ANTHROPOCENE IMPRINTS ON THE PERSIAN GULF (ARABIAN GULF): A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF POLLUTION AND CONSERVATION CHALLENGES

The Persian Gulf, a shallow semi-enclosed sea bordered by eight nations, faces intensifying ecological degradation under the pressures of the Anthropocene.This review systematically examined pollution types, impacts, and conservation challenges in Persian Gulf from the Scopus database.A bibliometric analysis using VOSviewer identified six major thematic clusters, highlighting evolving research priorities.Chronic oil pollution from extraction, refining, and shipping activities remains a dominant threat, with cumulative impacts on microbial communities, benthic macrofauna, and coral reefs.Heavy metals, including mercury, cadmium, and lead, continue to bioaccumulate in sediments, marine biota, and food webs, posing serious risks to fisheries productivity, food security, and public health.Additionally, thermal pollution and hypersaline effluents from desalination plants are altering salinitytemperature regimes, exacerbating stress on coral reefs and seagrass beds.Rapid coastal development and land reclamation are driving habitat loss, especially for mangroves and mudflats, while microplastic debris is increasingly entangling marine megafauna and contaminating seafood species.The socio-ecological consequences include biodiversity decline, heightened public health threats from seafood contamination and airborne pollutants, economic vulnerabilities in fisheries and tourism sectors, and the cultural erosion of traditional livelihoods such as pearl diving and artisanal fishing.Despite the establishment of Marine Protected Areas and regional initiatives like the Kuwait Action Plan, conservation efforts remain fragmented due to weak governance, geopolitical tensions, and insufficient transboundary cooperation.Critical research gaps persist in cumulative impact assessments, socio-economic valuation, and the integration of climate change stressors into pollution risk models.Safeguarding the Persian Gulf's ecological integrity demands the urgent adoption of ecosystem-based management frameworks, legally binding regional agreements, strengthened science-policy integration, proactive public engagement, and a commitment to embedding planetary health principles into national and regional development strategies.