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28 March 2024

Gulf pays a hidden price for oil

According to the UN, the Gulf has become one of the world's most polluted seas. (AFP)

Published
By Nadim Kawach

When oil first gushed out of the desert sands of the Arabian Peninsula more than half a century ago, its inhabitants probably realised immediately the windfall would transform their harsh lifestyle.

But what they undoubtedly failed to realise was it would eventually wipe out the very thing that had kept them alive to that point – pearls.

Oil brought about a transformation, but not entirely for the better. Besides untold wealth and modernity, it turned the region from one of the cleanest environments into one of the most polluted areas. It triggered wars, destroyed wildlife, and wiped out almost all the pearl colonies that had once adorned the region's seabed and provided generations of indigenous people with a livelihood. As environmentalist Ray Noble puts it: "Pollution at seas around the Middle East has caused the once thriving pearl farms to almost vanish."

But the veteran British Government adviser holds out hope: "I know the high level of pollution in the region has had a devastating effect on the pearl farms in the sea, but I am optimistic that some of them might be restarted in time.

"This depends on oceanic movements and currents, water change and, above all, efforts by the regional states to combat pollution.

"Strong action is now needed to reverse the environmental decline on land and at sea in this area."

Before oil was discovered, Gulf Arabs depended on pearling as their main source of income along with camel-raising and aid from their former colonialists.

Armed with primitive equipment, they used to set out on long, perilous pearling journeys which would last at least three months. Many people died trying to hunt for pearls without proper diving equipment and when they returned, most of the catch was to be swapped for simple items such as rice, bread, spices and other foodstuffs supplied by visiting Indian vessels. Their life at that time was hard but simple and clean. Now it is easier, but complicated and polluted.

According to the United Nations and other researchers, the Gulf has become one of the world's most polluted seas because of massive oil slicks, leakage from crude export terminals, pipelines and oil vessels, recurrent shipping accidents and deliberate dumping of sludge and other pollutant into the sea.

The problem was aggravated by the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, when the world's largest oil slick of more than eight million barrels, blackened the azure Gulf waters.

Retreating Iraqi forces from Kuwait in the 1991 Gulf War also burnt hundreds of the emirate's oil wells and dumped millions of crude barrels into the sea.

"The future is for renewable energy if we want to protect our planet," Noble said in a lecture at the Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi. "We have seen what oil and other energy sources can cause, burning fossil fuels is causing global warming and we have to act to save our future."

Noble, invited by the Gulf International Trading Group (GITG), said heavy taxes on oil and other conventional sources of energy in the West were justified on the grounds they were the main cause of pollution and global warming.

Speaking to Emirates Business, he said Western nations had mainly targeted oil in their anti-pollution campaign because demand for crude has been rising quickly due to rapid growth in countries, like China.

"Moreover, the volume of oil in the ground has been diminishing quickly, we can't go on using up all the oil. There are other sources and new technologies that should be used.

"The West is not saying that oil should be stopped completely because oil will continue to be the main source of energy for a long time," he said.

"What they are saying is that we should be rational in using oil and other conventional energy sources and at the same time exploit new technologies."

Noble, Director of the Durham-based Solar BIPV company in the UK, added that countries should be encouraged to use more gas than oil as a cleaner source of energy. He said Western measures against oil and coal were intended to rationalise consumption and slow down growth in demand.

"Renewable energy is becoming more competitive and in the near future we will see more reliance on it" he said.

"It would be nice to cut consumption of oil and coal. This can be done by making these energy sources more expensive, by upgrading efficiency and by intensifying awareness campaigns, but this, of course, needs time. You can't change things overnight."

 

Solar Ray

Environmentalist Ray Noble started his career at design and engineering consultants Arups where he became an Associate Director leading a building engineering group in the UK.

During this time, he became involved in solar photovoltaics (PV), and conducted research on European solar energy programmes. Ray is a recognised expert in renewable energy and has sat on the UK government's Renewable Advisory Board for four years providing advice and direction. He now runs his own consultancy, Solar BIPV, and gives advice to many forward-thinking organisations on the use of solar energy.