Environmental activists here want government to declare the mangrove forest on Tarout Island in the Eastern Province a nature reserve.

About 150 activists made the call on Friday as they continued to clear waste from about one square kilometer of the forest. They cleared two truckloads of garbage from the area.

Developers plan to build residential units on the site between the two towns of Sanabes and Al-Zaro. Qatif Municipality has jurisdiction over the area.

The campaign involved 10 organizations including the Said Group, the Green Gulf Society and the Fisherman Society. Intellectuals, public opinion advocates, photographers, children and independent volunteers took part in the event.

Employees from the department of land and planning were at the site to object to the campaign. Several landowners in Sanabes and Al-Zaro discussed their legal position with the campaign's organizers. The landowners said the media coverage of the situation was preventing them from exercising their right to build on the site.

The campaigners said a royal decree would resolve the dilemma by protecting the “vital ecological landmark,” and compensate landowners with other plots of land outside the borders of the area.

Abdullah Al-Jammei, an activist, said government should prevent property agents from selling the land. He said the “very cheap” prices had encouraged people to buy the land, hoping it would be filled up later so they could build on it.

Jaafar Al-Safwani, deputy chairman of the Fisherman Society, urged officials to consider the ecological importance of the forest. “The main objective of these clean-up campaigns is not the cleaning process in itself, but to send a message to officials on the importance of these remaining forests. We want them to declare it a nature reserve and raise awareness on maintaining the ecosystem of the area.”

Activists are also involved in protecting another site planned for the construction of a university near Al-Turkeya on Tarout Island.