Environmental Effects of New Developments in the Coastal Zones of Dubai

Tourism is a growing business in Dubai. The demand for more infrastructure to accommodate the growing number of tourists has become high. Most of these infrastructure projects were built on the coastal line and even in the Gulf. Large number of coastal developments: beaches, resorts, hotels, marinas are already constructed or under construction. Ecosystems that may have been intact for many years suddenly become a major sources of thriving activities and environmental changes. Given the enormous amount of change in the coastal zone, the ecosystem in the area needs to be evaluated to search for possible impacts of the coastal development and to provide sufficient mitigation measures for the sustainability in the coastal zone areas. This paper reports the results of a multi-site comparative analysis of the coast condition in Dubai. A practical approach, based on the assessment of key components of bathymetry, coastal morphology, marine ecology, and sea water quality, was developed to evaluate the potential impacts of coastal development.