The Environment Agency Abu Dhabi and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation plan to revive the heritage and traditions of the emirate’s pearl industry.
Abu Dhabi Pearls project, established in 2007, involves farming high-quality pearls using modern and sustainable practices.
It set an ambitious goal of cultivating 80,000 oysters and producing 20,000 high-quality and sustainable pearls annually in the emirate’s waters.
Since its establishment, the project has helped to revive the sector’s heritage and preserve local oysters and pearls through participation in local and international events.
Joint projects with educational institutions were also launched, along with a technical component to create jewellery designs using cultured pearls.
Under the partnership between EAD and the FAO, the two seek to educate people on pearl farming techniques while also promoting them as a key model for sustainable aquaculture that has many environmental, social and economic benefits.
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The partnership includes knowledge sharing, the provision of technical support and the organisation of technical aquaculture workshops.
The project is part of a broader collaboration between FAO and the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, which focuses on introducing sustainable aquaculture and building a sector that creates jobs, protects the environment and supports livelihoods in the long term.
A rich heritage of traditions
Pearling played a crucial role in the UAE's economy before the discovery of oil in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
In the 19th century, pearl diving accounted for as much as 95 per cent of the region's income, and at its height early in the 20th century, about 80,000 men worked on the pearling vessels — 22,000 in the Trucial States alone.
The historic centre of pearl diving in the Arabian Gulf, however, was and is Bahrain, where last year the country's Institute for Pearls and Gemstones said it significantly increased the number of diving licences it issued, including for the first time, female pearl divers.
Ahmed Al Hashemi, EAD's executive director of Terrestrial and Marine Biodiversity, said the partnership will contribute to the promotion of the Abu Dhabi Pearls project, which he said is “one of the leading aquaculture projects in the region”.
“Pearl diving was once a risky profession that provided seasonal employment and an opportunity for wealth and prosperity,” Mr Al Hashemi said.
“It was never merely a trade or a means of subsistence, but an entirely integrated social system which has nurtured a rich heritage of traditions.
“At EAD we continuously seek to protect our national heritage while protecting the environment and the development of sustainable practices within aquaculture is driving our efforts, supported by our fruitful co-operation with FAO.”
Lionel Dabbadie, senior aquaculture and fishery officer at the FAO in Abu Dhabi, said: “The pearl oyster project designed and implemented by EAD not only provides a source of income for young Emirati entrepreneurs, but it also contributes to conserve biodiversity and protect the ecosystem, in line with the blue transformation objectives that FAO promotes.
“By partnering with EAD, FAO looks forward to developing sustainable aquaculture and contributing to achieving the UAE goal of becoming a world-leading hub in innovation-driven food security by 2051.”
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.”
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