Abundant wildlife and thriving vegetation can be found at the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve.
Opened in 2002, the 225-square-kilometre reserve takes up almost 5 per cent of Dubai's total land area. It is also fenced to preserve the flora and fauna that naturally inhabit the space.
“The DDCR represents the UAE's desert landscape if left alone," says Basil Roy, a conservation officer. "It is home to culturally symbolic species of flora and fauna, such as the Arabian gazelle, the spiny-tailed lizard, and the ghaf tree."
Roy has worked at the DDCR for the past two years. He currently plans, controls, develops and monitors the conservation practices and environmental work in the reserve, such as the Arabian oryx monitoring programme.
He says there have been 74 plant species, 142 species of migratory and resident birds, 26 reptile species, 18 mammal species, and more than 300 insect species recorded at the reserve.
In addition to spotlighting the ecosystem components, the reserve has recently opened a visitor centre.
"It will showcase all of DDCR's conservation achievements and scientific findings over the past two decades. Information on DDCR's establishment, safeguarding and scientific research of its natural environment is accessible to the public. Also, the reserve can be visited with several tour operating companies," Roy says.
Those who visit the reserve catch a glimpse of some evasive animals, especially at dawn or dusk. Day tours are possible and there is the five-star Al Maha hotel nestled in the reserve for those who want to spend more time there.
“At sunrise and sunset there are more chances of recording elusive wildlife such as the Arabian horned viper, the Arabian red fox, and the pharaoh eagle owl,” Roy says.
He also says the Arabian oryx, the Arabian gazelle, the sand gazelle, several species of migratory and resident birds such as the desert wheatear, the blue-cheeked bee-eater and the brown-necked raven are more commonly spotted. Reptiles such as the spiny-tailed lizard and the white-spotted sand lizard as well as several types of insects can also be seen.
To safeguard the space, Roy says the reserve has implemented regulations to minimise human impact on the local flora and fauna.
“One crucial policy set up by the DDCR was to limit human activity, such as off-roading, in the area by fencing the entirety of the reserve and restricting access to the general public," he says.
"As well as regulating the visitors coming into the area, camel farms were removed from the zone in order to prevent the overgrazing of desert vegetation. By doing so, the natural reserve has been able to become a haven for desert wildlife and is successful in replenishing endangered species populations, like the Arabian oryx.”
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Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
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Company profile
Company name: Suraasa
Started: 2018
Founders: Rishabh Khanna, Ankit Khanna and Sahil Makker
Based: India, UAE and the UK
Industry: EdTech
Initial investment: More than $200,000 in seed funding
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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.”
Captain Marvel
Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Starring: Brie Larson, Samuel L Jackson, Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn
4/5 stars
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MWTC info
Tickets to the MWTC range from Dh100 and can be purchased from www.ticketmaster.ae or by calling 800 86 823 from within the UAE or 971 4 366 2289 from outside the country and all Virgin Megastores. Fans looking to attend all three days of the MWTC can avail of a special 20 percent discount on ticket prices.
