Dubai’s expansion of Umm Suqeim Beach could create new wildlife habitats as well as new landmarks in the emirate, according to experts.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, has approved a Dh500 million ($136 million) masterplan for the transformation of the beach.
The work will elevate the beach, increase its size by 30 per cent and strengthen resilience against rising sea levels. It will also include the construction of a 38-metre observation tower and a 2km retaining wall among the proposed new features.
Prof John Burt, a marine biologist at New York University Abu Dhabi, said the construction could help marine life thrive in the new environments it creates.
“Over time the beach extension will be recolonised and, more importantly, so will the rocky breakwaters they build at the ends of the beaches,” he told The National. “These complex habitats are loved by fish and corals alike."
Preventing unintended consequences
Because there are no high-priority wildlife habitats nearby, he added, significant harms are unlikely.
“Beach nourishment, the technical term for the expansion of beaches by reclamation, can technically have environmental impacts if not managed properly, but often these are minimal as beaches don't often occur adjacent to vulnerable ecosystems such as coral reefs, at least in the UAE,” he said.
“Much of the shoreline in that area is an already simplified habitat dominated by sand, with relatively limited diversity, much of which is fish, which are of course mobile and can move out of the area if they dislike the conditions.”
Prof Helmut Brueckner of the University of Cologne said taking account of how water and sand move will be critical to ensuring that the building work does not have unintended consequences, such as the accumulation of large amounts of sand in particular locations or the creation of stagnant water areas.
It is important that structures that extend out into the sea – the masterplan images show several of these, one of which hosts the 38-metre tower – are carefully designed so that they minimise water flow disruption, he said.
He has observed sand accumulation from much earlier engineering work in Dubai and noted that stagnant water around Palm Jumeirah has resulted in the creation of algal blooms.
What do we know about the construction plan?
Dr Mikkel Fruergaard, an associate professor at the University of Copenhagen, warned that “hard coastal protection”, such as groynes and breakwaters, which appear to be included in the new beach masterplan, could have wider effects in the area.
“They often induce some ... erosion somewhere because they prevent sediment moving from where it should be,” he said. However, he said it would require detailed local analysis to determine whether overall impacts would be negative or positive.
A key feature of the proposed work is that it will support night swimming, because 30,000 square metres of beachfront will be illuminated. Derek Jackson, professor of coastal geomorphology at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland, suggested that this could be disorientating for insects and other wildlife and requires careful planning.
'A lot of opportunities'
Dr Bas Borje, an associate professor in nature-based coastal protection at the University of Twente in the Netherlands, believes awareness of potential environmental impacts has improved.
Potential impacts are now “much better thought out”, he said. “A decade ago I was more sceptical. But now it brings a lot of opportunities,” he added.
Once upgraded, Umm Suqeim Beach will be able to host as many as six million visitors a year, authorities said, while nearby roads and parking capacity will be upgraded to cope.
The planned work is part of wider efforts to improve Dubai’s beaches. In 2023 Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, announced that 54km of beaches around Palm Jebel Ali, Palm Jumeirah and Al Mamzar would be developed. The following year, plans to create the longest public beach in Dubai at Jebel Ali were announced.
