UAE quarry industry 'crushing animals' natural habitat'

Dubai: The quarrying and cement industries that will provide up to 23 million tonnes of cement per year within the next few years are destroying the natural habitat of wildlife in the northern emirates, said an environmentalist.

Construction in parts of the UAE has been hugely successful but possibly at the cost of precious rocky habitats and potential tourist sites, according to World Wildlife Fund UAE (WWF UAE) researcher Christophe Tourenq, based in Fujairah.

Massive craters are being made in the wadis where dynamite is used to release the rock, he said.

"Crushing and quarry licences dramatically increased in Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah to provide material on site and to not rely on overseas exportation. Local cement is generally preferred to imported cement because of freshness."

Pace of development

"Given the pace of development in the country and the demand for building materials, the market for cement is expected to rise by 10 to 15 per cent annually to a total of around 23 million tonnes per annum within the next five years."

"Crushing and quarries for mineral extraction not only mean an irreversible loss of habitat, but also creates an added stress to what remains of arid mountain mammal populations," he added.

The Arabian tahr is one species Tourenq is worried about. It is endemic to the UAE and Oman and listed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

The UAE population is estimated very low with less then 100 animals. A survey by the Emirates Wildlife Society and WWF has shown a decline of Arabian tahr sightings, Tourenq said.