UAE | Environment
UAE 'in prime position to tackle global warming'
He told Gulf News the UAE was a perfect base to conduct Ocean Nourishment because of its location and reserves of natural gas.
- By Kevin Scott, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:48 March 13, 2008
- Image Credit: Gulf News
- Academic targets Gulf for ocean nourishment project.
Dubai: A top scientist from Australia believes the UAE is an ideal position to lead the fight against global warming
Professor Ian Jones, Director of the University of Sydney's Ocean Technology Group, has targeted the Gulf region for his project to make the sea bloom with microscopic plants that absorb carbon dioxide.
He told Gulf News the UAE was a perfect base to conduct Ocean Nourishment because of its location and reserves of natural gas. Ocean Nourishment involves tiny plants called phytoplankton that live in the sea for fish to feed on.
"We have developed the technology for deploying the nutrient. We have ensured it [the nutrient] will initially be at a low concentration and therefore safe for the environment. We have also filed a patent for a device that measures carbons.
"The principle of the project remains the same but there have been a lot of developments over the last year. We hope to carry out a pilot trial sometime in the next few months," he said.
Standard of living
The theory has received a lot of interest from around the world. However, some people remain concerned that "turning the sea green" will result in disruption of the natural ecosystem and lead to algae bloom.
But Professor Jones moved to reassure the sceptics, saying the project will actually improve people's standard of living, as well as combat climate change.
"We are looking at feeding the phytoplankton off the coast of Oman. But the release points will not be in coastal waters near the shore. They will be in deeper water. Satellites will also monitor the situation on a daily basis.
"There are a lot of nutrients in the Indian Ocean and if we do this cleverly more fish will be available to subsistence fishermen. In turn, their standard of living will be greatly improved," he said.
Abu Dhabi Interlink, a business management consultancy in the capital, and the Sydney-based Trellini Group are working together to help make Professor Jones' plan a reality.
Sid Khamis, Chief Executive Officer of Trellini, said: "We organise funding for development programmes around the world specifically related to marine sites. That's how we first came into contact with Professor Jones and collectively we came to the region looking to establish a base here in the UAE."
Ray Hariz, Chief Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi Interlink, added: "We invited Professor Jones to meet with government and private organisations here in Abu Dhabi. We have been discussing opportunities and collaborations in the Gulf area."
Professor Jones, who recently presented his concept to 15,000 scientists at the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco, said the reason his theory had not surfaced earlier was because carbon credits did not exist until recently.
"It's a very simple idea, if you want more camels to thrive in the desert, you give them more grass. Similarly fish need more carbon to survive."
There are a lot of nutrients in the Indian Ocean and if we do this cleverly more fish will be ava-ilable to subsistence fishermen."
Professor Ian Jones, Director of the University of Sydney's Ocean Technology Group
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