State of the Marine Environment Report 2013 R O P M E Regional Organization for the Protection of the Marine Environment - Kuwait State of the Marine Environment Report 2013 R O P M E Regional Organization for the Protection of the Marine Environment - Kuwait Regional Organization for the Protection of the Marine Environment (ROPME) P.O.Box 26388 13124 Safat State of Kuwait. Tel: +965 25312140 Fax: +965 25324172 / 25335243 E-Mail:[email protected] www.ropme.org Copyright @ 2013 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage For bibliographic purposes, this document should be cited as: and retrieval system, without the prior ROPME (2013). State of the Marine Environment Report- 2013. ROPME/ written permission GC-16 /1-ii Regional Organization for the Protection of the Marine from ROPME. Environment, Kuwait, 225 p. ii State of the Marine Environment Report - 2013 g In the name of God the Compassionate, the Merciful Blank Page TABLE OF CONTENTS Page FOREWORD xxi PREFACE xxiii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY xxv ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS xxxi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Definition and Geographic Limits of the ROPME Sea Area 1 1.1.1 Geographical Divisions of the RSA 1 1.1.2 Geology and Geomorphology of RSA 2 1.1.3 Bathymetry 6 1.2 Brief Description on the Approach of SOMER-2013 7 CHAPTER 2: SOCIO-ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES AND DRIVERS 9 KEY MESSAGES 9 2.1 Demographic Indicators 10 2.1.1 Urban Sprawl in the Coastal Areas 13 2.2 Economic Indicators 16 2.2.1 Economies of the RSA Countries 17 2.2.2 Major Industries and Industrial Production 17 i. Liquid and Solid Wastes 19 ii. Atmospheric Emissions 21 2.2.3 Fisheries 21 2.2.4 Coastal Development and Physical Alterations of the Coastline 22 i. Dredging 24 ii. Maritime Traffic 26 2.2.5 Environmental Risk Assessment in RSA 28 i. Accident Frequency 29 ii. Spill Frequencies and Quantities 30 iii. Historical Review of Maritime Incidents 30 iv. Pollution Risk Modeling 30 2.2.6 Energy and Water 31 CHAPTER 3: STATE AND TRENDS IN THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT OF RSA 35 KEY MESSAGES 35 3.1 Physical Environmental Characteristics 36 State of the Marine Environment Report - 2013 v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 3.1.1 Climatology and Meteorological Characteristics 36 a. Wind Patterns 37 b. Dust 38 c. Cloud and Precipitation 40 3.1.2 Oceanographic Characteristics 40 a. Sea Surface Temperature (SST) 40 b. Salinity 41 c. Water Balance 43 d. Tidal Movement 45 e. Water Circulation 46 f. Sea Currents 47 3.1.3 Biological Diversity 49 i. Planktons in the RSA 49 a. Phytoplankton 49 b. Zooplankton 52 c. Ichthyoplankton 56 ii. Benthic Communities 58 a. Meiofauna 58 b. Macrofauna 60 iii. Marine Reptiles 61 a. Marine Turtles 61 b. Sea Snakes 64 iv. Sea Birds 64 v. Marine Mammals 65 vi. Marine Habitats 67 a. Coral Reefs Status and Trend 67 b. Seagrass and Sea-weeds 74 c. Mangroves 76 d. Intertidal Sand and Mudflats 78 vii. Fisheries 79 a. Pressure on RSA Fisheries 81 b. Environmental Hygiene 82 3.1.4 Existing Protected Areas in RSA and their Characteristics 82 vi State of the Marine Environment Report - 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 3.2 Marine Environmental Pollution 88 3.2.1 Contaminants Screening in Nearshore Environment of the RSA 88 i. Oil Pollution 88 a. Petroleum Hydrocarbons in Nearshore Sediments 88 b. Petroleum Hydrocarbons in Biota 93 ii. Organochlorine Contaminants 95 a. Organochlorines in Nearshore Sediments 95 b. Organochlorine Contaminants in Biota 97 iii. Trace Metals 98 a. Trace Metals in Nearshore Sediments 98 b. Trace Metals in Biota 101 3.2.2 Basin-wide Pollution in the RSA 103 i. Sediment Texture and Composition 104 ii Oil Pollution in Offshore Sediments 106 iii. Organochlorinated Compounds 109 iv. Trace Metals 110 v. Organotin Compounds in Offshore Sediments 111 vi. Radionuclides in Offshore Sediments 111 vii. Status and Trend of Pollution in the Offshore Sediments 114 3.2.3 ROPME Mussel Watch Programme (RMW) 115 i. Trace Metals 117 ii. Organic Contaminants 118 a. Oil Pollution 118 b. Organochlorinated Contaminants 119 c. Organotin Compounds 120 iii. Radionuclides in Nearshore sediment 121 iv. Reconstruction of Oil Pollution History in the ROPME Sea Area 122 3.3 Harmful Algal Blooms 125 3.3.1 Seasonal and Inter-annual Trends of Phytoplankton and Algal 125 Blooms 3.4 Environmental Sensitivity 130 CHAPTER 4: INTERLINKAGES 137 KEY MESSAGES 137 4.1 Socioeconomic Drivers 137 State of the Marine Environment Report - 2013 vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 4.2 Landfilling and Dredging 138 4.3 Water Demands, Desalination and Potential Impact on Fisheries 139 4.4 Climate Change Interlinkages 141 4.5 Degradation of the Tigris-Euphrates and Draining of the Marshlands 142 4.6 Governance and Management of the RSA 