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Hawar Islands

Native name: Arabic: جزر حوار
Hawar Fort in 1938
Hawar IslandsLocation of Hawar Islands in Bahrain
Geography
Location	Persian Gulf
Coordinates	25°38′49″N 50°46′34″E / 25.647°N 50.776°E / 25.647; 50.776
Archipelago	Bahrain
Adjacent to	Persian Gulf
Total islands	16
Major islands	Hawar Island
Area	52 km (20 sq mi)
Highest elevation	22 m (72 ft)
Administration
Bahrain
Governorate	Southern Governorate, ISO Code BH-14
Additional information
Time zone	AST (UTC+3)

The Hawar Islands (Arabic: جزر حوار; transliterated: Juzur Ḥawār) are an archipelago of desert islands; all but one are owned by Bahrain, while the southern, small, and uninhabited Jinan Island (Arabic: جزيرة جينان; transliterated: Jazirat Jinan) is administered by Qatar as part of its Al-Shahaniya municipality. The archipelago is situated off the west coast of Qatar in the Gulf of Bahrain of the Persian Gulf.

Description

The islands used to be one of the settlements of the Bahraini branch of the Dawasir who settled there in the early 19th century. The islands were first surveyed in 1820, when they were called the Warden's Islands, and two villages were recorded. They are now uninhabited, other than a police garrison and a hotel on the main island; access to all but Hawar island itself is severely restricted. Local fishermen are allowed to fish in adjacent waters and there is some recreational fishing and tourism on and around the islands. Fresh water has always been scarce; historically it was obtained by surface collection and even today, with the desalination plant, additional supplies have to be brought in.

Geography

Despite their proximity to Qatar (they are only about 1 nautical mile (1.9 km) from the Qatari mainland whilst being about 10 nautical miles (19 km) from the main islands of Bahrain), most of the islands belong to Bahrain, having been a part of a dispute between Bahrain and Qatar which was resolved in 2001. The islands were formerly coincident with the district or Minṭaqat Juzur Ḥawār (مِنْطَقَة جُزُر حَوَار) and are now administered as part of the Southern Governorate of Bahrain. The land area of the islands is approximately 52 km (20 sq mi).

Although there are 36 islands in the group, many of the smaller islands are little more than sand or shingle accumulations on areas of exposed bedrock molded by the ongoing processes of sedimentation and accretion. The World Heritage Site application named 8 major islands (see table hereafter), which conforms to the description of the islands when first surveyed as consisting of 8 or 9 islands. It has often been described as an archipelago of 16 islands. Janan Island, to the south of Hawar island, is not legally considered to be a part of the group and is owned by Qatar.

Flora and fauna

There are small herds of Arabian oryx and sand gazelle on Hawar island, and the seas around support sea turtles and a large population of dugongs.

The islands are home to many bird species. The archipelago has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports significant populations of western reef egrets, Socotra cormorants (with some 200,000–300,000 adults recorded in 1992, making it the largest known breeding concentration in the world), Saunders's and white-cheeked terns, and sooty falcons. Other breeding birds include Caspian and bridled terns, and ospreys. Wintering birds include great crested grebes and greater flamingos.

Conservation

The islands were listed as a Ramsar site in 1997. In 2002, the Bahraini government applied to have the islands recognised as a World Heritage Site due to their unique environment and habitat for endangered species; the application was ultimately unsuccessful.

Administration

The islands were formerly coincident with the region or Minṭaqat Juzur Ḥawār (مِنْطَقَة جُزُر حَوَار) and are now administered as part of the Southern Governorate of Bahrain.

Jinan Island is administered as part of Al-Shahaniya Municipality of Qatar.

Access

The islands' ecology draws numerous birds, oryx, gazelles, and Socotra cormorants. The islands are connected through a short 25 km ferry ride from Manama and are reported to have a potential to be developed as a beach tourism destination.

List of islands

Hawar archipelago

By far the largest island is Hawar, which accounts for more than 41 km (16 sq mi) of the 54.5 km (21.0 sq mi) land area. Following in size are Suwād al Janūbīyah, Suwād ash Shamālīyah, Rubud Al Sharqiyah, Rubud Al Gharbiyah, and Muhazwarah (Umm Hazwarah).

