On the wane: The UAE's mudflats and mangroves

Being swallowed up by the frenetic pace of construction are mudflats and mangroves - habitats vital for water birds, fish, fisheries and the ecological services that the habitats in themselves provide.

Mudflats

They may be considered salty, smelly, sticky and unproductive; but in reality mudflats along the UAE coast are host to a unique and great biodiversity. They are the last refueling stop-over for thousands of water birds migrating from breeding grounds in the northern hemisphere (e.g. Siberia, Russia) on their way to wintering grounds in the southern hemisphere (Africa); as also the sites providing respite on return journeys.

Ducks find mudflats the perfect resting places, these open areas allowing them to spot predators from afar and enabling an easy take off. Shorebirds and flamingos feast on millions of worms, insects, mollusks and crustaceans hidden in the mud; while herons, gulls, terns, cormorants and ospreys feed on fishes moving in and out of khors (creeks) with the tide.

Mangroves

Bordering some khors and lagoons are mangrove forests that serve as nurseries and sheltering areas for numerous commercially important fish, including those found further offshore such as snappers, grunts, emperors and sea breams. Juvenile fish find safety and food in the midst of the vertical air-breathing roots (pneumatophores) of mangroves, which are among the world's most productive ecosystems.

Mangroves have provided sustenance (e.g. fish, shellfish, and crab) and shelter (timber) and energy (fuel) to humans since ancient times. Because of its strong resistance to putrefaction and high tannin concentration (yielding charcoal of high calorific value), mangrove wood has been extremely valuable. Until recent times, poles made of mangrove wood, being tough and termite-resistant, were intensively used as building material on the Arabian Peninsula.

Presently there are about 40 sq km of natural mangroves in the UAE, their distribution patchy and dispersed along the Arabian Gulf, with the exception of one small site by the Arabian Sea / Gulf of Oman at Khor Kalba (Sharjah). Mangroves in the UAE are composed of a single species - Avicennia marina.

Fading habitats

Mangroves are known to have been more extensive in the past. However, many of these were cleared for charcoal and camel fodder while some suffered natural die back or disease. Reduction in mangroves has accelerated in the last decade. The cause: land filling for coastal development.

Unprecedented economic growth, spiraling population (up 16 fold in the last 30 years) and the requirement for supporting infrastructure, has resulted in a construction blitzkrieg. The 60 km coastline from Jebel Ali to Sharjah is urbanized; and this urbanization extends to the Northern Emirates (Umm Al Quwain, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah). Some habitats are giving way to marinas and beautification schemes such as in Ras Al Khor (Dubai) and Khor Kalba (Sharjah). A few are already lost, as at Khor Al Beidah (Umm Al Quwain).

Vanishing biodiversity

As natural habitats vanish, what are we losing?

Being lost is nature's gift of storm buffers. Mangrove forests protect shores from erosion by tides, currents and sudden events exemplified by the Cyclone Gonu which lashed the coastline in early June this year.

Gone too is natural heritage. The most ancient mangroves of the country are Khor al Beidah (Umm al Quwain) and Khor Kalba (Sharjah), both vital bird and fish habitats.

We are witnessing the disappearance of potential Wetlands of International Importance; and Important Bird Areas of Middle Eastern Importance.

Khor al Beidah supports regionally important congregations of birds during migration. Some 85 species of bird and over 10, 000 shorebirds have been recorded. The site is one of five most important sites in UAE for crab plover (Dromas ardeola) and Saunder's little tern (Sterna saundersi).

The only mangroves present on UAE's East Coast, Khor Kalba supported - until recently - the entire world population (44 pairs counted in 1995) of the subspecies kalbaensis of white - collared kingfisher (Todirhamphus chloris). This species has, however, been also found breeding in the Khor Liwa mangrove located on the Batinah coast of Oman, about 45 km southeast of Khor Kalba. This suggests that some young have dispersed to establish new breeding grounds.

During the breeding season (May-June), the Kalba white-collared kingfisher nests in natural holes on mangrove trunks and branches. It is easily spotted perched on branches above the mudflats where it finds its main prey: the nervous fiddler crab (Uca sp.) that waves a white claw to the visitor before retreating into its burrow. Its nervousness is understandable. Without a sound, the kingfisher swoops down on it - a darting turquoise arrow - and, in seconds, is back on its perch to enjoy its meal!

The Khor Kalba mangroves are also the only known breeding site in the UAE - and one of only two sites on the Arabian Peninsula - for the Skyke's warbler (Hippolais rama) of which a mere 10 - 20 pairs remain.

This is turtle habitat too. Green turtles (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricate) are regularly seen feeding at Khor Kalba.

Dubai's Ras al Khor, with its tidal creek and extensive mudflats, is reputed to be one of the most important wetlands in the country. It regularly supports hundreds of greater flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber roseus) and thousands of other water birds. At least nine bird species are found here in internationally important numbers, including lesser sand plover (Charadrius mongolus), Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) and broad-billed sandpiper (Limicola falcinellus). At one time, Ras al Khor is known to have attracted up to 20% of the total known Fenno-Scandinavian population of broad-billed sandpiper in autumn.

As the khors with their mudflats and mangroves give way to spiraling and unplanned development, not only are we losing local wildlife populations but global ones as well. Feathery visitors from Europe and Asia and the nursery grounds of Arabian Gulf fishes are under threat. Furthermore, increased coastal erosion and sediment mobilization adversely impacts marine life dependent on nutrients associated with the mangrove ecosystems including fishery resources.

The conservation path

Like most countries the UAE has ratified a number of international biodiversity and environment- related conventions, some specifically concerning marine and coastal habitats. In addition, more than 10 federal laws and 20 emiri decrees have been produced by the country since its creation in 1971. A strong legal framework is, therefore, in place for environmental protection.

What is now critical for effective conservation and management of coastal marine habitats is provision of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) at local and federal levels along with the integration of environmental conservation in decision - making and development planning.