UNESCO SCIENCE REPORT

The Arab States
COUNTRY PROFILES
ALGERIA
Diversifying the national energy mix
In 2008, Algeria adopted a plan to optimize
its national innovation system. Piloted by the Ministry of
Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR), the
plan proposed a reorganization of science, coupled with
the development of infrastructure, human resources and
research, as well as greater scientific co-operation and
funding. Algeria devoted just 0.07% of GDP to GERD in 2005;
although these data are partial, they suggest an extremely
low R&D intensity in the years prior to the plan’s adoption.
The National Commission for the Evaluation of Permanent
Researchers was launched in 2000 to give scientists a
boost by allocating more financial resources to research
and introducing incentives for them to make better use of
the results of their research. The aim was also to enhance
collaboration with the Algerian diaspora. The commission
met for the 12th time in February 2012. More recently,
MoHESR has announced plans to establish a national
academy of sciences in 2015.
Algerian scientists published most in engineering and
physics between 2008 and 2014. Their output has
progressed steadily, doubling between 2005 and 2009 then
again between 2010 and 2014 (Figure 17.10). Over the seven
years to 2014, 59% of Algerian scientific papers had foreign
co-authors.
Although Algeria is Africa’s third-biggest oil producer
(see Figure 19.1) and the world’s tenth-biggest producer
of natural gas, the country’s known gas reserves could
be exhausted within half a century, according to British
Petroleum’s Statistical Review of World Energy in 2009
(Salacanin, 2015). Like its neighbours Morocco and Tunisia,
Algeria is diversifying its energy mix. Sixty solar and wind
projects have been approved within the country’s Renewable
Energy and Energy Efficiency Programme, which was
adopted in March 2011 and revised in 2015. The aim is for
40% of electricity for national consumption to be produced
using renewable energy sources by 2030. Up to 22 000 MW
of power-generating capacity from renewable sources will
be installed between 2011 and 2030, 12 000 MW to meet
domestic demand and 10 000 MW destined for export. In
July 2013, Algeria signed a memorandum of understanding
with the EU in the field of energy which includes provisions
for the transfer of technology to Algeria for both fossil fuels
and renewable energy.
BAHRAIN
A need to reduce dependency on oil
Bahrain has the smallest hydrocarbon reserves
of any Gulf state, producing just 48 000 barrels per day
from its one onshore field (Salacanin, 2015). The bulk of the
country’s revenue comes from its share of the offshore field
administered by Saudi Arabia. The gas reserve in Bahrain is
expected to last for less than 27 years, leaving the country
with few sources of capital to pursue the development of new
industries.
The Bahraini Economic Vision 2030 does not indicate how the
stated goal of shifting from an economy built on oil wealth to
a productive, globally competitive economy will be attained.
Apart from the Ministry of Education and the Higher
Education Council, the two main hives of activity in STI are
the University of Bahrain and the Bahrain Centre for Strategic,
International and Energy Studies. The latter was founded in
2009 to undertake research with a focus on strategic security
and energy issues to encourage new thinking and influence
policy-making.
The University of Bahrain was established in 1986. It has
over 20 000 students, 65% of whom are women, and around
900 faculty members, 40% of whom are women. From 1986 to
2014, university staff published 5 500 papers and books. The
university spends about US$ 11 million per year on research,
which is conducted by a contingent of 172 men and
128 women.
New infrastructure for science and education
In November 2008, an agreement was signed by the Bahraini
government and UNESCO to establish a Regional Centre for
Information and Communication Technology in Manama
under the auspices of UNESCO. The aim is to establish
a knowledge hub for the six member states of the Gulf
Cooperation Council. In March 2012, the centre hosted two
high-level workshops on ICTs and education.
In 2013, the Bahrain Science Centre was launched as an
interactive educational facility targeting 6–18-year olds.
The topics covered by current exhibitions include junior
engineering, human health, the five senses, Earth sciences
and biodiversity.
In April 2014, Bahrain launched its National Space Science
Agency. The agency is working to ratify international spacerelated
agreements such as the Outer Space Treaty, the
Rescue Agreement, the Space Liability Convention, the
Registration Convention and the Moon Agreement. The
agency will be establishing sound infrastructure for the
observation of outer space and the Earth. It also hopes to
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