Vol. 38 Issue 3
Riadh AL-Dabbagh, Abdul Salam Darwish and Naser W. Alnaser
This paper identifies the essential critical factors and practical procedures for successful water resources management in the emirate of Sharjah, UAE. These factors are the planning and management of water resources, groundwater management, efficient water use in agriculture, sustainability of desalination, domestic and industrial demand management, the sustainability of the desalination and wastewater treatment and reuse. The latest main conventional and non-conventional water resources in Sharjah are highlighted, including evaporation, the hot climate, and the associated reduction in the water resources. The water resources in UAE are also evaluated and included in our proposed water management model, which is made to overcome the scarcity of natural water quantities in Sharjah, which presents a continuous challenge to the government and one that it deems a priority to solve.
Salem R. Buhammoud, Ahmed O. El-Kholei and Omar Al Ubaydli
In 2017, the World Bank estimated the cost of air pollution in Bahrain at 0.1 percent of the Gross National Income (GNI) using health statistics that the World Health Organization (WHO) publishes. Anthropogenic activities in an area cause environmental pollution. Using Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to estimate the cost of air pollution appears to be more accurate. In Bahrain, between 2009-2019, respiratory diseases were not among the top four causes of death. The paper quantifies the cost of air pollution in Bahrain’s urban areas using real estate prices. The researchers adopted the willingness-to-pay approach to investigate the connection between air quality, the spatial distribution of population, and real estate price using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and advanced multivariate statistical techniques. The usage of GDP is adequate and trustworthy compared to GNI. Air pollution accounted for 16.7% of the variation in house prices, leaving 83.3% to other confounding variables, such as transboundary sources of air pollution.
Adel Ismail Al-Alawi, Yossra Fareed El-Tony, Esam Ismaeel AlAlawi and Hala Elias
The purpose of this study is to examine the difficulties encountered by Bahraini entrepreneurs in converting innovative ideas in the biotechnology field to a profitable trade. Methodology - The study applies a qualitative approach. Semi-structured, one-to-one interviews with four managers have been done to identify the obstacles they faced. Findings - Initial results prove that some factors, including funding, workforce skills, government regulations, and the Bahraini market environment, significantly affect success in the biotechnology industry. Further analysis suggests that the Bahraini market environment is the more fundamental obstacle compared to the others. Two additional factors, namely time management and infrastructure, have an insignificant effect on Bahrain’s progress in the biotech industry. Practical implications - This study is targeted at regulatory bodies in Bahrain and entrepreneurs to assist them in pinpointing the obstacles faced in the biotech industry and address them subsequently. Originality– This research contributes to innovative entrepreneurship literature relating to the biotech industry in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, primarily in Bahrain. As the 2030 vision for Bahrain depends on diversification of income sources, it is interesting to examine the difficulties that challenge entrepreneurs once they try to convert innovative ideas in the field of biotechnology into a successful trade story. Recommendation - improving the workforce skills to be competitive in the market with current impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and validating these results quantitively are recommended.
Khadija Zainal and Rawda Altuama
The growth rate of two seabream species, was monitored during 2017. Seabreams Sparedentix hasta and Sparus aurata, were collected at age of 26 to 159 days and at 47 to 173 days for S. hasta and S. aurata respectively. The data obtained for age groups 47 to 159 days were used for comparison between the two species given 600 and 510 individuals for each species. They were raised from eggs under controlled ambient environmental conditions at the National Mariculture in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Early larvae were fed on live food such as Artemia and the fingerlings were fed on commercial feed. Weekly abiotic monitoring indicated that these species could tolerate slight fluctuations in these factors. Dissolved oxygen concentrations, in particular, ranged between 3.4 and 6 mg/l indicating their tolerance of occasional lower oxygen availability. The growth rate was exponential during the monitoring time. The linear correlations between body mass and body length were significant. Although some data indicated that the European seabream, S. aurata, can grow significantly faster (P≤ 0.05) than S. hasta, at certain age. In general, S. hasta had a higher instantaneous growth rate (Specific Growth Rate, SGR%). For example, SGR% was 20.29 from 54 to 61 days, whereas S. aurta had a value of 4.48%. SGR% ranged from 0.1 to 20.3% for S. hasta and from 0.2 to 19 % for S. aurata. Morphologically, S. aurata appears to have a more rounded and shorter body, but the native species, S. hasta, grows significantly longer and heavier. The differences in the rates of growth decreased with time as their body masses increased. There is an inverse relationship between body mass and the specific growth rate in both species. Monitoring SGR% using body mass or body length is one of the most useful indicators of production in mariculture. Attention needs to be considered however, to the husbandry and wellbeing of the cultured species.