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Three Year Project Sponsored by Dolphin Energy

The first-ever map of Southern Gulf coral reefs is being produced through a joint research project between the UAE and Qatar.

The preliminary map was released today by Mr Majid Al Mansouri, Board Member of EWS/WWF, at a ceremony held at the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation in the capital.

The research project 'Coral Reef Investigations in Abu Dhabi and Eastern Qatar' is a cooperative venture between researchers from the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD) and Qatar's Supreme Council for the Environment and Natural Reserves (SCENR). It is sponsored by Dolphin Energy Limited, who have donated $500,000, and is managed by the UAE's Emirates Wildlife Society (EWS) and the regional branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

Since January 2005, threatened coral habitats have been studied and mapped using satellite imagery so as to develop a comprehensive conservation and management program for these valuable ecosystems. Alongside, researchers from EAD and SCENR continue to receive training in both theoretical and practical aspects of the project work.

Mr Al Mansouri commented: "The project has shown that most Gulf coral reefs are in good health. Those that had suffered severe damage due to past temperature fluctuations should recover and regain their former splendor - provided no disturbance occurs. With the help of this coral reef map, future protection measures will be made much easier."

Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, CEO, Dolphin Energy stated: "The production of this new coral reef map is a vital contribution to Gulf biodiversity conservation. Although it is preliminary - and further groundtruthing and verification will be undertaken during the second stage of the project - its release today is significant. It not only marks the successful halfway stage of our research venture, but also the celebration of World Environment Day (5 June)."

He added: "Dolphin will be transporting natural gas from Qatar to the UAE within a few months. Now we know where the corals are located, it will be a vital part of Dolphin Energy's environment management program that these are conserved and protected in every possible way, for the benefit of future generations."

Dr. Thabit Zahran Al Abdessalaam, Director, Marine Environment Research Centre, EAD, commented: "This project is critical for implementing a management plan to conserve our coastal marine resources, particularly corals. There is hope for a full recovery of the coral systems from past stress events, especially within the marine protected areas of Abu Dhabi Emirate."

He added: "With growing developmental pressures from a variety of sources, coral reefs need to be protected against man-induced disturbances."

"The coral reef investigations project has enabled the study of coral cover, species diversity and level of recovery of degraded reefs," said Mr. Yousef Al Hamar, Director, Technical Affairs, SCENR. "Groundtruthing, or confirming the accuracy of reefs mapped using a field survey, has also been taken up. SCENR is pleased that its junior researchers are being trained by experts from the National Coral Reefs Institute, Florida, USA."

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