Abu Dhabi Marine Restoration, UAE

Coastal and Marine Ecosystem Preservation and Rehabilitation Programmes

Author: Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD)

The coastal and marine areas of Abu Dhabi, located on the southern border of the Arabian Gulf, are considered a hotspot for biodiversity, housing various habitats that support a wide range of marine species and large fish. According to its studies and surveys, the Agency has worked to improve the condition of deteriorating fish stocks that had been depleted by up to 85 percent.

Implementing EAD's guidance in this context helped protect fish stocks, with data showing that Abu Dhabi is on track to achieve its goal of sustainable fisheries by 2030. An improvement has also been achieved in the sustainable fishing index for three consecutive years, rising from 8.9 percent in 2018 to 62.3 percent by the end of 2021. The Agency will continue working to ensure the recovery of fisheries while achieving a level of sustainable fishing.

Efforts made by the Agency to establish and manage natural reserves through the Sheikh Zayed Protected Area Network, which comprises six marine reserves representing 14 percent of the emirate’s marine environment, have also contributed to preserving biodiversity in Abu Dhabi, ensuring the sustainability of resources and promoting associated social and economic development.

These efforts have generated positive results for a number of habitats and species, helping to stabilize important organisms, increase the number of birds such as flamingos, and stabilize important marine habitats such as coral reefs – for which the Authority launched a special rehabilitation initiative. The Agency has also launched the region’s largest coral reef rehabilitation project, aiming to cultivate more than one million colonies of coral reefs to increase their area and mitigate the pressures on coral reefs due to climate change and rising temperatures at the sea floor.

The Agency also focused its efforts on protecting mangroves through targeted programs for planting and rehabilitating mangrove areas and using modern technologies in agriculture, such as drones. The World Economic Forum recognized these initiatives as one of the most innovative in blue carbon sequestration. 
Over the past 10 years, 15 million mangrove trees were planted, contributing to more than a 35 percent increase in the area of Abu Dhabi’s mangrove trees, which today exceeds 176 square kilometers, including natural and cultivated trees. Studies conducted by the Agency revealed the ability of mangroves in Abu Dhabi to store carbon at a rate of 0.5 tons per hectare annually, equivalent to 8,750 tons at the emirate level, and to the energy consumption of 1,000 homes per year.

 The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi's efforts also led to the preservation of the integrity of the emirate’s seagrass meadows, contributing to the stability of dugong numbers in their natural habitats. Abu Dhabi is home to the second-largest group of dugongs, with numbers exceeding 3,000 – the highest density per square meter in the Arabian Gulf region.

Studies also showed an improvement in the number of turtles and their stability in the emirate in recent years, with numbers estimated at 5,000 hawksbill turtles, green turtles, and loggerhead turtles. The Agency’s efforts also ensured the protection of three types of dolphins and one type of porpoise, with the emirate’s waters hosting a population of more than 700 dolphins, most of which live in marine protected areas – including the largest group of Indian Ocean humpback dolphins in the world.

Source: https://www.ead.gov.ae/Media-Centre/News/EAD-World-Restoration-Flagship-Project