US embassy cable - 05MANAMA469

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 000469 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARPI DBERNS 
AMMAN FOR JWHITTLESEY 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/07/2015 
TAGS: ECON, SENV, PREL, PGOV, BA 
SUBJECT: A CALL TO SAVE TUBLI BAY 
 
REF: MANAMA 299 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe for reasons 
1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1.  (C) Summary.  The Municipal Councils of Manama and Isa 
Town are suing businesses for illegal dumping in Tubli Bay 
and questioning the validity of land reclamation contracts in 
the bay.  Parliamentarians are investigating the reclamation 
schemes that have already reduced the bay to half its 
original size, despite protective legislation that has been 
in place since 1975.  The bay is an important ecosystem, 
known for its mangroves, shrimp, and migratory birds.  Action 
to halt reclamation in Tubli Bay is complicated by the fact 
that yet-to-be reclaimed "land" there has already been sold. 
It is also not clear how committed parliamentarians are to 
taking on this cause.  End Summary. 
 
2.  (C) The Bahrain press reported in February that the 
Municipal Councils of Manama and Isa Town are suing 
businesses for illegal dumping in Tubli Bay, one of three 
protected areas in Bahrain.  In addition, the Councils are 
questioning the validity of contracts for reclaiming 
additional land in the bay.  The bay at one time spanned 25 
square kilometers but now measures only about 10 square 
kilometers due to land reclamation projects and dumping. 
According to Minister of Municipalities and Agriculture Ali 
Al Saleh, the two Municipal Councils have also petitioned the 
lower house of parliament, the Council of Representatives 
(COR), to stop all future development and restore the 
remaining portion of the bay to its natural condition, a 
decision the Minister publicly supports (reftel).  If all 
existing contracts for land reclamation are carried out, the 
bay could shrink further to a mere 7.5 square kilometers. 
Municipal Council authorities established a 24-hour manned 
station at the bay February 10 and reportedly captured seven 
illegal dumpers the first night. 
 
3.  (U)  This shallow, tidal inland bay is unique and 
environmentally important, said Dr. Ismail Al Madani, 
Director General for Environmental and Wildlife Protection at 
the Public Commission for the Protection of Marine Resources, 
Environment, and Wildlife.  He explained that the mangrove 
swamp area of Tubli Bay is an ecosystem teeming with birds, 
fish, and other marine organisms.  The bay is a wetlands area 
for migratory birds, including flamingos.  It had been a 
hatchery and habitat for large quantities of shrimp, which 
were considered to be the tastiest shrimp in Bahrain.  The 
bay was also a popular spot for swimming.  Now it is a 
garbage-strewn pool surrounded by dense concentrations of 
business and residential property -- including the Embassy, 
which sits on reclaimed Tubli Bay land. 
 
4.  (C) A well-placed real estate executive told us that the 
royal family and other prominent Bahrainis are the chief 
beneficiaries of land reclamation projects around the 
country.  While not specifically mentioning Tubli Bay, he 
said that owners of land still underwater can decide whether 
to reclaim and develop the land themselves or sell it to 
another investor.  Al Madani said that the primary issue in 
the Tubli Bay problem is that citizens hold valid ownership 
titles to land under the bay.  Private ownership of land is 
recognized in the constitution, and the owners have a right 
to their property.  The only way to stop additional 
reclamation of Tubli Bay, said Al Madani, is for the 
government to compensate these owners by either purchasing 
the land or giving them title to other property, perhaps for 
land to be reclaimed from the sea. 
 
5.  (C) Protective legislation to halt further land 
reclamation and dumping in Tubli Bay was enacted in 1975 and 
again in 1995, to little effect.  The COR recently formed a 
committee to investigate irregularities in contracts related 
to Tubli Bay land reclamation, and the Shura Council is in 
the midst of drafting additional protective legislation.  Al 
Madani, who said he has worked on saving Tubli Bay for 15 
years,  commented that the COR politicians jumped on the 
Tubli Bay bandwagon only to promote themselves and to 
embarrass the owners of the yet-to-be reclaimed land. 
 
6.  (C) Comment:  Al Madani may well be right, that many of 
those involved in the Tubli Bay controversy are only seeking 
to garner publicity.  Whatever the motives, however, the 
environment of Tubli Bay will stabilize and possibly improve 
if the reclamation and dumping are halted.  For the bay to be 
saved, the government must develop a method to compensate the 
owners of land still under water for giving up their claims. 
There is little room for flexibility in government spending 
and the parliament exerts strong oversight of the budget, 
thus diminishing the chances that the government would simply 
purchase the owners' parcels of land from them.  A more 
likely scenario is that the owners are compensated by 
obtaining rights to future land to be reclaimed elsewhere 
from the sea. 
MONROE