Synthesis and evaluation of coastal and marine biodiversity spatial information in the United Arab Emirates for ecosystem-based management

Mateos-Molina, Daniel; Lamine, Emna Ben; Antonopoulou, Marina; Burt, John A.; Das, HS; Javed, Saleem; Judas, Jacky; Khan, Shahid B.; Muzaffar, Sabir Bin; Pilcher, Nicolas; Rodríguez-Zárate, Clara J.; Taylor, Oliver; Giakoumi, Sylvaine

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112319

Cited by 25 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…These MPAs protect nearly 12% of the UAE's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), exceeding the 10% conservation target set by SDG14 [ 61 ]. However, according to the results of [ 62 ] only 10% of the UAE's mangroves were covered by MPAs, and the natural lagoons where mangroves were abundant were rarely left in pristine condition or undamaged. It is important to recognize the need for broader marine area management rather than focusing on MPAs alone.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of coastal sustainable development along the maritime silk road using an integrated natural-economic-social (NES) ecosystem

Zuo

Chen

et al. 2023

Heliyon

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of coastal sustainable development along the maritime silk road using an integrated natural-economic-social (NES) ecosystem

Zuo

Chen

et al. 2023

Heliyon

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“…The focal area (53,680 km 2 ) was divided into hexagonal planning units of 4 km 2 each. Relatively high spatial resolution of the planning units was possible because of the detailed coastal habitat maps produced by Emirates Nature-WWF (Mateos-Molina et al, 2020;Mateos-Molina et al, 2021a) and the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD, 2018) and a national systematic conservation planning project to identify and map Areas of Particular Importance to Marine Biodiversity (APIMBs) (Ben Lamine et al, 2020). Dubai and UAE's coastline in the Gulf of Oman were outside of the geographical scope due to key spatial data gaps on biodiversity that precluded the application of several essential criteria.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because the focus was on a rapid site-selection process, a full data quality assessment was not conducted. However, the habitat maps and APIMBs and their associated input data underwent an extensive development process that included stakeholder input and validation (Ben Lamine et al, 2020;Mateos-Molina et al, 2020;Mateos-Molina et al, 2021a). Elsewhere we relied primarily on authoritative global datasets and stakeholder knowledge to fill remaining data gaps.…”

Section: Spatial Data Layers As Spatial Proxies For Criteriamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A spatial proxy for carbon storage value was developed by applying mean carbon stock values measured in discrete habitat types in the UAE (Schile et al, 2017) to coastal habitat maps of the two study areas (Mateos-Molina et al, 2020;Mateos-Molina et al, 2021a). Four data sources of mapped coastal habitat were merged to create the most up-to-date unified map…”

Section: Climate Change Mitigation Impact (Blue Carbon Storage Capacity)mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rapid Site Selection to Prioritize Coastal Seascapes for Nature-Based Solutions With Multiple Benefits

Pittman

Stamoulis²,

Antonopoulou³

et al. 2022

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Coastal seascapes are productive and diverse land-sea systems that provide many valuable benefits yet are increasingly threatened by human activity. Scaling up of nature-based solutions (NbS) to effectively protect, sustainably manage, and restore coastal seascapes is urgently required for mitigation of climate change and biodiversity loss while also providing socio-economic benefits. Evidence-based site selection is an important first step to improve the outcomes and avoid negative impacts when prioritizing NbS investments at national level. We developed a spatially explicit, integrative and culturally relevant ecosystem-based site selection process to identify a portfolio of seascapes for NbS consideration in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The primary goal was to rank planning units based on potential for climate change mitigation action, positive impact to biodiversity and socio-economic benefits to people. The multi-criteria site-selection framework provided a rapid, transparent, repeatable and scalable tool. The highest weightings were assigned to blue carbon storage value, biodiversity conservation features, and local stakeholder preferred areas. Spatial proxies for benefits to people were represented by population density and accessibility to coastal seascapes, relative tourism and recreation potential, and importance of fish habitat and fishing grounds for food security. Participatory mapping of local knowledge and review of existing data ensured that both qualitative and quantitative criteria were reliable, up-to-date and locally relevant. Two distinct clusters of high suitability planning units were identified in the Abu Dhabi region and four along the north-western coast of the UAE. Most high suitability sites were located outside of existing marine protected areas. Alternative spatial scenarios without stakeholder bias underscored the suitability of sites identified through participatory mapping and highlighted additional priority sites for future scaling-up of NbS. A spatial corridor of medium and high suitability planning units across the region offers potential for designing well-connected NbS investments to accelerate and boost synergistic outcomes and increase resilience. The site selection framework provides a rapid tool that integrates local and global open access data at a range of scales with great potential for transferability to other regions worldwide.

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“…Already, the Gulf is demonstrating new appetite for communication and collaboration between the science, regulatory and policy communities for the purposes of understanding and addressing environmental challenges. For example, ecosystem-based management approaches that require integration of perspectives across these stakeholders are increasingly being employed in the region (Fanning et al, 2021;Mateos-Molina et al, 2021). By pursuing scientifically informed coastal management, the UAE can spur a dialectical approach of research and development, which will help in tackling many other challenges that require the conjoint effort of science and policy.…”

Section: The Uae As a Case Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

A Roadmap for Policy-Relevant Sea-Level Rise Research in the United Arab Emirates

et al. 2021

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The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has a long-term policy horizon, the financial capital, and a vision for a sustainable knowledge-based economy. These characteristics uniquely situate it as a potential leader for sea-level rise research. Climate science is already growing, and at the center of the UAE's pivot toward climate research is a burgeoning concern for sea-level rise. Over 85% of the UAE's population and more than 90% of the nation's infrastructure is within a few meters of present-day sea-level. With its low-lying and shallow-sloping geography (about 35 cm per km), this high-value coastline, including the rapidly expanding cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, is particularly vulnerable to sea-level rise. Meanwhile, limited regional research and data scarcity create deep uncertainty for sea-level projections. We set out a potential roadmap for the UAE to capitalize on its strengths to create usable and relevant sea-level projections for the region. With a newly established Climate Change Research Network, the UAE government is beginning to draw together universities and research centers for “furthering effective data collection and management, and advancing policy-relevant research on climate impacts and adaptation1.” By consolidating ideas from the science community within the UAE, we identify promoters and barriers to data gathering, information sharing, science-policy communication, and funding access. Our paper proposes pathways forward for the UAE to integrate sea-level science with coastal development and form best practices that can be scaled across climate science and throughout the region.

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Synthesis and evaluation of coastal and marine biodiversity spatial information in the United Arab Emirates for ecosystem-based management

Cited by 25 publications

References 70 publications

Assessment of coastal sustainable development along the maritime silk road using an integrated natural-economic-social (NES) ecosystem

Assessment of coastal sustainable development along the maritime silk road using an integrated natural-economic-social (NES) ecosystem

Rapid Site Selection to Prioritize Coastal Seascapes for Nature-Based Solutions With Multiple Benefits

A Roadmap for Policy-Relevant Sea-Level Rise Research in the United Arab Emirates

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