climate change on UAE - Stockholm Environment Institute-US Center

as well as parts of the Industrial City south
of the main island. We know that much of the
mangroves northeast of the main island are of
ecological importance to the region, experts will
need to identify appropriate habitat migration
corridors so that mangroves are able to move
inland as the shoreline retreats. The inundation
of seagrass, was we’ve discussed is problematic
because of its temperature and light sensitivities.
More research should be done on its ability to
migrate inland to shallower waters.
4.7.3. 2100: 9 meters above mean sea
level (Accelerated ice cap melting)
At 9 meters of sea level rise, Abu Dhabi will look
fundamentally different as a city and society
from what we know it as today. A great deal of
what will define that future community depends
Table ‎4‐4. ABU DHABI Zones of Inundation (km 2 ).
on how it chooses to adapt over time, but also
on numerous other factors like continuing to
emit greenhouse gas with no global limits, which
would force us into a warmer world where
deglaciation was a) possible and b) yielded 9
meters sea level rise. Additionally, should storm
surges become a reality and no longer a black
swan- then these sea level rise/flood fill analyses
could hint at what the coast would face from a
pending storm surge of that magnitude. Please
note, that modeling storm surges and their
probability were outside the scope of the report
and we merely hint at the possibility to suggest
more research is needed.
4.8. Summary Tables
The tables below provide a summary of the
spatial extent of inundation for the Abu Dhabi
and Dubai emirates.
Impacts, Vulnerability & Adaptation for
Coastal Zones in the United Arab Emirates
LAND USE 1m rise 3m rise 9m rise
Mangrove 723 110 116
Sabhka 127 369 908
Built up area 6 24 62
Empty area 3 7 14
Road buffer 4 11 29
farm(s), small 2 7 33
forest 19 55 127
urban greening 109 220 377
urban park 0.4 2 6
TOTAL 344 804 1,672
Table ‎4‐5. DUBAI Zones of Inundation (km 2 ).
LAND USE 1m rise 3m rise 9m rise
Barren lands 2 3 4
Built up Urban 7 133 200
Others (education, hospital, cemetery, etc.) 1 3 5
Transportation (Roads, Ports, Airport) 1 3 4
Grass .4 1 1
Plantation/ Orchard 1 1 2
Woody Vegetation (Prosopis) 0.3 1 2
Shrub (Leptadenia) 0.3 1 1
Coastal/ Saline 0.04 0.1 0.2
Mangrove 0.02 0.03 0.03
WaterBodies 0.2 0.3 0.3
Wetlands (Tidal Flat, Mud Flat, Creek) 1 1 1
TOTAL 14 147 221
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