands in the mid-section of the Arabian Gulf that serves as an important wintering and stop-over ground for many migratory shorebirds in the Central Asian Flyway (CAF). However, natural and anthropogenic factors have had a significant impact on these ecosystems over the last few decades. Long-term, systematic studies based on standardized survey observations are needed to understand the population dynamics and diversity changes of shorebirds in these critical sites. We systematically surveyed the shorebird population and community in Bahrain between 2010 January to 2021 December. This is the first comprehensive study from the entire Kingdom of Bahrain, and covered 13 sites over 12 years to establish the results. A total of 39 species were encountered during the study period from all 13 sites in Bahrain, of which 27 species were common and regular migrants to all the study sites; these were selected to analyze the population trend. Five species represented 77% or more of the total wintering shorebird population. All the shorebird species assessed exhibited significant declining trends over the years, and majority of them had over 1% relative abundance. Shorebirds in Bahrain were severely threatened at these sites, indicating that their population trend in the area could be crucially affected. Further conservation efforts are needed, aided by an understanding of the mechanisms driving the decline and diversity changes of shorebirds in the most stressed coastal regions of Bahrain. Further studies organized throughout the country’s coasts may aid in establishing improved conservation measures to protect the shorebirds of the CAF in Bahrain.

The incidence of enteric viruses in treated wastewater and their potential release into the environment or use for agriculture are very critical matters in public health. In our study, PCR (polymerase chain reaction) analysis of enteric viruses was performed on 59 samples of influents and effluents collected from Tubli wastewater treatment plant (Water Pollution Control Center (WPCC)) and Tubli Bay, where the effluents were discharged, in Kingdom of Bahrain during two sampling periods. Four clinically essential waterborne enteric viruses were examined: enterovirus (EV), hepatitis A virus (HAV), astroviruses (AV), and rotaviruses (RV) and compared to standard bacterial and bacteriophages indicators of fecal pollution. Detection rates of EV, AV, HAV, and RV in the influent samples were 100%, 75%, 12.5%, and 12.5%, respectively, while 50% of the effluent samples from Tubli WPCC contained only EV RNA. None of the tested enteric viruses could be detected in any of the samples collected directly from Tubli Bay. Effluent samples from Tubli plant did not show significant seasonal differences. Since detection of enteric viruses genome does not necessarily indicate infectivity, the infectivity of these viruses was evaluated through isolation and growth of indictor bacteria and bacteriophages. High concentration of fecal bacteriological indicators was detected in all effluents samples (100%): 3.20 × 10³ cfu/mL for E. coli, 1.32 × 10³ cfu/mL for Salmonella spp., and 1.92 × 10³ cfu/mL for Shigella spp. E. coli and Salmonella specific bacteriophages were also detected in the effluent samples in high titers. The combined results of PCR and bacterial enumeration point to a probable public health risk via the use of these wastewaters in agriculture or their discharge into the sea. Continuous surveillance of viral and bacterial prevalence and their resistance to sewage disinfection procedures could contribute to a better control of risks associated with the recycling of effluent wastewater and its release into the environment.

Costal reclamation has been carried out extensively along the coastlines of the Arabian Gulf during the last decades. As a small archipelago country, coastal reclamation continues to be a major option for securing land to meet the needs of the expanding population and economic development in Bahrain. Macrobenthic communities often reflect the integrity of ecosystems as they respond to natural and anthropogenic stressors. This study characterized the community structures of macrobenthic invertebrates in three reclaimed intertidal areas and a protected natural mudflat in Bahrain (August 2019 and December 2020). Macrobenthic community structures and sediment characteristics differed significantly between natural and reclaimed areas. A total of 43 species were recorded in the four study areas, of which 38 were collected from the natural mudflat. Polychaetes dominated macrobenthic communities, followed by molluscs and crustaceans. Polychaetes accounted for more than 90% of the communities in the reclaimed coastal areas. Macrobenthic monitoring is considered essential for detecting changes in coastal and marine ecosystems due to dredging and reclamation activities along the coastlines of the Arabian Gulf. The findings of this study can provide insights into the ecological dynamics of macrobenthic communities in reclaimed coastal areas for environmental monitoring and coastal planning and management in the Arabian Gulf.