Red tide devastates sea front economy

A first estimate of compensation required to offset the inability to access coastal waterways was found to be Dh3 billion per year.

The incidence of red tides points to declining marine ecological functionality, in line with the shrinking of coral reefs and sea grass beds, says a new report.
"If these current trends in marine degradation continue, large-scale losses of coastal amenity services could result - and further investigation was needed to quantify the impact," says the Abu Dhabi Global Environmental Data Initiative, or AGEDI, supported by the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD) that released the findings of its Ecosystem Services Assessment as part of Phase II of its Blue Carbon Project.
The assessment explored how much stakeholders would be willing to accept as compensation for inability to access coastal waterways that provide amenity services, such as tourism, recreation or fishing, for an extended period of time.
The lack of access was presented as a result Harmful Algal Blooms or HABs - also known as red tides as a proxy, though disruption of amenity service can result from a variety of other causes. The assessment also studied willingness to pay for the sites' preservation.
"Should the current trend in marine degradation continue, beach-front hotels anticipate a 30-35 per cent decline in turnover, and beach users anticipate a significant loss in wellbeing, reaching values up to 190 per cent of their annual income for the poorer residents," the report said. According to the report a first estimate of compensation required to offset the inability to access coastal waterways was found to be Dh3 billion per year. Such a finding can ultimately help inform a potential compensation framework for complex, land-use decision-making in the rmirate. "By providing a first look at the value of our coastal ecosystems, the Ecosystem Services Assessment paves the way for continued responsible, sustainable development and the preservation of our environmental heritage, which is a key aspect of both local and national agendas in the UAE," said Ahmed Baharoon, acting director of Agedi
Coastal ecosystems provide a myriad of essential ecosystem services; they support fisheries, protect shorelines, and are important for cultural heritage and identity, and they also provide opportunities for recreation and tourism - a significant amenity. In the Abu Dhabi over the last four to five decades, the abundance and quality of coastal ecosystems have generated high levels of amenity services, such as visual aesthetics, and helped market the emirate as a destination of choice.
According to a study the impact on revenue among the studied beach-front Abu Dhabi hotels was estimated to be Dh517 million per year.
- haseeb@khaleejtimes.com