BATOOL GHAITH (ABU DHABI)
Abu Dhabi is expanding its protected marine areas to cover 20% of its waters, cementing the emirate’s commitment to sustainable development and climate resilience. The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) said the strategy goes beyond traditional conservation, and represents a recalibration of how nature and development coexist.
“Abu Dhabi is not only preserving what is rare, but investing in what is essential. If we wish to grow with confidence, we must first secure the foundations of life that sustain us,” Maitha Mohamed Al Hameli, Director of the Marine Biodiversity Division at EAD, told Aletihad in an interview.
Coral reefs, mangroves and seagrass meadows are not just scenery, Al Hameli stressed, “they are living infrastructure, they protect our coasts, sustain fisheries, store carbon and buffer us against climate extremes”.
By enlarging these reserves, the emirate is shifting from reactive protection to proactive stewardship, placing biodiversity at the heart of planning, not at its margins.
“It embeds conservation into the emirate’s long-term development logic, ensuring that economic growth, food security, and climate resilience are reinforced by healthy seas,” she said.
Guided by the vision of UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the initiative highlights environmental protection as a core pillar of the national agenda, Al Hameli noted.
“The expansion mirrors the logic of our environmental agenda: resilience is built through integration. Biodiversity protection, climate action, and development planning are no longer parallel tracks, they are interdependent.”
The EAD expects the impact of the expansion to be measurable in tangible ways, from the recovery of marine life and endangered species to clearer waters and the growth of coral reefs and seagrass meadows.
“The reserves will become laboratories of resilience, we will track ecosystem health in real time. The data will guide policy, sharpen interventions, and ensure that protection remains adaptive,” she said.
This vision extends to food security. Al Hameli highlighted the role of marine reserves in replenishing fish stocks and supporting coastal livelihoods: “By giving marine life space to recover, these reserves become nurseries for the wider sea.”
This is how conservation becomes a driver of food security. Healthier ecosystems produce more resilient fisheries, ones that can sustain both livelihoods and long-term supply.
According to Al Hameli, this approach is already reshaping outcomes in the emirate. “Through science-led regulation and protection, sustainable fisheries in Abu Dhabi have already risen from fragility to strength.”
“Expanding marine reserves deepens that trajectory, ensuring that future generations inherit seas that can still feed, employ and sustain them,” she added.
Engaging the Community
The strategy also tackles broader challenges like overfishing, climate change, and habitat degradation. Marine reserves, Al Hameli said, create space for regeneration.
“They are where pressure gives way to recovery. They absorb carbon, stabilise coastlines, and allow nature to heal.”
In the face of overfishing, these protected areas interrupt the cycle of depletion. By limiting extractive activity, fish populations are allowed to mature and reproduce, rebuilding stocks not only within the reserves, but beyond them, Al Hameli explained.
Engagement with local communities is key to the long-term success of this initiative, she noted. Fishermen, coastal residents, and other stakeholders are being actively involved through continuous consultation, training in sustainable practices, and participation in monitoring activities.
“When communities understand how reserves replenish fish stocks, protect coastlines, and secure long-term income, compliance becomes collective, not enforced. Ownership replaces resistance. The sea is no longer seen as a resource under restriction, but as a shared inheritance under care,” Al Hameli said.
This is paired with practical support, such as training in sustainable practices, access to alternative livelihoods, and opportunities to participate in monitoring and data collection.
The EAD’s decisions are grounded in long-term planning, data, and innovation — from AI-powered monitoring tools to adaptive governance frameworks, Al Hameli said.
“Abu Dhabi is showing how biodiversity protection, food security, climate adaptation and economic growth can move in concert rather than competition, and demonstrating how conservation can be systematic, measurable and central to national planning,” she said.