Iran 
Iran appears to have escaped serious oil pollution but the burning oil 
wells in Kuwait may have the potential, through generating acid rain, to 
affect montane habitats in Iran and further afield (eg Pakistan, Nepal). 
Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates 
The oil slicks never reached as far south as these countries; only small 
amounts of tar-balls have been reported from the beaches of Bahrain so 
far, and little detected in the other states above the high background level 
of oiling that occurs in the Gulf. The breeding colonies of Socotra 
Cormorants on the islands of these states, as well as in Saudi Arabia, will 
have been reduced in size following the large-scale mortality due to the 
oil. The lack of baseline data will make these decreases difficult to 
quantify. Severe overhead concentrations of smoke have been reported 
from Bahrain, on occasions occurring as a ground-level smog. 
Jordan 
There was concern that the important wetland at Azraq oasis might 
suffer from the huge numbers of refugees from Kuwait camped nearby. 
However, they probably made little impact on the water resources over 
and above the already large-scale extraction of water that is taking place 
to supply the capital city, Amman (T Jones pers. comm.). 
Future action 
Further initiatives on bird conservation work in the Gulf are being 
actively pursued by ICBP, NCWCD and EPC, with the priorities being: 
1 A census of the breeding population of the Socotra Cormorant in 
the Gulf, its main breeding area, co-ordinated amongst all the 
relevant states. No adequate baseline data exist by which to judge 
the severity of the large-scale mortality in the Gulf; the species is 
thought to be declining owing to disturbance and development of 
its breeding islands. 
2 An assessment this autumn of the scale of bird mortality caused by 
the oil lakes in Kuwait and of the effects of the smoke from burning 
oil wells on bird migration in the country. 
3 A wader survey this winter in Saudi Arabia is necessary in order 
to monitor the recovery of the oiled intertidal habitats and to 
gather further baseline information on species, numbers and 
movements. 
4 A workshop between ICBP, NCWCD, EPC and other involved 
bodies is planned this au tumn to assess the resul ts and implications 
of work so far and to co-ordinate further conservation action. 
5 
