[5] Fresh water has always been scarce; historically it was obtained by surface collection and even today, with the desalination plant, additional supplies have to be brought in.

[7] The islands were formerly coincident with the district or Minṭaqat Juzur Ḥawār (مِنْطَقَة جُزُر حَوَار) and are now administered as part of the Southern Governorate of Bahrain.

The archipelago has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports significant populations of western reef egrets, Socotra cormorants (with some 200,000–300,000 adults recorded in 1992, making it the largest known breeding concentration in the world), Saunders's and white-cheeked terns, and sooty falcons.

[9] In 2002, the Bahraini government applied to have the islands recognised as a World Heritage Site due to their unique environment and habitat for endangered species;[4] the application was ultimately unsuccessful.

[8] The islands were formerly coincident with the region or Minṭaqat Juzur Ḥawār (مِنْطَقَة جُزُر حَوَار) and are now administered as part of the Southern Governorate of Bahrain.

The islands are connected through a short 25 km (16 mi) ferry ride from Manama and are reported to have a potential to be developed as a beach tourism destination.