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Environment
and development in coastal regions and in small islands |
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Environment
and development in coastal regions and in small islands |
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Tasks for coastal resources assessments and oil spill sensitivity mapping in the Arab States of the Gulf |
Foreword
Benno Böer
Science Advisor
UNESCO Office Doha
The maritime people of the Gulf always depended on and cared for the marine and coastal environmental resources on which they depend. Since the discovery of oil, a rapid development process began, with some highly impressive results. This converted an area of extreme environmental hardship into one of the world's highest per capita income groups. Some of the side-effects of this development process, however, are not entirely desirable. These include declining fish stocks, habitat loss and fragmentation, loss of biological diversity, declining primary marine productivity, as well as the pollution of water, biota, and inter tidal substrates. Perhaps not surprisingly, ecological degradation is also occurring from oil production, oil spills and oil transport. More oil from spills has been released into the Gulf than into any other region on Earth.
According to the recent and excellent book "The Gulf Ecosystem - Health and Sustainability", supported by the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR), there are two essential requirements before anything can be done about mitigating any harmful effects that may come about from these changes: the first is thorough knowledge of the ecosystems involved and of their physical controls - their nature, their extend and their interactions both with each other and with mankind. The second is a will by governments and their relevant authorities to take those actions that are determined to be necessary.
Due to the wisdom of governments and decision-makers in the GCC member states, a number of marine science faculties and marine research agencies were established over the last decades. These are dealing with marine and coastal environmental issues in the Gulf, in order to try and guarantee the conservation and sustainable development of the region's natural and man-made resources. These bodies work and cooperate alongside each other, in order to enhance the limited information, necessary for science-based environmental management and decision making.
It is within UNESCO's mandate to support the cooperation between individuals, the international community, organisations, and governments, towards the sustainable use of global environmental resources in pursuit of world-wide stability and future peace.
It is absolutely essential to know the distribution of the marine and coastal natural and man-made resources in great detail, across space and time, in order to manage them wisely, and to prevent conflicts. This is in the best interest of the human society.
The National Commissions for Education, Science, and Culture of the Kingdom of Bahrain, The State of Kuwait, The Sultanate of Oman, The State of Qatar, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, selected the topic of this publication as a sub-regional activity on GCC level. The National Commissions also explicitly stressed the importance of identifying and nominating UNESCO Biosphere Reserves in the region, with special emphasis on coastal ecosystems, in order to develop models for sustainable living. This is particularly important, since there is to date no Biosphere Reserve in the GCC and the Arabian Peninsula, whereas there are more than 400 such reserves worldwide. UNESCO was entrusted to initiate and develop relevant activities, and to function as a sub-regional catalyst. As a consequence, UNESCO Office Doha, together with the environmental authorities, developed a number of activities in the region.
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Figure 1.Contaminated beach section |
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Figure 2.Sandy beaches valuable for recreation in the Gulf |
A dialogue on Biosphere Reserve establishment has been initiated with all GCC member states. A nomination file is currently being compiled jointly with Bahrain's National Commission for Wildlife Protection (NCWP) for the Hawar Islands and the Al Areen Wildlife Park. Surveys into the establishment of Biosphere Reserves have been conducted in Bahrain with the NCWP, in Qatar with the Supreme Council for the Environment and Natural Reserves (SCENR), and in the United Arab Emirates with the Sharjah-based Environment and Protected Areas Authority (EPAA). A proposal for a research into the establishment of a Marine Protected Area is currently being developed for Qatar Petroleum - Dukhan Operations. A comprehensive fact-finding mission into the identification and selection of suitable Biosphere Reserves is currently being planned for Oman, with the Ministry of Regional Municipalities, Environment, and Water Resources (MRMEWR).
A dialogue on Coastal Resources Assessments and Oil Spill Sensitivity Maps has been initiated with all GCC member states. A "Development Plan - Marine & Coastal Environmental Database for Bahrain" was prepared for the Bahrain Centre for Studies and Research (BCSR), with technical assistance from Abu Dhabi's Environmental Research and Wildlife Development Agency (ERWDA). UNESCO commissioned international and national experts to the University of Bahrain, in order to advise on Coastal Integrated Zone Management. Experts' proposals for "Coastal Resources Assessments and Oil Spill Sensitivity Mapping" were prepared for Qatar's SCENR, and for the Emirates Heritage Club (for the Northern Emirates).
Furthermore, related workshops, conferences, and experts meetings were held, and a science-based book on "Marine and coastal pollution management in the GCC" is currently being developed jointly with Saudi Arabia's National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development (NCWCD), and another book "Sabkha Ecosystems Vol. II.: West & Central Asia" is being supported by KISR.
The marine and coastal zones are an integral part of the natural and cultural heritage of the Gulf. A number of intertidal and marine ecosystems exist here, with a broad variety of habitats and biological diversity. The people of the Gulf have always depended on the marine and coastal resources, and the future is unlikely to be different. Seawater, via desalinization plants, provides drinking water for local inhabitants, and also serves as areas for recreation, fishing, coastal urban development, and transport. More fundamentally, the sea's resources are essential for marine productivity and ecosystem functioning. Therefore, the marine and coastal areas have to be dealt with the greatest care and sensitivity.
It is essential for sustainable human development to manage the coastal and marine natural and cultural heritage at the highest professional level possible. Together we have to try and continuously guarantee maximum benefit for the human population, based on an intact and healthy environment. The benefits include the protection of the human population from environmentally transmitted diseases, the continuous availability of resources, as well as the development of environment-based jobs and income. In order to manage these important resources in the best interest of the Gulf, it is necessary to study the region's ecosystems in detail. Only once the systems are understood, can recommendations be generated on how best to manage the resources, based on knowledge and science.
In this report the authors have collated information on a first sub-regional dialogue on coastal resources assessments and oil spill sensitivity mapping in the Gulf. This report is an essential contribution towards the continuation of this dialogue, and towards the development of concrete deliverables.
As a next step, we encourage the reader, who is an environmental stakeholder, to foster the activities towards resources assessments, and to assist UNESCO and its partners with the development of necessary research projects. We hope to receive a positive feed-back from the environmental authorities, and UNESCO is prepared to continuously assist and support the required assessments, and development of sensitivity maps.
We hope most certainly that this report will help increasing the good cooperation with the private sector. In particular we call on the oil and gas industry, to try and embark on a partnership with UNESCO, and help generating the required financial resources, which are necessary for the compilation of "Coastal Resources Assessments and Oil Spill Sensitivity Maps".
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Figure 3.High biodiversity can be found in the Gulf’s coral reefs |
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