145 CHAPTER 5: EMERGING ISSUES 147 KEY MESSAGES 147 5.1 Nuclear and Radioactive Risks 147 5.2 Initial Indicators of Global Warming 149 5.3 Cyclonic Storms, Tsunami and Earthquake Influences 154 CHAPTER 6: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES 157 KEY MESSAGES 157 6.1 Environmental Challenges 157 6.1.1 Sustainable Development Strategies and Priority Areas 157 6.1.2 Global Climate Changes 158 6.1.3 Freshwater Scarcity 159 6.2 Governance Challenges 159 6.2.1 Legal and Institutional Frameworks 159 6.2.2 Implementation of ROPME Protocols 160 6.2.3 Coordination between Regional and International Organizations 161 6.2.4 Harmonization of Legislation 161 6.2.5 Conservation Strategies 161 6.3 Control and Mitigation Measures 162 6.3.1 Control of Land-Based Sources of Pollution 162 6.3.2 Control of Dredging, Landfilling, and Reclamation Activities, and 162 Modification of Coastal Morphology 6.3.3 Control and Management of Oil Spills 162 6.3.4 Control of Maritime Traffic 164 6.3.5 Restoration of Mangroves and Coral Reefs 164 6.4 Management and Monitoring Issues 164 6.4.1 Integrated Monitoring and Assessments 164 6.4.2 Trans-boundary Nature of Issues and the Need for Ecosystem- 165 Based Management 6.4.3 Integrated Coastal Area Management (ICAM) 167 viii State of the Marine Environment Report - 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 6.5 Other Important Challenges and Opportunities 167 6.5.1 Capacity Building 167 6.5.2 Public Awareness 168 6.5.3 Strengthening Monitoring and Data Quality Assurance 168 6.5.4 Cooperation with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) 168 CHAPTER 7: FUTURE OUTLOOK 171 KEY MESSAGES 171 7.1 Scenarios Anatomy 172 7.2 ROPME Sea Area Environmental Scenarios 174 7.2.1 Scenarios Key Questions 174 7.2.2 Key Environmental Challenges and Focal Issues 174 7.3 The Scenarios Narrative 175 7.3.1 Business as Usual Scenario 176 7.3.2 The Sustainable RSA Scenario 181 7.4 Conclusion and Policy Lessons 183 7.5 Key Scenarios Messages and Strategic Recommendations 184 7.6 Strategic Recommendations to Environmental Decision-Makers 185 CHAPTER 8: POLICY OPTIONS FOR THE RSA 187 KEY MESSAGES 187 8.1 Definition of Policies and Governance 187 8.2 Legislation, Conventions and Agreements 188 8.2.1 National Legislation/Regulations 189 8.2.2 Regional Convention and Protocols 189 8.2.3 International Agreements 190 8.3 Policies and Policy Clustering 191 8.3.1 National Policies 192 i. Policies related to Marine Biodiversity, Special Habitats and 193 Protected Areas a. National Biodiversity Strategies 193 b. Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM) 194 c. Management of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) 195 d. Development and Management of Artificial Coral Reef Habitats 195 ii. Policies related to Fisheries 196 a. Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management (EBFM) 196 State of the Marine Environment Report - 2013 ix TABLE OF CONTENTS Page b. Fish Stock Enhancement 197 iii. Policies related to Pollution and Contamination 197 a. Environmental Assessment and Monitoring 197 8.3.2 Regional Policies 198 i. Policies related to Maritime Traffic in RSA 198 a. Regional Action Plan for Prevention and Response to Marine 199 Pollution from Ships b. Marine Environmental High Risk Areas (MEHRAs) 199 ii. Policies related to Environmental Monitoring and Observation 199 a. Long-term Environmental Monitoring of RSA by Remote 199 Sensing b. Development of Regional Integrated Environmental Observation 200 System (RIEOS) for ROPME Member States c. Regional Action Plan on Harmful Algal Blooms/Alien Invasive 200 Species and related Marine Mortality in the ROPME Sea Area d. Regional Action Plan on Mortality of Marine Mammals and 201 Turtles 8.4 Gaps in Environmental Policies 201 8.5 Policy Prospectus 201 8.5.1 Special Consideration of RSA 201 8.5.2 Monitoring of Compliance 202 8.5.3 Critical Policy Areas to be addressed 202 8.5.4 Ecosystem-Based Management 202 8.5.5 Green Economy 202 8.5.6 The Policy Process 202 REFERENCES 205 x State of the Marine Environment Report - 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES Page Table 2.1 Available data for produced and treated wastewater in the ROPME 20 Member States Table 3.1 Correlation coefficient between total meiofauna and environmental 59 parameters (Summer 2000 Cruise) Table 3.2 Correlation coefficient between total meiofauna and environmental 59 parameters (Summer 2001 Cruise) Table 3.3 Correlation coefficient between total meiofauna and environmental 59 parameters (Winter 2006 Cruise) Table 3.4 Threats on Coral Reefs in ROPME Member States 69 Table 3.5 Total number of MPAs by Member State and number of MPAs ‘Designated’ and ‘Proposed’ under national legislation, or 83 ‘Adopted’ or ‘Proposed’ under international conventions Table 3.6 Country-wise mean concentrations of metals in nearshore surface 100 sediment of RSA during February