TY - JOUR
T1 - A Roadmap for Policy-Relevant Sea-Level Rise Research in the United Arab Emirates
AU - Melville-Rea, Hannah
AU - Eayrs, Clare
AU - Anwahi, Nasser
AU - Burt, John A.
AU - Holland, Denise
AU - Samara, Fatin
AU - Paparella, Francesco
AU - Al Murshidi, Ahmed Hassan
AU - Al-Shehhi, Maryam Rashed
AU - Holland, David M.
N1 - Funding Information:
Special thanks is due to the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment for launching the Climate Change Research Network, which inspired this collaboration. We thank Philip Rodenbough and the Scientific Writing Program at NYU Abu Dhabi for insightful feedback and proofreading. Funding. This work was supported by the Center for global Sea Level Change (CSLC) of NYU Abu Dhabi Research Institute (G1204) in the UAE. Funding to JB was provided by the NYU Abu Dhabi Water Research Center grant (project CG007).
Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Center for global Sea Level Change (CSLC) of NYU Abu Dhabi Research Institute (G1204) in the UAE. Funding to JB was provided by the NYU Abu Dhabi Water Research Center grant (project CG007).
Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright © 2021 Melville-Rea, Eayrs, Anwahi, Burt, Holland, Samara, Paparella, Al Murshidi, Al-Shehhi and Holland.
PY - 2021/7/22
Y1 - 2021/7/22
N2 - The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has a long-term policy horizon, the financial capital, and a vision for a sustainable knowledge-based economy. These characteristics uniquely situate it as a potential leader for sea-level rise research. Climate science is already growing, and at the center of the UAE's pivot toward climate research is a burgeoning concern for sea-level rise. Over 85% of the UAE's population and more than 90% of the nation's infrastructure is within a few meters of present-day sea-level. With its low-lying and shallow-sloping geography (about 35 cm per km), this high-value coastline, including the rapidly expanding cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, is particularly vulnerable to sea-level rise. Meanwhile, limited regional research and data scarcity create deep uncertainty for sea-level projections. We set out a potential roadmap for the UAE to capitalize on its strengths to create usable and relevant sea-level projections for the region. With a newly established Climate Change Research Network, the UAE government is beginning to draw together universities and research centers for “furthering effective data collection and management, and advancing policy-relevant research on climate impacts and adaptation1.” By consolidating ideas from the science community within the UAE, we identify promoters and barriers to data gathering, information sharing, science-policy communication, and funding access. Our paper proposes pathways forward for the UAE to integrate sea-level science with coastal development and form best practices that can be scaled across climate science and throughout the region.
AB - The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has a long-term policy horizon, the financial capital, and a vision for a sustainable knowledge-based economy. These characteristics uniquely situate it as a potential leader for sea-level rise research. Climate science is already growing, and at the center of the UAE's pivot toward climate research is a burgeoning concern for sea-level rise. Over 85% of the UAE's population and more than 90% of the nation's infrastructure is within a few meters of present-day sea-level. With its low-lying and shallow-sloping geography (about 35 cm per km), this high-value coastline, including the rapidly expanding cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, is particularly vulnerable to sea-level rise. Meanwhile, limited regional research and data scarcity create deep uncertainty for sea-level projections. We set out a potential roadmap for the UAE to capitalize on its strengths to create usable and relevant sea-level projections for the region. With a newly established Climate Change Research Network, the UAE government is beginning to draw together universities and research centers for “furthering effective data collection and management, and advancing policy-relevant research on climate impacts and adaptation1.” By consolidating ideas from the science community within the UAE, we identify promoters and barriers to data gathering, information sharing, science-policy communication, and funding access. Our paper proposes pathways forward for the UAE to integrate sea-level science with coastal development and form best practices that can be scaled across climate science and throughout the region.
KW - Arabian Gulf
KW - United Arab Emirates
KW - adaptation
KW - climate change
KW - sea-level rise
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U2 - 10.3389/fmars.2021.670089
DO - 10.3389/fmars.2021.670089
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85112598908
SN - 2296-7745
VL - 8
JO - Frontiers in Marine Science
JF - Frontiers in Marine Science
M1 - 670089
ER -