¡°We know that when we protect our oceans, we are protecting our future.¡± -Bill Clinton
UAE¡¯s history has been a tale of sea-faring and sea-centric activities due to its geographical location. Despite being a desert-landscape country, the coast of UAE actually stretches nearly 650 km along the southern shore of Persian Gulf, on which six of its emirates are situated and the seventh one, Fujairah is on the eastern coast of peninsula. This has kept the coast and its ecosystem always at centre stage in UAE¡¯s history, right from the pearl-diving and fishing expeditions in the past, to the present time, when many maritime commercial activities have spawned due to strategic location of the country on the international sea route . With renewed push on achieving environmental goals and the UNSDGs, UAE has been actively engaged in coastal restoration activities. Projects to protect against rising sea levels and storm surges have been incorporated in the Environment Ministry¡¯s plans itself. These initiatives are aimed at preserving the natural beauty of UAE coastline, protecting and augmenting bio-diversity, and mitigate the impact of human activities happening on the coasts.
Mangrove reforestation is the foremost critical system being restored and even expanded to tackle increasing desertification. In 2020, a plan to plant 50 million mangrove trees along the Dubai coastline was chalked out, and a steady plantation is being carried out since then. By 2022 end , approximately 7,500 hectares were restored. In fact, Abu Dhabi¡¯s mangrove rehabilitation initiative was recognised for its innovative blue carbon sequestration by World Economic Forum. In December 2022, UAE¡¯s overall marine restoration became one of UN¡¯s first 10 World Restoration flagship programs. The coral reefs, which play an important role in the UAE marine ecosystem, are being conserved through establishment of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and coral nurseries to rehabilitate damaged coral reefs. The UAE has also begun experimenting with deployment of artificial reefs ( made of environment-friendly materials) to enhance marine biodiversity and provide habitat for marine life. The success of this endeavour would be fully visible after some years but the progress has given hope to conservationists.
As home to nesting sites for sea turtles, UAE has implemented conservation programs, such as Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation Project with an aim to protect turtle nests and hatchlings. In addition, several marine conservation reserves such as Marawah Marine Biosphere Reserve have been declared protected areas to safeguard the marine biodiversity.The Ras-Al-Kher bird sanctuary on the fringes of mangroves is a designated Ramsar site. Efforts have also been made to mitigate the environmental impacts of extensive desalination, that needs to be carried out to meet the nation¡¯s drinking water need, on the coastal ecosystem, by minimising the discharge of brine and other pollutants.
Furthermore, the UAE government has established coastal development regulations and guidelines for organisations and general public for ex. restrictions on beachfront construction and coastal zoning plans. Not to be left behind, community volunteering groups and non-governmental organisations regularly hold beach clean-up drives. and include educational institutions in such campaigns. This works to create an awareness in the younger generation. So though the task of coastal restoration is humongous, through such policies, initiatives and implementation the UAE is forging a better environmental situation ahead.
