On the wane: The UAE's mudflats and mangroves (page 1 of 2)

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.