I LOVE living in Bahrain. Everything and everybody is so close with no place more than 20 minutes away. But it seems it's become a bit too crowded lately. A look into the real estate market would give a clear idea of what I am talking about. An average sized piece of land could cost anywhere between 25 and 40 thousand dinars, depending on the location. In some places prices soared to 12 times what they were just three years ago.

The average Bahraini now has no chance of buying land; the bank won't finance it since loan regulations are stricter than ever. So you say Bahrainis should get off their high horse and be content with a smaller more economical apartment? But renting a reasonable apartment would cost around BD150 to BD300 per month, if not much more. Considering what an average Bahraini makes in a month, chopping off a sum like that from his monthly salary must be some sort of crime! The solution is obvious. If we want prices to go down, we need more land.

Bahrain is an environmental and historical haven. Wetlands, mangrove, endangered species, coral reefs, burial mounds, forts, pottery… you name it, we've got it! So many parts of the country have been designated as protected areas. Take for example the Hawar Islands, with a combined area of around 51.5 sq km or 9pc of Bahrain's total area! The islands and their surrounding waters were declared Bahrain's largest natural reserve in 1997. They have since been designated as Ramsar site no. 920 (wetlands of international importance). What all this basically means is that we shouldn't be expecting any homes to be built on those islands any time soon. So it seems that we fought in the International Court of Justice against our neighbours for the right of land that accumulates to almost 10pc of Bahrain's area so we can let the birds enjoy it.

Statistics state that Bahrain is the sixth most densely populated country in the world. Its density is somewhere around 800 to 1,000 people per sq km. But if we bear in mind that only the northern part of the country is actually populated, while the southern part is a privately owned land off limits to most people, then the density figure more than doubles!

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the greenery and the clean air, which is why I don't live anywhere near the Sitra Industrial Area, but if Bahrainis can't afford to live in their country, what's to stop them from picking up and leaving? If that happens, we are going to lose the most valuable asset of all, our people. We are put between a rock and a hard place. Either protect the mangroves or protect the people.

I am not against protecting the bay or Hawar or the mounds or any other deserving site for that matter. I am only sad that we have to resort to reclaiming land while we still have half of Bahrain uninhabited!

tariqk1976@hotmail.com 

tkhonji@yahoo.com

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