climate change on UAE - Stockholm Environment Institute-US Center

1. Introduction
Abu Dhabi is one of seven emirates that together
comprise the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The
UAE has a total area of 83,600 km 2 (8,360,000 ha),
with Abu Dhabi being the largest, occupying
an area of 67,340 km 2 and representing 86.67%
of the total UAE area. The UAE is situated in
the Eastern corner of the Arabian Peninsula,
between latitudes 22 degrees and 26.5 degrees
north and longitudes 51 degrees and 56.5
degrees east. It is bounded by the Gulf of Oman
to the East and the Persian Gulf to the North
Sultanate of Oman and Saudi Arabia to the
south, and Qatar and Saudi Arabia to the west.
The <strong>climate</strong> of the UAE is characterized by high
temperatures (up to 49˚C in July), high humidity
and low rainfall. The average, annual rainfall
in the mountain region (140-200 mm) and along
the east coast (100-140 mm) is generally higher
compared to the gravel plains (100-120 mm),
with the west coast receiving the lowest average
of less than 60 mm (Boer 1997). The population
of the UAE has been growing very fast from
2.41 million in 1995 to 3.77 in 2000 (Ministry of
Planning, 2005)
The term drylands is used to define the hyper-arid,
arid, semi-arid and dry subhumid ecosystems.
Aridity zones as mostly used in the scientific
literature are derived from the area’s mean
annual precipitation (p) and the mean potential
evapotranspiration (PET), i.e. given as P/PET.
This ratio is referred to as aridity index and is
used to classify dry lands as hyper-arid (ratio less
than 0.05), arid (0.05 to 0.20), semi-arid (0.20 to
0.50) and dry subhumid areas (0.50 to 0.65).
Drylands are particularly vulnerable to <strong>climate</strong>
<strong>change</strong> because of their inherent fragility that
makes small <strong>change</strong>s in temperature and rainfall
patterns a serious threat to their biodiversity.
According to the IIED (2008), dryland regions
are expected to undergo significant <strong>climate</strong>
<strong>change</strong>s, but there is considerable variability
and uncertainty in these estimates between
different scenarios. The IPCC (2007), projected
that dryland, particularly the deserts are going
to become hotter and drier. Based on UNEP
(2007), these <strong>change</strong>s are expected to impact
plant life and productivity through changing
growth conditions and increasing the risk
of wildfires, which could <strong>change</strong> the species
composition and decrease biodiversity.
Drylands occupy some 40% of the Earth’s
terrestrial surface, extending over a variety
of terrestrial biomes which are extremely
heterogeneous with wide variations in
topography, climatic, geological and biological
conditions (MEA, 2005). They are found on all
continents in both the northern and southern
hemispheres and are home to more than 2
billion people or about one quarter of the earth’s
population as well as many agricultural and wild
crops centres of origin. They include important
ecosystems rich with unique and diverse
communities of animals and plants. Some
dryland ecosystems are exposed to a range of
climatic and non-climatic factors and stresses
that threaten their existence such as drought
and desertification, land degradation, pollution,
competition with invasive species and <strong>climate</strong>
<strong>change</strong> (UNCCD, 1997).
Inspite of the many variations between
drylands in terms of level of aridity, elevation,
geological and biological conditions, etc., they
share many common characteristic including;
the low and erratic precipitation and high
diurnal temperature variability. Moreover,
dryland species and ecosystems have generally
developed distinct coping mechanisms to cope
with the harsh climatic conditions (low and
erratic rainfall and high temperature).
People living in drylands, particularly rural
communities, often rely on a combination
of rain-fed agriculture, livestock raising and
other income generating activities that are
extremely vulnerable to the <strong>climate</strong> <strong>change</strong>
impacts anticipated under most models. In
some regions and due to the frequent and
severe rainfall fluctuations soil formation
and water supply have already reached
unsustainable levels (IIED, 2008). Dryland
people historically managed to maintain and
sustain their livelihoods under the very difficult
conditions of the drylands, by developing very
unique coping strategies under both farming
and pastoral systems. These systems are known
by their instability and high resilience and are in
harmony with the basic properties of drylands
which used to support the continued practice
of transhumance and of nomadism. Nomadic
people adopt mobility and dispersion over wide
grazing as coping mechanisms. Currently there
is a greater appreciation of the efficiency of
traditional pastoral systems based on mobility
and the exploitation of extensive resources
(Niamir-Fuller, 2000).
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Climate Change Impacts, Vulnerability & Adaptation