Southeastern Arabian Gulf corals mapped

A preliminary map, prepared using Landsat imagery, was released on June 4, 2006 at a ceremony held at the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation - an apt celebration of World Environment Day (June 5) and World Oceans Day (June 8).

The map was produced as part of the research project 'Coral Reef Investigations in Abu Dhabi and Eastern Qatar,' a cooperative venture between researchers from the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD) and Qatar's Supreme Council for the Environment and Natural Reserves (SCENR). It is sponsored by Dolphin Energy Limited and managed by the UAE's Emirates Wildlife Society (EWS) and the regional branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

Since January 2005, threatened coral habitats have been studied and mapped using satellite imagery so as to develop a comprehensive conservation and management programme for these valuable ecosystems. Alongside, researchers from EAD and SCENR continue to receive training in both theoretical and practical aspects of the project work.

'The project has shown that most Gulf coral reefs are in good health. Those that had suffered severe damage due to past temperature fluctuations should recover and regain their former splendor - provided no disturbance occurs. With the help of this coral reef map, future protection measures will be made much easier,' said H.E. Mohammed Ahmed Al Bowardi, Chairman, EWS Board of Directors.

Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, CEO, Dolphin Energy agreed. 'Dolphin will be transporting natural gas from Qatar to the UAE within a few months. Now we know where the corals are located, it will be a vital part of Dolphin Energy's environment management programme that these are conserved and protected in every possible way, for the benefit of future generations. The production of this new coral reef map is a vital contribution to Gulf biodiversity conservation.'

Some 1000 ground-truthing points were collected for accuracy control of the map. Despite this, the map is still a preliminary product that requires some fine-tuning and, above all, approval from the project management agencies in Abu Dhabi and Qatar.

'The value of such a map is that it allows resource managers to assess the quantity and quality of marine resources under their jurisdiction,' explained Dr. Bernhard Riegl, the project's principal investigator. 'Sizes of thematic polygons give direct information about the quantity of any given habitat. At the same time, changes in the polygons over successive mapping exercises provide information about a habitat's quality i.e., whether it is healthy and expanding; or shrinking and, possibly, not in good health.'

As the next step, higher resolution imagery will be used to map areas of special interest in greater detail. The satellite sensors that will be employed for this exercise are Ikonos and Quickbird.