Saving Dubai’s beaches

The Jumeirah Beach Park, as well as the entire shoreline, may be restructured to save it.

The Dubai Municipality plan will manage changing wave patterns and coastal erosion arising in the wake of new offshore developments.

The shoreline of the kilometre-long beach will be oriented northeast to meet waves head on in a bid to reduce coastal erosion.

"It is being considered," said Eisa Al Haj Al Maidour, Assistant Director General for General Project Affairs, Dubai Municipality.

No dates have, however, been finalised for the project.

These measures have been suggested in a new study entitled Management Guidelines for Dubai Coast, to be released by the municipality in July.

Al Maidour confirmed that, if approved, the beach will be split into two sections with several prongs jutting out into the Gulf.

Erosion scare

The beach, as it exists now, is experiencing erosion at the north end where the shoreline is about five metres more inland than at the southern extreme.

The beach transformation will also accommodate the construction of the mouth of the new Dubai Creek extension which will run from the south of Shaikh Zayed Road in a northward direction through Jumeirah and exit at the beach park.

Consultancy firm Danish Hydraulic Institute (DHI) has been tapped by Dubai Municipality to analyse the environmental impact of offshore developments on Dubai’s 70-kilometre coastline.

Karsten Mangor, Chief Engineer at DHI, while commenting from Copenhagen, Denmark, said "these offshore developments have had quite a major impact on the wave and sediment transport currently along the coast."

Waves have changed from a northwest direction and now hail from the northeast, he added.

Municipal documents state The Palm Islands and The World have affected wave patterns.

"The offshore development schemes, such as The Palm Islands, drastically changed wave conditions along the Dubai coast, thereby also affecting coastal conditions," the document states.

To manage the changes, the new guidelines propose a series of risk-assessment procedures, as well as new rules that will require developers to seek municipal approval before starting any project along the coastline.

New measures

Shaun Lenehan, Head of Environment, Nakheel Company LLC, said that to counter the effects of development, the company may pursue a series of measures, including "reshaping or repositioning the proposed project, installation of a beach-stabilising solution, either on the beach or in the nearshore waters, or re-nourishment of the beach."

Dubai Municipality, meanwhile, has been implementing measures since the 1990s when coastline study and monitoring were first initiated, said Al Maidour.

Restoring sand

"The municipality has a mechanism to respond to problems that happen on beaches immediately," he said. "We are restoring sand in places."

Meanwhile, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) spokesperson Ida Tillisch said they were pleased about the effort.

"The Dubai Municipality project is an example of how awareness about ecology and the environment has risen even higher in the UAE’s agenda in recent years.

While WWF has a focus on marine conservation, it applauds any initiative that seeks to protect and preserve natural ecosystems," said Tillisch.

Coast Guard

Dubai Municipality has conducted a number of coastal monitoring measures since 1997, including:

• Routine topographic surveys
• Remote video monitoring of Dubai’s beaches
• Sediment sampling and analysis
• Nearshore directional wave and current recordings