ARABIANCOAST 2005 final programme outlined

This was announced in a press conference on Wednesday, which was addressed by Huseein Nasser Lootah, Assistant Director General of Dubai Municipality for Planning and Building Affairs, and Rashad Mohammed Bukhash, Director of General Projects Department and Chairman of the conference Organising Committee, and Khalid Mohammed Al Zahed, Head of Coastal Management Section and vice-chairman of the organizing committee. The conference would be held at Habtoor Grand from 27 to 29 November 2005.

The conference's opening session on Sunday would include a speech on behalf of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, UAE Minister of Finance and Industry and Chairman of Dubai Municipality, under whose patronage the conference is being held. This session would also be addressed by Majid Al Mansoori, Secretary General of Environment Agency, Abu Dhabi, Nayef Al-Kalali, Bahrain, and Prof. K.D'Angremond from the Netherlands. There will be folkloric shows as well on the opening day.

Mr. Lootah said the event is significant as the region witnesses a record growth in the number of projects on the coastline and the presence of a large number of experts and specialists in this conference would be beneficial for the delegates.

He noted that list of speakers includes 12 international experts in the field of coasts management from Australia, Denmark, Canada, the Netherlands, Scotland, USA, Spain, South Africa, Italy and the UK. In addition, there will be experts from the Gulf region addressing the conference.

He said the keynote speakers include Dr. Robert Kay (Coastal Zone Management Pty Ltd. Australia), Karsten Mangor (DHI Water & Environment, Denmark), Prof. David Patterson (University St Andrews, Scotland), Prof. Ron Cox (UNSW, Australia), Prof. W Kamphuis (Queens University, Canada), Dr. Gregorio Gomez-Pina (Andalucia Coastal Management), Prof. Henk Jan Verhagen (Delft University, Netherlands), Dr. Chris Fleming (Halcrow, UK), Prof. Kristian Pilarczyk (Rijkswaterstaat, Netherlands), Prof. Kees D'Angremond (Delft University, Netherlands), and Dr. Stephen Huntington (HR Wallingford, UK).

The regional experts to address the conference include H.E. Nayef Al-Kalali (Undersecretary, Ministry of Works & Housing, Bahrain), Thabit Zahran Al Abdessalaam (Director, Marine Environment Research Center, ERWDA, Abu Dhabi) and Prof Walid Elshorbagy (UAE University, Al Ain).

Rashad Bukhash said some 100 papers, dealing with a variety of topics, will be presented by prominent experts in the 24 working sessions of the conference which will be attended by 250 professionals and specialists from around the world.

The papers to be presented in the conference include 15 papers from the UAE, prominent among them are: Dubai coastal zone monitoring programme, Water quality and biological characteristics along Dubai Creek, Tsunami hazards and mitigation along the coast of the United Arab Emirates, Environmental monitoring and mitigations for the management of marine projects of Nakheel, Integrated coastal zone management in the United Arab Emirates, Overview of Nakheel developments and marinas, Heritage as a trendsetter: transforming Abras into modern services, Low-crested, low-overtopped, breakwaters - an overview of selected Nakheel projects, Role of near real time hydro-meteorological data in coast of Dubai - a case study, National legislations relating to the integrated planning and management of marine and coastal zones of United Arab Emirates, Dubai Jumeirah Open Beach development - design optimization approach, Multi function Geosystem applications in Dubai, Coastal eutrophication and algal blooms in Abu Dhabi waters- A case study, and Marine and Coastal Protected Areas: an ICZM tool to support the sustainable use of the marine environment of United Arab Emirates.

Khalid Mohammed Al Zahed, Head of Coastal Management Section at Dubai Municipality and vice-chairman of the conference organizing committee said the conference is sponsored by Emaar, Dubai Properties, Dubai Real Estate Department, Nakheel, and Dubai Customs.

He noted that a technical trade exhibition will be held along side the main conference, which will also include a site visit to coastal zone projects of interest in the region.