Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles
The Growing Need for Sustainable Ecological Management of Marine Communities of the Persian Gulf
ORCID
0000-0001-9260-2153
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
AMBIO
ISSN
0044-7447
Publication Date
10-6-2010
Keywords
Persian Gulf, Arabian Gulf, Coastal development, Environmental quality, Environmental degradation
Abstract
The Persian Gulf is a semi-enclosed marine system surrounded by eight countries, many of which are experiencing substantial development. It is also a major center for the oil industry. The increasing array of anthropogenic disturbances may have substantial negative impacts on marine ecosystems, but this has received little attention until recently. We review the available literature on the Gulf’s marine environment and detail our recent experience in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) to evaluate the role of anthropogenic disturbance in this marine ecosystem. Extensive coastal development may now be the single most important anthropogenic stressor. We offer suggestions for how to build awareness of environmental risks of current practices, enhance regional capacity for coastal management, and build cooperative management of this important, shared marine system. An excellent opportunity exists for one or more of the bordering countries to initiate a bold and effective, long-term, international collaboration in environmental management for the Gulf.
DOI
10.1007/s13280-010-0092-6
Volume
40
First Page
4
Last Page
17
NSUWorks Citation
Peter F. Sale, David A. Feary, John A. Burt, Andrew G. Bauman, Georgenes Cavalcante, Kenneth G. Drouillard, Björn Kjerfve, Elise Marquis, Charles G. Trick, Paolo Usseglio, and Hanneke Van Lavieren. 2010. The Growing Need for Sustainable Ecological Management of Marine Communities of the Persian Gulf .AMBIO : 4 -17. https://nsuworks.nova.edu/occ_facarticles/1309.
