GEO-6 Regional Asssement for West Asia
In the Arabian Peninsula, for instance, the two countries which have the highest levels of endemic plants, Yemen (including the Socotra Archipelago) and Oman, have Red List assessments of plants; listing 699 endemic taxa (69 per cent of the endemic flora of this area), of which 476 have been assessed for the global IUCN Red List.
Of these, 220 are threatened with extinction, with 20 classed as critically endangered, 38 as endangered and 162 as vulnerable.
In Bahrain, two of the seven species of marine turtle - the hawksbill and the green turtle - occur in the waters of the ROPME Sea Area. Worldwide, the IUCN Red List classifies the hawksbill turtle as critically endangered and the green turtle as endangered. At the local and regional level, the populations of these species are threatened and the number of foraging habitats and nesting grounds are continually declining.
At least 21 species of cetaceans are known in West Asia. Only a few of these have been studied in any detail. One example is the humpback whale, the distribution of which appears to be centred in the Arabian Sea of Oman. Humpback whales are also known to occur, albeit less regularly, in the ROPME Sea Area, Oman Sea and the Red Sea. Estimates of the Arabian Sea humpback whale population from studies in Oman suggest that fewer than 100 individuals remain.
Increasing threats from human activities cause this population to be in danger of extinction and urgent conservation action is required. The only other population data for cetaceans in the region is an assessment of trends for dolphins in the ROPME Sea Area, in which a statistically significant decline in the population – of more than 70 per cent – was documented over a period of little more than a decade.
In Iraq, where habitat modification in the form of water diversion, dredging, pollution and overfishing are contributing to species loss, 20 freshwater fish species are threatened, constituting 50 per cent of the native freshwater fish species in the country.
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Whilst it is true that plants can be cultivated elsewhere and saved from extinction, the cultural history that a plant carries with it in its native habitat cannot be maintained through cultivation in another region. There are several examples of plants used in traditional medicine in the region that are now threatened due to overharvesting.
2.4.2 Pressures on biodiversity Encroachment on natural habitats
The rapid increase in population coupled with unprecedented growth in urbanisation puts pressure on biodiversity through encroachment on fragile natural habitats. For instance, in the Gulf, urbanisation coupled with coastal development involving intensive reclamation and dredging activities is leading to habitat destruction and biodiversity loss (Halpern et al. 2008; Van Lavieren et al. 2011). It is estimated that more than 40 per cent of the Gulf coast has been developed (Hamza and Munawar 2009) due to rapid economic, social and industrial growth (Halpern et al. 2008). This comes as a result of the shortage of available land in some countries and relatively inexpensive reclamation costs (Burt et al. 2012).
In the Mashriq countries, a significant portion of the East Mediterranean coastal landscape has undergone a concentration of populations and economic activities. For instance, 55 per cent of Lebanon’s population is concentrated in five large cities along the coast. This negatively affects biodiversity and natural ecosystems (Lebanon, Ministry of Environment 2010). It has been reported that numbers of plant species and plant families in the waterfront of the city of Beirut have been reduced by almost 64 per cent and 75 per cent respectively compared to 1930s numbers (Chmaitelly 2007).
Mass-scale development affects the hydrology of coasts and natural coastal features such as mangrove swamps, reefs and beaches, leading to biodiversity loss. This is shown in the tourism development on the Red Sea and in many coastal areas of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (Gelil 2008). Increasing investment plans for
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