The UAE has many hundreds of kilometers of coastline, both along the Arabian Gulf and along the Indian Ocean. In the past much of the Gulf coast was lined with mangrove (Avicennia marina) forests, which have long since disappeared. We only know they were there because in shell middens (the remains of shellfish cookouts of thousands of years ago) archeologists have found great numbers of large Mangrove mud snails – a type of shell that occurs mainly in the mud among the roots of mangrove trees. There are still mangrove stands in some places – on offshore islands, a protected area in the middle of Abu Dhabi, and small stands in the tidal creeks of Umm al Quwain.

    The mangrove forests along the Gulf coast disappeared over time because the trees were harvested. Mangrove wood was used regularly to make beams to support the roofs of the old forts. Most rooms in the forts could only be 1 ½ meter wide, because that was the length of the beams made from mangrove wood. When the local mangroves had all been harvested, the wood was imported from India and Africa. 
 

     Now only the most southern tip of the UAE’s Indian Ocean coastline ends in an extensive mangrove marsh.  Khor Kalba is the oldest mangrove forest of this part of Arabia, stretching seven kilometers along two branches of a tidal creek. Trees with huge trunks have grown to a height of up to eight meters there. The dark green belt of almost impenetrable ancient mangroves contrasts strongly with the brown and purple rocky mountains and the sparkling blue water. Young seedlings surrounded by air roots signal a healthy environment. The mud at low tide reveals thousands of pretty crabs, while in the shady canopy of the trees a unique small bird makes its home. The Kalba White-collared kingfisher is breeding resident here, nesting in natural holes in mangrove trunks and branches. This sub-species of the widespread White-collared kingfisher is named after Kalba: Halcyon chloris kalbaensis. Some 55 pairs have their nests in these mangroves and they don’t occur anywhere else in the world. They live mainly off the crabs that burrow in the mud, although insects also serve as food. The kingfishers have beautiful bright blue plumage and can be seen at dawn and dusk streaking like brilliant jewels over the mudflats in search of food.

     Another bird is quite unique here: the Booted warbler (Hippolais calligata) breeds there where the mangroves are small and bushy, because they have been browsed by camels. It is the only known breeding site in the UAE for this tiny bird, with more breeding sites along the Batinah coast in Oman.

     Both birds are in danger of extinction, because of the deterioration of their nesting site; the mangroves at Khor Kalba are suffering greatly from human intrusion.

     Mangroves are important to marine ecology; small fishes and crustaceans find the protection they need to grow to adult size among the roots of the salt tolerant trees. Because mangroves grow in soft mud they have evolved an interesting way of reaching the air, which they need for their metabolism. Special air-breathing roots, called pneumatophores, grow vertically up out of the mud so that their tips are exposed at low tide. At high tide the seawater covers them and the space between the roots becomes a playground for all sorts of small fry. The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries has taught the fishermen of Kalba that mangroves and coral reefs are important to their success as fishermen. The small fry of today will be the large fish of tomorrow.  But there are others – mainly people who do not make their living from fishing – who have targeted the crabs of Khor Kalba as a delicacy. Every weekend a drove of Asian expatriates wade into the waters and through the mud in search of crabs. All the large crabs have been taken out already. A friend, who used to come here 35 years ago as a young boy, told me that at that time you could not cross the creek on foot for fear of being “bitten” by he crabs. The crabs we see nowadays are only 3 to 5 cm in size – really big ones are extremely rare. Because the crabs are the main and preferred source of food for the kingfishers, this over-catching of crabs is very dangerous for the continued existence of the rare bird-species. There are half a dozen or more species of crabs living in the mud of the creek. Some of these have not even been properly identified. The municipality has put up large signs, forbidding entry into the mangroves and the killing of any wildlife, but without guards or game wardens to enforce the message, this falls on deaf ears.

     Not only the crabs are suffering, there are other intrusions too. Mangroves thrive where a tidal creek is partly supplied with fresh water from mountain run-offs. A large section of the Khor Kalba mangrove forest died a few years ago when a new road was constructed around the back, which cut off the wadis that used to empty out into the creek. Even though this fresh water supply occurred only a few times per year it was sufficient to keep the mangroves healthy.

    Another danger is the way in which local fishermen are hauling their nets these days.  The tidal creek and the mangroves that line it are protected from the force of the sea by wide sand spit that extends along the whole length of the forest from Khor Kalba harbour to the Omani border. Over the past decade the nets that were put out to sea are no longer hauled in by hand. Nowadays 4WD vehicles and pickups pull the nets ashore by driving back and forth across the sand spit. When the lines are very long and the cars are not fitted out with winches, they just back into the mangroves, destroying the trees and their air-roots. The vegetation on the sand spit that used to be quite substantial has completely disappeared, leaving the sandbar vulnerable to erosion by the wind. In due time the soil will no longer be held together by the roots of plants and bushes and one day a fierce storm will make a breach and flood the area lying behind the sand spit. And that will be the end of much of the mangrove forest.

