Editorial

Abstract

The Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management Society (AEHMS) is not new to the Gulf Region. Through its Middle Eastern Chapter, the Society has been actively involved in the region for almost a decade. For example, the Society was instrumental in organizing and publishing the first comprehensive book on the Gulf: The Gulf Ecosystem: Health and Sustainability (Khan et al., 2002) which was sponsored by the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR). This was followed by the convening of the first GULF conference in collaboration with the United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, in 2006 and resulted in the publication of a special issue of Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management: The State of the Gulf Ecosystem: Future and Threats (Munawar et al., 2007). Furthermore, the society recently published a major review article dealing with the state of the Gulf: Protecting and Managing the Arabian Gulf: Past, Present and Future (Hamza and Munawar, 2009) which became one of the most downloaded papers from the journal.The GULF II conference hosted by KISR was held in Kuwait on February 7–9, 2011 and focused on ecosystem health with particular regard to functioning and services. Themes explored included: Climatology and marine resourcesMarine ecology and biodiversityMarine pollution and its impactEcotoxicology and ecosystem healthEnvironmental pollution and trans-boundary movementRemote sensing applications in the marine environmentEnvironmental managementResponse to the GULF II conference in Kuwait was overwhelming and included 57 oral presentations, 36 posters and 7 keynote lectures. Following the conference, 27 manuscripts were submitted to the Journal. In keeping with AEHM's standard procedure, these manuscripts went through a meticulous review and revision process by a team of international referees, after which the recommended papers underwent stringent technical and linguistic editing prior to publication. This supplemental issue includes manuscripts covering a wide rage of topics.It gives me great pleasure to express our deep sense of appreciation to Dr. N. Al-Mutairi, Director General of KISR for his support and encouragement. I would also like to sincerely thank the Conference Organizing Committee and the Special Issue Committee for their assistance and patience in the processing of the papers which resulted in the publication of this issue. Appreciation is especially due to Drs. A.N. Al-Ghadban, M.U. Beg, and A.R.G. Price for their efforts and hard work on behalf of the conference and the publication. Finally, thanks are due to J. Lorimer, S. Blunt, M. Fitzpatrick and L. Elder for their untiring and pleasant support.The Gulf has been facing multiple environmental stresses for some time. In addition, emerging issues such as climate change, invasive species, algal blooms and dust storms appear to increase the complexity of managing the Gulf to achieve a desirable state of health. The AEHMS, as a co-host of GULF II, hopes that this special issue will enhance our understanding of this waterbody so that proper management strategies can be developed and implemented by all riparian countries in the Gulf.Participants at the GULF II conference.Gulf II in action.