Shifting Sands: Navigating Coastal Erosion through Ingenuity & Planning in the UAE

Abstract

 Coastal zones across the world are continuously changing as a result of constant action from waves, currents, etc., combined with human intervention and development activities.  While in the recent decades, climate change has added an acceleration to these changes and made the challenge more complicated than a few decades earlier.  The coastline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is currently facing serious erosion, and not much different in this scenario. Natural drivers are reshaping the shore, combined with sea- level rise along with man-made factors of large-scale land reclamations and costal infrastructure development which are a considerable influence on the coastal hydrodynamics. This paper reviews the main erosion problems and their hydrogeological impacts, including a discussing saltwater intrusion into coastal aquifers caused by intensive groundwater extraction.  The study also details the emerging middle eastern powerhouse’s comprehensive mitigation strategies, integrating traditional hard engineering like seawalls, with innovative engineering like Ecoplage, beach nourishment, etc., as well as improvising on nature-based solutions like mangroves / coral restoration.  Finally, the paper also highlights water-resource management techniques and measures, which are being implemented by the nation with the available resources including dams and desalination projects, to preserve the fragile coastal ecosystems, aquifer health and thereby ensure long-term coastal resilience.  These coastal zone management approaches aligned with the local environment, show that the UAE is trying to integrate infrastructure growth with coastal environment, aiming to balance development and the stability of shoreline, and ensuring the local ecosystems, natural habitats and future generations remain safeguarded as top priority.