In. Pre-Oil Economic Activities in the East Coast
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Durham E-Theses The east coast of the United Arab Emirates: an evaluation of economic activities and future prospects Saif, Saif Salim Saif How to cite: Saif, Saif Salim Saif (1992) The east coast of the United Arab Emirates: an evaluation of economic activities and future prospects, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/5800/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 The East Coast Of The United Arab Emirates: An Evaluation Of Economic Activities And Future Prospects By Saif Salim Hassan Saif B.A., Economic Geography M.Sc, Agricultural Geography A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. Department of Geography The University of Durham, England 1992 2 DEC 1992 In the name of Allah The compassionate The Merciful In memory of my beloved mother who died when I was young Copyright © 1992 by Saif Salim Hassan Saif The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without the author's prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. Abstract The United Arab Emirates with its coastal land from the western borders with the state of Qatar and the Saudi Arabia to the Omani borders in the east has many economic activities which the recent studies have not covered. The UAE has two coasts the western and the eastem. The coastal area of the western coast has rich oil deposits, whilst the area on the eastem coast has no oil deposits. This has led the inhabitants at the eastem coast to develop other alternatives. Fishing and farming became the main economic activities for the inhabitants of this coast, especially during the pre-oil period. Also, since the East Coast does not have the oil deposits, some of the people of the East Coast prefer to work in other oil rich Emirates, especially Abu Dhabi and Dubai. At the same time the oil wealth from the other Emirates has played major role in developing the East Coast in terms of financing the constmction of the new facilities, seaports, airport and the other facilities. As a result of the latest government attention paid to the East Coast in terms of building new facilities as well as exploiting natural resources derived from the Hajar mountains, a lot of new manufacturing, eg rockwool, has come to play a major role in the area. The government of the area is in the process of exploring the geostrategic location of the East Coast with a view to it playing an important role in the future shipping industry in the area. The study evaluates the economic activities during the pre- and post-oil eras and gives a comparison between the two periods as well as exploring future prospects to develop these activities. It examined some of the area's problems as a result of the new development and future alternatives to be developed. It also evaluates and explores the importance of the area's geostrategic location in terms of future industry, eg export and re-export industry. Acknowledgements I would like to express my deep gratitude and appreciation to my supervisor, Dr. Ewan Anderson, for his supervision, encouragement, valuable advice and suggestions throughout this study. My appreciation and thanks to all members of staff and colleagues in the Department of Geography. I should also thank the UAH University, al-Ain for financial support and for giving me the opportunity to pursue my doctorate. My thanks and appreciation extend to the various government departments in the East Coast and other Emirates. In particular, I wish to thank the workers at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Eastern Region Administration, for their help and assistance during the collection of the study's data. Also my gratitude goes to the workers at the local government agencies in the area, especially the municipalities in the East Coast. I would like to thank the officials at the Government of Fujairah, in particular, those at seaports, airport, Fujairah Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture and the Department of Commerce and Industry for their valuable assistance and help. Great appreciation to the following people: H.E. Sheikh Haithan bin Saqir al- Qasimi, deputy chief of Kalba Emiri Court, Moosa Murad, Deputy General Manager of Fujairah Port, Ali Badawi, Manager MAF Eastern Region Administration, Dr. Salim Abduh, Director of Fujairah Industry and Economy Department, Tunhbull, R., Fujairah Port harbour master and Shaheen Ali Shaheen, General Director of Fujairah Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture. My deep appreciation and thank go to my father, Salim and my brothers, Hassan and Rashid, my wife and son Mayed for their understanding, encouragement and support throughout this study. To all my friends, in particular Ali Umran, for the valuable and profitable discussions we have had together to enrich this work, and the people, mentioned or not, who helped me to finish this study I would like to say thank you very much. List Of Contents Abstract I Acknowledgements II List of Contents IV List of Tables XI List of Figure Xin I. Introduction 1 A. Significance of the study 1 B. Aims of the study 5 C. Review of literature 7 D. Study method 10 E. Problems occurring during this study 12 F. Structure of the thesis 15 Endnotes to Chapter One 18 II. General Description Of The United Arab Emirates And The Study Area 19 A. Background of the UAE 19 1. Physical characteristics of the UAE 22 a. Climate 22 b. Topography 23 2. The economy of the UAE 27 3. Social Geography of the UAE 28 a. Population growth 28 b. Major cities in the UAE 30 c. Distribution of people 33 B. The East Coast of the UAE 35 1. Description of the E.C.: boundaries and definition 35 2. Government structure 38 3. The importance of the strategic location of the E.C 41 a. The importance of the E.C. to the UAE 41 b. The E.C. as gateway to the Gulf 43 c. Worldwide importance of the E.C 44 4. Historical background of the E.C 46 5. The Geographical distribution of population in the E.C 48 List Of Contents a. From Khor Kalba to Sikamkam 49 b. From Qurayyah to Zibarah 52 c. From Bidyyah to Dibba al-Husin 52 6. The economic activities of the inhabitants of the E.C 54 7. The expansion of the E.C. towns 54 a. