Impact of climate change on UAE coastal cities

Assignment Instructions: Report Writing on  Impact of climate change on UAE coastal cities

Assignment 15

Academic Orientation and Submission Conditions

This assessment represents the sole evaluated component for this module (Impact of climate change) and carries the full weighting of the final grade. Submissions that arrive after the stated deadline cannot be considered, as the learning outcomes are tied closely to timely engagement with evolving climate data and policy discourse.

All work must be uploaded through the designated Turnitin portal. Alternative formats or delivery methods are not supported within this assessment cycle. Your submission should identify you only through your Student Reference Number (SRN); personal identifiers have no place in academic evaluation.

The expected length of the work is 2,000 to 2,500 words. Writing below this range often limits analytical depth, while exceeding it tends to dilute conceptual clarity. Assessment is marked out of 100, with a minimum threshold of 50 marks required to demonstrate satisfactory achievement.

Scholarly integrity is non-negotiable. Harvard referencing must be applied consistently across in-text citations, data sources, policy documents, and visual materials. Unsupported claims or unattributed material will be treated as academic misconduct. AI-based tools may assist with language refinement, but intellectual framing, analysis, and interpretation must remain your own.

Framing the Inquiry: Why UAE Coastal Cities Matter

Situating the Topic Within the Emirates

The United Arab Emirates is defined by its coastline. Cities such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Fujairah are not only economic centres but also ecological interfaces where urban ambition meets marine vulnerability. Rising sea levels, increased surface temperatures, coastal erosion, salinity intrusion, and extreme weather events are no longer abstract projections; they are shaping planning conversations across the Emirates today.

This assignment invites you to examine climate change not as a distant environmental issue, but as a force actively reshaping urban life, infrastructure resilience, economic continuity, and social wellbeing along the UAE’s coast. Your task is to explore how climate pressures interact with development patterns, governance choices, and sustainability strategies specific to the national context.

Rather than producing a descriptive environmental report, you are expected to engage with climate change as a systems-level challenge, one that links science, urban policy, coastal engineering, public health, and long-term national vision.

Learning Intent and Intellectual Direction

Through this work, you should demonstrate your ability to:

• Construct a focused academic investigation grounded in regional environmental realities
• Interpret climate-related risks using credible secondary data and peer-reviewed research
• Examine how environmental stressors affect diverse stakeholder groups within coastal cities
• Integrate climate science with urban planning, economic resilience, and policy frameworks
• Develop context-sensitive responses aligned with UAE sustainability agendas

This assignment values reasoned judgement over volume of information. Strong submissions will show awareness of uncertainty, competing perspectives, and the limits of existing data, particularly in rapidly urbanising coastal zones.

Core Components of the Submission

Analytical Overview (Executive Synthesis)

Prepare a concise but substantial synthesis (approximately 400 to 500 words) that captures the essence of your entire study. This section should be written last, once your analysis has matured.

An effective synthesis will briefly outline:

• The specific coastal cities or zones examined
• The primary climate stressors under consideration
• Key insights drawn from data analysis
• The broader implications for urban sustainability in the UAE
• The direction of your proposed responses or strategic insights

This is not a summary of sections but a coherent narrative of your thinking.

Mapping the Environmental Pressure Landscape

Identifying Climate Stressors Along the Coast

This section should establish the environmental conditions shaping UAE coastal vulnerability. You may focus on factors such as sea-level rise projections, temperature escalation, coastal flooding, marine ecosystem degradation, or storm surge risks.

Use recent secondary sources, scientific reports, regional climate models, UAE government publications, to demonstrate how these stressors are evolving. Where possible, distinguish between long-term trends and near-term risks.

Rather than listing impacts, explore how these forces interact. For example, how does rising sea temperature affect coastal biodiversity, and what does that mean for fisheries, tourism, or food security?

Urban Exposure and Development Patterns

How Coastal Cities Experience Climate Risk

Here, turn your attention to the built environment. UAE coastal cities are characterised by dense infrastructure, reclaimed land, high-value real estate, ports, and transport corridors.

Analyse how climate stress intersects with:

• Urban design and land reclamation
• Housing density and vertical development
• Transport and logistics infrastructure
• Energy and water systems

You may draw comparisons between cities or focus on a single urban area as a case study. The aim is to show how development choices amplify or reduce climate vulnerability.

Human and Institutional Dimensions

Stakeholders Living With the Consequences

Climate change affects people unevenly. In this section, consider how different groups experience coastal climate impacts.

Possible stakeholder perspectives include:

• Residents in low-lying neighbourhoods
• Migrant and outdoor workers exposed to heat stress
• Municipal authorities and urban planners
• Businesses dependent on coastal stability
• Public health systems responding to climate-linked risks

Demonstrate awareness that climate resilience is as much a social and governance issue as it is an environmental one.

Interpreting Evidence Through Theory and Models

Making Sense of Secondary Data

This section forms the analytical core of the assignment. Engage critically with secondary data using relevant frameworks such as climate adaptation theory, urban resilience models, or sustainability transition concepts.

You may compare:

• Global climate models versus regional projections
• International coastal adaptation strategies versus UAE approaches
• Short-term mitigation efforts versus long-term resilience planning

Acknowledge limitations in available data, especially where projections vary or where regional specificity is still developing.

Strategic Responses and Adaptive Pathways

What Can Coastal Cities Do Next?

Drawing on your analysis, outline informed and realistic response pathways. These may include:

• Nature-based coastal protection strategies
• Climate-sensitive urban planning
• Policy integration with UAE Vision and Net Zero initiatives
• Public awareness and behavioural adaptation
• Investment in climate-resilient infrastructure

Your discussion should remain analytical rather than prescriptive, showing why certain approaches are suitable for the UAE context.

Drawing Meaning From the Analysis

Integrating Environmental Insight With Urban Futures

Conclude by reflecting on what your findings suggest about the impact of climate change and future of UAE coastal cities. Rather than restating earlier points, focus on synthesis, how environmental risk, urban ambition, and policy direction intersect.

Strong conclusions demonstrate perspective: an understanding of where knowledge is solid, where uncertainty remains, and why informed decision-making matters now rather than later.

Scholarly Practice and Presentation

• Apply Harvard referencing with precision and consistency
• Use a formal academic register while maintaining readability
• Present figures and tables clearly, with proper attribution
• Ensure logical flow between sections without rigid structural markers
• Draw on a wide range of academic, governmental, and professional sources

Final Academic Note

This assignment is designed to reflect the intellectual demands placed on graduates operating within the UAE’s sustainability and policy landscape. Thoughtful engagement, contextual awareness, and analytical maturity will be valued more than technical complexity alone.

Approach the topic with curiosity, discipline, and respect for the realities shaping the Emirates’ coastal future.