The National Strategy for the Protection of the Environment was prepared in cooperation between the Supreme Council for the Environment and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), in cooperation with the various organizations in the sectors related to the environment, research centers, universities, civil society organizations and a group of international experts. This strategy was approved by the Cabinet in the Kingdom of Bahrain in October 2006. Several programs and projects aimed at implementing this strategy have been developed.
In order to reserve the marine and coastal environment within the Kingdom of Bahrain and to protect it against improper human activities, the environmental authorities have declared certain territorial waters as national marine sanctuaries. Under Decrees and Ministerial Orders, Ras Sanad at Tubli Bay, Tubli Bay, Huwar Islands, Mashtan Island, and the Arad Bay have been declared as national marine sanctuaries . These national sanctuaries vary in their natural and ecological characteristics and in the objectives and purposes for which they have been declared.
The Kingdom of Bahrain has followed the Environmental Protection Initiative of the United Nations through a number of initiatives and projects in collaboration with the environmental organizations of the civil society and the United Nations. In 2018, Bahrain joined the Clean Seas Global Campaign and as a result, the Cabinet has issued two ministerial decrees prohibiting the importation of the plastic wastes and another for setting the specifications and standards for the plastic bags that would be allowed to be used in the local market, which is mandatory to be biodegradable.