The National Plan of Action to Combat Desertification in Bahrain

This document, prepared jointly by UNEP’s Regional Office for West Asia and UNESCWA in October 1991, presents a comprehensive and data-rich framework to mitigate desertification across Bahrain. Drawing on extensive assessments of natural resources and socio-economic conditions, it details the country’s declining agricultural productivity, groundwater depletion, and rising soil salinity. It outlines physical and human drivers of land degradation, including over-abstraction of aquifers, ineffective irrigation practices, urban encroachment, and shifts in labor dynamics. The document emphasizes evidence-based interventions such as wastewater reuse, artificial recharge systems, land capability zoning, crop-specific irrigation strategies, and formation of national institutional mechanisms. It proposes a calibrated mathematical water balance model and an integrated system analysis to guide long-term water and land resource management. The multi-phased plan prioritizes sustainable agriculture, improved governance, and community participation.