SHARJAH // The mangroves of Khor Kalba have been recognised as globally important wetlands by an international convention.
Sharjah’s coastal enclave on the Indian Ocean has become the third site in the UAE, along with Ras Al Khor in Dubai and Wadi Waraya in Fujairah, to be listed by the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.
The convention is an international effort to protect the world’s most important marshlands.
After yesterday’s announcement, made in Sharjah in the presence of environmentalists and government officials, the convention covers 2,103 sites.
An Emiri decree in July last year protected an area of 1,494 hectares known as Al Hafiya that comprises the coastal mangroves, an adjacent mud flat and the acacia plane and mountainous area behind it.
But the Ramsar recognition shows the site has global significance, rather than local or regional, said Hana Al Suwaidi, director general of the Environment and Protected Areas Authority of Sharjah.
“The selection of the reserve as a Ramsar location is a huge step, which allows for the application of international systems in the area that will further preserve the biodiversity,” Ms Al Suwaidi said.
Nessrine Alzahlawi, assistant adviser for Asia-Oceania at the convention, said: “Now international eyes are on [Al Hafiya].”
Ms Alzahlawi said the inclusion of Khor Kalba had generated interest from people around the world who “never knew the UAE had wetlands”.
She said that for a site to qualify for inclusion on the Ramsar list, it needed to meet at least one of nine criteria.
“In the case of Khor Kalba, we have three criteria that applied,” she said.
The first is that the mangrove is old and represents a type of habitat that is increasingly under threat in the region, she said.
It also supports species recognised as needing protection under the Red List of Threatened Species, a global database of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The register lists species in seven categories based on the threats they face – from least concern, which normally applies to plants and animals that are widespread and abundant, to extinct.
A wetland that is home for species listed in the vulnerable category, or higher in terms of the risk, meets the criteria, said Ms Alzahlawi.
Sites can also qualify as habitats to at least 1 per cent of the global population of a rare wetland bird.
Khor Kalba fills this requirement with its population of Socotra cormorants, a seabird under threat worldwide.
Although the area was declared protected last year, the Sharjah Government also announced plans to develop some tourism infrastructure next to it.
That work is expected to be led by the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority and overseen by the Environment and Protected Areas Authority.
Paul Vercammen, operations manager at Sharjah’s Breeding Centre for Endangered Arabian Wildlife, said that before developers could submit any plans an environmental impact assessment would be carried out.
“It will give us guidelines on when and where to allow visitors and how they can arrive to the site,” Mr Vercammen said.
The effect on rare wildlife from noise, light levels and other impacts of any proposed hotel would also be studied, he said.
A starting date for the assessment has not yet been set but some of the work, related to studying the species in the protected area, is already under way.
“This site has world-wide importance,” said Mr Vercammen. “Now our work starts.”
vtodorova@thenational.ae
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
Palestine and Israel - live updates
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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.
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