     The sand spit used to be the site for a few rather rare plants. One – a procumbent Caralluma species, has not been seen since the late 1970’, when the professor of botany of the UAE University last photographed it.  Another called Limeum obovatum was last seen, sampled and photographed in 1984. This latter species does occur (rarely) in other parts of the UAE, but for the Caralluma this was the only known site.  The tidal creek and the beaches of Khor Kalba have long been visited by turtles, mainly the Green turtle Chelonia midas. But the nests that used to dot the shore have been robbed by both, human and animal predators, and the day-and-night activity on the beach disturbs the turtles so much that they will not return to lay eggs. Turtles swimming in the creek have mistaken blue plastic bags for their favourite food - jellyfish - and died a horrible death from obstructed intestines.

     Not long ago one of the local newspapers featured an article on Khor Kalba with a picture of local young men using the birds and turtles of Khor Kalba for target practice! Many people were outraged, but nothing is done to protect the unique wildlife of this small spot of paradise.

     Bulldozers continue to remove sand from the small dunes at the north end of the sand spit, thereby reducing the landmass and increasing the danger of erosion. There are even plans to develop the small harbour of Khor Kalba for commercial purposes. This could be the final death knell for the site as an area of natural beauty. Oil washed out of bilges will pollute the water as well as sewage dumped from boats.

    The beach along the sand spit is an important birding site also. The activity of the fishermen has enticed many species of gulls to visit to feed on the scraps left by the fishermen. One of the world’s largest congregations of Sooty Gulls (Larus hemprichii) can be seen along this beach each year, when 3 % of the world (!) population of these birds takes up residence in April and March. The tidal creek is a favourite stopover site for migrating birds. Herons and other waders such as Greenshanks, Whimbrels and Spoonbills feed along the edges of the mangroves, Blue-cheeked bee-eaters spend some time in the trees and raptors circle above in search of prey.  The site has become famous to bird-watchers worldwide. It is not the bird-watchers that are destroying the site. They know that their chance to practice their hobby would disappear if they behaved in a way that would endanger or disturb the birds and their food source.  Picnickers leave their rubbish, which is polluting the creek. More adventurous visitors enter the forest and disturb the breeding birds, while at the same time destroying fragile young plants. At clean-ups, organised by the Arabian Leopard Trust and the Desert Rangers, tons of rubbish was collected from the sand spit and from inside the forest.

    Khor Kalba has the potential to become a famous and favourite tourist site and not much is needed to protect it. A guarded gate on the bridge would keep out unsupervised people. The picnic site and playground could be moved to the West Side of the bridge.

    The unused fish factory and the small building that was once respectively used for a study project could be converted respectively into an aquarium and an education centre. Guided tours of small groups of tourists into the mangroves could raise public awareness and reduce the impact of visitors, without making the whole place off-limits. If the nightly disturbances on the beach were completely prevented, the turtles would come back to lay their eggs. It takes 30 years for a female turtle to reach maturity and she will return to the beach of her birth to lay her eggs! Thirty years ago Khor Kalba was a place of serene beauty and the turtle will not know how much has changed since then. If she comes now, the lights of cars and fires of campers will put her off her business of egg laying. She will find another beach somewhere else. It would be a great feather in the cap of UAE efforts for nature conservation if the turtles would build their nests again on the East Coast.

The success of Oman’s turtle coast as a tourist attraction could be equaled here, provided there was proper management of the site.

 According to RAMSAR criteria Khor Kalba qualifies for protection because

1.      it is a particularly good representative example of a natural or near-natural wetland, characteristic of the appropriate bio-geographical region.

2.      it is of special value for maintaining the genetic and ecological diversity of a region because of the quality and peculiarities of its flora and fauna.

3.      it regularly supports 1% of the individuals in a population of one species or subspecies of waterfowl.

 
On December 18^th, 1996 Khaleej Times reported:

“The go-ahead has been given for the establishment of the UAE’s first national park and nature reserve at Khor Kalba in the emirate of Sharjah. His Highness,  Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, has approved the management plan for the creation and operation of the park and reserve, whose purpose will be to conserve and nurture the rare flora and fauna of the area as a national treasure while strictly regulating public access to it.”

This decision was widely acclaimed by nature lovers in the Emirates and bird lovers all around the world. Unfortunately, the decision has not been followed up by action and the vulnerable mangrove forest and tidal creek of Khor Kalba are still being destroyed on a daily basis five years later. 

 Khor Kalba is a magical place, a place of exquisite beauty. Khor Kalba needs a campaign, supported by all of us, to ensure its protection