Introduction
Background of the study
Oil spills are defined as the remittance of liquid petroleum hydrocarbons into the coastal waters. They are primarily predetermined by human activities. The United Arabs Emirates and the surrounding areas around the Arabian Gulf consist of oil reserves which are about 655 of the total oil reserves in the world. They are thus thought to be the largest reserves in the world. These reserves are of great economic importance to the people of the Arabian Gulf. The oil production rate of the region represents about 60% of the total oil production in the world (Al-Azab, El-Shorbagy & Al Ghaiz, 2005, p.187).
It is estimated that the oil produced is carried by 25, 000 tankers traversing the Gulf region from 34 production points to the rest of the world. Therefore, heavy traffic is experienced in the Strait of Hormuz daily. This has raised concerns on the possibilities of these tankers colliding and causing oil spills (Al-Azab et al., 2005, p.187). According to reports released in 1994 on the issue of oil spills, about 15 collisions had occurred this year around the shores of the UAE (Al-Azab et al., 2005, p.188). In April 2001, a tanker carrying oil from Iraq sank On the Arabian Gulf coast near Jabal Ali. The scattered oil patches later spread all over the coastal waters of Dubai down to Mamzar coast and Jumeirah.
Aim
The report aims at exploring the various environmental effects of oil spills in the Arabian coast’s ecosystem in addition to the activities taking place to combat and reverse the effects.
Scope
The report entails an identification of the environmental effects of oil pollution on the ecosystem components, strategies for treatment of oil pollution, and the various ways of combating and prevention of oil spills. The report also recommends the most appropriate approaches to prevention and treatment of oil pollution.
Environmental effects of oil pollution on the ecosystem components
After an oil spill, the oil undergoes a series of changes involving physical, biological and chemical changes in the aquatic environments. In the UAE coastal waters, the spillage oil occurs as tarballs and surface oil patches especially around the “ROPME Sea Area (RSA)” (Al-Azab et al., 2005, p.188).
The data collected after the 2001 oil spill involving a tanker carrying smuggled oil from Iraq has been employed in assessing the impact of the spill on the environment. According to the results obtained from a monitoring station in Dubai, the impact of the oil spills on the marine coastal environment is minimal despite the continuous industrialization activities taking place around Jabal Ali area (Al-Azab et al., 2005, p.189).
The report also indicates that there are no changes in temperature, salinity, and pH. However, the post-monitoring studies in 2002 indicated a slight increase in temperature and salinity. This was attributed to the desalination processes taking place at DUBAL and DEWA whereby discharges from the “Power Generation and Desalination Plants” are released into the coastal waters. Other nutrients in the coastal waters such as nitrates and phosphates have since shown very slight variation from the normal. Analysis of the petroleum hydrocarbons (PHC) indicated values that were 20,000 times higher than the normal baseline values. This is because, the use of dispersants after the oil spill leads to the oil residues dissolving in the marine waters. The biological analysis on the “pelagic phytoplankton and zooplanktons” indicated a heightened negative impact on these organisms. This is because petroleum hydrocarbons are capable of bioaccumulation and disrupting the normal metabolic functions of the organisms (Al-Azab et al., 2005, p.189).
Treatment of oil pollution
Due to the increased demands for water in the UAE, there is a need to desalinate large volumes of water which can then be used for irrigation (USA International Publications, n.d., p.74). There are some companies in the UAE which have teamed up to address certain environmental issues as outlined in the “Health Safety and Environment (HSE)” policy. These activities aim to eliminate hydrocarbon flaring, abolish hydrocarbon disposal, optimize land utilization and energy resources and look for ways of minimizing the use of oil-based mud (USA International Publication, n.d., p.74).
Other objectives of the HSE policy include; “re-injection of treated waters and effluents, disposal of drilling mud and cuttings, so as not to contaminate the environment,” (USA International Publication, n.d., p.74). All these processes are carried out in accordance with the accepted international standards. HSE is not only aimed at controlling and treating the oil spills but it is also involved in preventing the oil spills from happening.
Combating and Prevention of Oil Spills
Since the coastal water around the ROPME Sea Area (RSA) is home to many aquatic inhabitants, there is need to prevent environmental pollutions resulting from oil spills (Abuzinada, Barth, Friedhelm, Boar & Al Abdessalaam, 2008, p.224). The endangered species inhabiting this area include; seagrass beds, sea turtles, and dugong among other organisms. Assessment of the oil spill damages has been a serious problem to the UAE governments for ages. However, the introduction of a compensation schedule approach to this problem seems to work. According to Abuzinada et al. (2008, p.225), “Compensation schedules have been developed in the USA and Europe to address translation of oil contamination and resource exposure and injuries into economic damages when information is incomplete or can not be obtained without inordinate effort.”
The Abu Dhabi Emirates is known for its large number of plants for energy production and desalination of water for irrigation. To stop oil from reaching the plants in case of such an accident, “The Center for Research of ADWEA” established a system that offers early warnings on oil spills. This helps the Abu Dhabi Emirate in assessing the possibility of the oil reaching any of its plants (Mohamed, 2006, p.107). This also aids in notifying the authorities involved so that they can deploy the necessary procedures in preventing the oil spill from reaching any of the desalination plants.
Conclusion
The report has elaborated on the various issues related to oil spills in the United Arabs Emirates (UAE) which is one of the world’s largest oil reserves. Due to the high traffic of tankers carrying oil, oil spills are bound to occur which have varied effects on the environment. As the report indicates, the effects of oil spills can be far-reaching. They include; negative impacts on the coastal marine inhabitants and various changes to the normal environmental and chemical composition of the affected coastal waters.
Therefore, it is the duty of the responsible authorities in ensuring that the environment is preserved by avoiding unnecessary oil disposals and in case of accidents, the water should be cleaned immediately.
Recommendations
The events that ensue after an oil spill are believed to be aimed at restoring the normal conditions of the water and not worsening the situation. Therefore, it is recommended that;
- The use of dispersants should be discouraged when combating oil spills as this method helps the oil residues to dissolve in water and continue affecting the marine inhabitants further.
- Instead, biological and environmentally friendly methods should be employed in cleaning up the oil spills.
- These biological methods include; bioremediation which is the use of microorganisms that can consume the oil and produce harmless wastes.
- Another important approach is phytoremediation which involves the use of plants in the process of cleaning up the environment.
Reference List
- Abuzinada, A. H., Barth, J. H., Friedhelm, K., Boer, B. & Al Abdessalaam, T. Z. (eds). (2008). Protecting the Gulf’s marine ecosystem from pollution. Boston: Birkhauser Verlag AG, Basel. Web.
- Al-Azab, M., El-Shorbagy, W. & Al-Ghais, S. (eds). (2005). Oil pollution and its environmental impact in the Arabian Gulf region. Amsterdam: Elsevier B. V. Web.
- Mohamed, A. M. O. (2006). Arid land hydrogeology: in search of a solution to a threatened resource. London: Taylor & Francis Group. Web.
- USA International Publication. (n.d.). United Arabs Emirates: doing business and investing in UAE guide. Washington DC, USA.