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Figure 9
Estimated areas
of highest concentration
of Blue Carbon co-
benefits arising from Blue
Carbon and candidate and
associated ecosystems
on the condition of the ecosystem but
also its functional linkages to associated
ecosystems.
For mangrove forests to continue
to provide nursery grounds for
commercially and recreationally
important fish populations, the two-way
linkages between mangrove and offshore
ecosystems such as seagrass beds, coral
reefs and offshore landform features
must be maintained. Similarly, offshore
systems such as coral reefs create
the sheltered conditions necessary for
inshore systems such as seagrasses to
thrive; while mangroves and salt marsh
act to trap sediments and nutrients that
might smother or degrade seagrasses.
When marine and coastal spatial planning
is undertaken or updated in Abu Dhabi,
it will therefore be important to consider
the full suite of services, their values, and
the impacts that human activities in any
sector will have on continued delivery
of these services. This is especially true
as climate change adds to the spectre
of cumulative impacts, and threatens to
undermine the resilience of all marine
and coastal ecosystems, in the Emirate
and in the Arabian Gulf region.
Areas of potentially high ecosystem service value
0
25
50
75
100
12.5
Km
Ecosystem Extent (ha)
Seagrass 158,000
Saltmarsh 4,000
Algal mat 10,000
candidateBlueCarbonecosystem
Mangrove 14,000
Coastal Sabkha 389,000
associatedBlueCarbonecosystem
Slender Billed Gull: © AGEDI / Xavier Eichaker
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