The following were not considered as part of the Hawar islands in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) judgment, being located between Hawar and the Bahrain Islands and not disputed by Qatar, but have been included in the Hawar archipelago by the Bahrain government as part of the 2002 World Heritage Site application.

Janan Island

Janan (or Jinan) Island, a small island south of Hawar island, was also considered in the 2001 ICJ judgment. Based on a previous agreement when both Qatar and Bahrain were under British occupation, it was judged to be separate from the Hawar islands and so considered by the court separately. It was awarded to Qatar.

See also

• List of islands of Bahrain

References

1. ^ "Case concerning Maritime Delimitation and Territorial Questions between Qatar and Bahrain" (PDF). ICJ. 9 June 2000. p. 28. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-05-24.
2. "Hawar Islands". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
3. "Case concerning Maritime Delimitation and Territorial Questions between Qatar and Bahrain". ICJ. 16 March 2001. p. 44. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2009.
4. ^ "Nomination file: The Hawar Archipelago". Government of Bahrain. 11 June 2002.
5. "Bahrain" (PDF). Ramsar Convention. p. 11.
6. Charney, Jonathan I.; Alexander, Lewis M.; Smith, Dr. Robert W.; Law, American Society of International (2002). International Maritime Boundaries : vol. IV. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. p. 2844. ISBN 978-9041119544. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
7. ^ "Case concerning Maritime Delimitation and Territorial Questions between Qatar and Bahrain". ICJ. 16 March 2001. p. 81.
8. ^ "IUCN Evaluation of Nominations of Natural and Mixed Properties to the World Heritage List". Hawar-Islands.com. 2004.
9. ^ Hawar Islands Protected Area: Management Plan (PDF). January 2003.
10. "Case concerning Maritime Delimitation and Territorial Questions between Qatar and Bahrain" (PDF). ICJ. 13 June 2000. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
11. ^ "Case concerning Maritime Delimitation and Territorial Questions between Qatar and Bahrain" (PDF). ICJ. 16 March 2001. p. 54. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-05.
12. "Bahrain" (PDF). Ramsar Convention. p. 12.
13. "Hawar Islands". BirdLife Data Zone. BirdLife International. 2024. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
14. Oxford Business Group - The Report, 2015. Oxford Business Group. 2015. p. 166. ISBN 9781910068229.
15. ^ "Bahrain Bird Report". Hawar-Islands.com.
16. Crombe, P.; De Dapper, M.; Haerinck, E. (November 2001). "An archaeological survey of Hawar Island". Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy. 12 (2): 143. doi:10.1034/j.1600-0471.2001.d01-2.x.
17. Hawar Islands Protected Area: Management Plan (PDF). January 2003. p. 10 (map).
18. "Case concerning Maritime Delimitation and Territorial Questions between Qatar and Bahrain" (PDF). ICJ. 16 March 2001. p. 61. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-05.
19. "Dugong". Hawar-Islands.com.
20. "Case concerning Maritime Delimitation and Territorial Questions between Qatar and Bahrain" (PDF). ICJ. 16 March 2001. p. 49. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-05.

External links

• Decision of the International Court of Justice on the Hawar dispute (2001)

Maps

• Basic map with island names and features, p. 3
• Topographical map Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
• Geological map
• Navigation chart, Bahrain & Hawar Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
• Aerial photograph

Media

• Bahrain Desert Birds, BBC Planet Earth. Taken from "Shallow Seas" (2006).

• Populated places in Bahrain
• Islands of Bahrain
• Islands of Qatar
• Former municipalities (regions) of Bahrain
• Foreign relations of Bahrain
• Disputed territories in the Persian Gulf
• Disputed islands of Asia
• Archipelagoes of Asia
• Archipelagoes of the Indian Ocean
• Territorial disputes of Bahrain
• Territorial disputes of Qatar
• Bahrain–Qatar border
• Important Bird Areas of Bahrain
• Important Bird Areas of Persian Gulf islands
• Ramsar sites in Bahrain
• Islands of the Persian Gulf