Beaches in Dubai under threat

Dubai has rapidly risen through the ranks to becomewell as the groynes, sand is being deposited by
one of the world's top tourist destinations thanks to aengineers as quickly as it is being washed away by
number of diverse factors, not least of which includesthe seas with over 500,000 cubic metres poured on
a recent and sustained period of heavy investment inexisting beaches by the coastal management
the construction of residential, holiday and commercialdepartment.
properties in the Emirate.The Dubai coastal zone stretches from the Abu Dhabi
As well as the intensive building programme, Dubai hasborder in the south to the Emirate of Sharjah in the
also invested heavily in ensuring that the infrastructurenorth, passing through the City of Dubai, and it is this
is in place to match their lofty construction ambitions.entire stretch of approximately 70 kilometres that is
The government's strategic approach ensures thatunder observation by the engineers. But, as they point
they never take their eye off the ball and pay attentionout the erosion is nothing new, it has always affected
to every detail; nothing is overlooked and that includesthe Dubai coast. However, due to the massive
the beaches.programme of construction that has seen many new
Dubai's beaches and parks offer a diverse range ofproperties being built close to the sea, it is now
recreational and leisure activities, and prove a big drawbecoming a threat to those hotels, houses and holiday
for the millions of tourists that visit every year.homes.
However, coastal erosion is a real problem in Dubai asIndeed, another concern of the engineers is that the
the sea is eating away almost 50 metres of beachbuilding of the mega projects off the coast of Dubai,
every two years, according to figures collected bysuch as The World, are actually increasing the effect
engineers at the Coastal Management Section ofof the onshore erosion. They are calling for any
Dubai Municipality. This has prompted the developmentdevelopment, whether it is a one-off new luxury beach
of a new mission to protect the Persian Gulf shorehotel in Dubai or a mega project built off-shore to be
and the subsequent buildings behind it by the specialistassessed for its likely impact on the region's beaches.
government department.As they point out, the beaches are one of the major
Five-tonne bags of sand have been strategicallyreasons why millions of tourists are flocking to the
positioned 100 metres from the shore in a protectiveregion in the first place, so they should ensure that
arc known as a groyne to prevent the destruction offurther development does not affect them too
the Umm Suqeim beach, which has many housesadversely.
behind it under real threat from the coastal erosion. As