Research paper overview and methodology

¶ … Environmental Impact of Seaport Development and Modernization in Dubai, UAE

The United Arab Emirates is a country that has been focused on modernization and growth for over a decade. The nation has been building huge skyscrapers and ports to help promote commerce and move oil and other exports around the globe. While these technological advances have benefited many within the country, the environmental impact has been quite profound. The impact of increased demand for seaport modernization in Dubai has had great effects on the surrounding ecosystems. Many of Dubai's largest banks and investors plan to spend over $20 billion dollars over the next decade to further develop seaports in that region (Memon and Birwani, 2006). This means that modernization and construction projects are unlikely to cease anytime soon, giving rise to further future ecological impact and issues. Dubai is used to building very huge and very showy infrastructure (Bagaeen, 2007). But seaports and environmental sustainability are entirely different creatures.

According to the 2007 Maraqa and Khan study, the water quality levels at Dubai's largest ports are relatively good, and since much of the natural chemical balance or imbalance within the seawater itself occurs in a cyclical pattern depending on the season, it is tough to pin down the exact impact that increased demand for shipping as well as wastewater discharging has had on the water itself. The nutrients found in harbor water have been slightly lowered since shipping demand has increased over the past half decade (Maraqa and Khan, 2007), but they are nowhere near an unsafe level. The amounts of ammonia, nitrate, and phosphate in the harbor water often depends on the natural cycle of these ad other compounds as the seasons and marine life observe their yearly cycles. However, shipping activity has raised the levels of these and other potentially harmful chemicals by up to 20% in some of Dubai's busiest harbors (Maraqa and Khan, 2007). A 20% rise is nowhere near unsafe, as naturally, these levels fluctuate between 50% and 80% depending on the season. It is important to note that while increased demand shipping hasn't impacted the harbor water quality at the rate that some scientists were expecting, it is beginning to have a slight effect. The study only measured amounts of very specific compounds in the harbor water, so while it was very telling of some of the environmental impact of increased demand for shipping and port modernization in Dubai, the 2007 Griffith University study was not as comprehensive as other studies have been.

Besides water quality impacts, the demand for port modernization in Dubai has had other potentially negative ecological effects. Many of the busiest harbors and seaports have had to rely on the costly and environmentally harmful practice of dredging (Tourneq and Launay, 2008). This practice helps to move seafloor sediments to and from specific places in the harbor, creating deep-water channels while building up islands and causeways in other places. But this practice also damages many underwater ecosystems that rely on the stability of the seafloor environment. Because of the very large scope of many of the Dubai ports modernization projects, there has been quite a bit of difficulty in mitigating the environmental impacts of these projects (Gardner and Howarth, 2009). That is to say, that the dredging and other direct impacts of modernization have been so overwhelmingly huge that scientists are having a hard time coming up with plans to help keep these practices environmentally-friendly. The act of dredging has extremely adverse effects on seagrasses and other underwater ecosystems that support other sea life (Erftemeijer and Robin Lewis III, 2006).

Many of the environmental impact assessments (EIA's) have tried to take the size of the projects into account, but have failed to adequately deal with this issue. According to authors Gardner and Howarth (2009), new tactics and strategies have been implemented to help curb negative environmental effects due to the size of many of these projects. These tactics include seafloor restoration and conservation outside of the seaports, future impact considerations, and creating a very modern and efficient system of seaport wastewater treatment. These have all helped to reduce direct water pollution, but the effects of seafloor dredging have hardly been reversed at many ports (Gardner and Howarth, 2009). This is an example of how the modernization and demand for seaport operation in Dubai has harmed the seafloor and ecosystems within the surrounding waters.

Dubai has become a place where artificial islands and terrain features are quite commonplace. Many of these features are used to build seaports or to modernize or expand on many of the largest ports already in existence. According to author Salahuddin (2006), the creation of artificial islands and jetty's to help build and modernize the seaports of the UAE has had long-lasting negative environmental consequences. Not only are the seagrasses being damaged, but the flows of rivers and other sediment-depositing bodies have been permanently altered (Salahuddin, 2006). This means that the natural cycles and regulation of river water quality and sediment deposits has been disrupted and is now causing irreversible environmental damage upstream from many of the ports and waterways as well. This means that the modernization of the Dubai ports has not only directly affected the waters surrounding the ports themselves, but the water resources of the entire inland region.

Coral reefs have also suffered greatly from sediment removal and redeposition. These reefs are extremely fragile and can suffer from damaged caused by dredging operations ass well as shipping activities. Since it takes thousands of years for these reefs to form, the damage will likely take just as long to repair (Salahuddin, 2006). But these reef areas are easily identified, so future conservation should not be out of reach. Much of the modernization and development of Dubai's seaports have given rise to coral reef extermination and damage. It is extremely difficult to build artificial reefs that are as ecologically successful and valuable as naturally forming ones (Burt, et. al., 2009). This is problematic for many of the builders, and shows that coral reef protection and preservation should be high on the list of environmental priorities for Dubai seaport modernization and development (Burt, et. al., 2009). These reefs are the backbone of many ecosystems, and removing them cuts at the foundation of many plants and animals that thrive in the waters around the Dubai ports.

In terms of mitigating the potential environmental impact of seaport expansion and development in Dubai, there have been many proposed plans and tactics. One of these tactics for reducing environmental impact is to create a coalition based in Dubai to help measure the negative impacts being demonstrated at seaports and to plan for future expansion with these ecological impacts in mind (Chudasama and Kota, 2007). Many of the world's largest, oldest, and most successful seaports have begun development of such plans, most of which have had very positive effects (Hvidt, 2009). Given the future potential for growth and investment, it is only natural that Dubai develops a sort of advisory group of scientists and investors to help mitigate these ecological problems.

Many of the worst possible environmental impacts caused by port modernization can be prevented or even reversed in the future (Hvidt, 2009). This comes at a potential price for many of the seaports' investors and managers. However, Dubai could implement investment strategies that are built upon port cleanup, sustainability, and maintenance as well (Hall, 2007). Just as there is money to be made in seaport commerce, with the proper government or private incentives, the Dubai seaport modernization and expansion could also lead to many investment opportunities as companies and governments vie to mitigate the negative ecological impacts (Hvidt, 2009). Entire industries and fields have been created out of the need to preserve wildlife and ecosystems, and the Dubai region would be no exception. Economic incentives for development without environmental mitigation are quite high, but there needs to be an even greater incentive, whether monetary or not, to preserve the fragile ecosystems that surround the Dubai seaports.