More and more information about the UAE’s environment is making its way into the public domain, thanks to the work of governmental and non-governmental bodies that undertake research and publish it.
This is progress of enormous importance, not only because it satisfies what I hope is a growing thirst for knowledge, but also because this information can be of crucial value in informing Government, as plans are being drawn up for future development.
The more data is available about areas of sensitive habitat or the presence of endangered species of fauna and flora of local or even international significance, the more our long-term planning can take that information into account, in pursuit of truly sustainable development.
I welcome the original scientific research that collects this data, and I would like to see more money, public and private, being devoted to it.
Of course there is also always a need for yet more data to be made public: this sort of information is of limited value if it’s tucked away in files gathering dust or if it’s buried on a computer hard-drive, so that only the researcher who collected it, or their institution, is aware of its existence.
The same applies to other areas of research, into the country’s history for example. Much information is hidden in overseas archives of which few in the UAE are aware.
In London recently I had a meeting with some academics who are engaged in research in the British Library. They told me that they have located around 2,000 files rich in detail about the UAE’s history from around 1800 to 1950. The vast majority of these papers have never been catalogued or seen by historians. Many, one of the scholars told me, “certainly contain new information correcting our understanding of the country’s history and heritage, revealing a dramatic and eventful past.”
Studying such material is complicated and time-consuming: it will take many months, considerable expenditure and the writing of tens of thousands of words before its full value is understood. I look forward to reading the results of that work.
But other data, more recently collected, is more easily accessible and of more immediate relevance. One example relates to an important part of the UAE’s land surface, the sabkhas or salt-flats that comprise much of the coastal zone along the Arabian Gulf. Flat and without vegetation, the sabkhas appear at a quick glance to be of little interest, except to geologists, and to be of minimal value.
Perhaps, in consequence, they’ve never been high up on any list of areas to be protected and preserved. Instead, these areas have often been chosen for development, as at Musaffah, Khalifa City and Mohammed bin Zayed City, just outside Abu Dhabi.
In fact, the sabkhas are far from uninteresting. During my summer leave, I met a friend who is one of the top specialists in the world on our sabkhas. He started studying them nearly 50 years ago, has written numerous academic papers about them and has supervised much research about them over the years.
Forcefully, he made the point to me that they are of international scientific significance – there’s nothing quite like them anywhere else in the world. Since they’re so flat, they provide a useful laboratory for studying evidence of the sea level changes that are believed to be a result of global warming. They’re also important as analogues of some important oil and gasfields in the North Sea: petroleum geologists from around the world come to study them.
One would have thought that for these reasons, at least, our sabkhas – or at least parts of them – would be considered to be worth preserving.
My friend has been arguing for years, through academic papers, through reports prepared for senior officials and more broadly in the geological community, for proper protection. He’s depressed that nothing seems to have been done.
Information from him and from other scientists is easily available. What does it take, I wonder, to prompt a holistic response that will draw in the results of research in a coordinated manner and then take the necessary decisions?
The UAE is well-known for having, for example, the largest man-made port in the world, as well as being a world leader in research into renewable energy. That’s fine. But wouldn’t it also be nice to be known as a country that has unique geology of global importance, and that properly protects it?
That too is something of which we could, and should, be proud.
Peter Hellyer is a consultant specialising in the UAE’s history and culture
The lowdown
Badla
Rating: 2.5/5
Produced by: Red Chillies, Azure Entertainment
Director: Sujoy Ghosh
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Amrita Singh, Tony Luke
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Scoreline
Al Wasl 1 (Caio Canedo 90 1')
Al Ain 2 (Ismail Ahmed 3', Marcus Berg 50')
Red cards: Ismail Ahmed (Al Ain) 77'
THE BIO
Occupation: Specialised chief medical laboratory technologist
Age: 78
Favourite destination: Always Al Ain “Dar Al Zain”
Hobbies: his work - “ the thing which I am most passionate for and which occupied all my time in the morning and evening from 1963 to 2019”
Other hobbies: football
Favorite football club: Al Ain Sports Club
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
If you go
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Seattle from Dh5,555 return, including taxes. Portland is a 260 km drive from Seattle and Emirates offers codeshare flights to Portland with its partner Alaska Airlines.
The car
Hertz (www.hertz.ae) offers compact car rental from about $300 per week, including taxes. Emirates Skywards members can earn points on their car hire through Hertz.
Parks and accommodation
For information on Crater Lake National Park, visit www.nps.gov/crla/index.htm . Because of the altitude, large parts of the park are closed in winter due to snow. While the park’s summer season is May 22-October 31, typically, the full loop of the Rim Drive is only possible from late July until the end of October. Entry costs $25 per car for a day. For accommodation, see www.travelcraterlake.com. For information on Umpqua Hot Springs, see www.fs.usda.gov and https://soakoregon.com/umpqua-hot-springs/. For Bend, see https://www.visitbend.com/.
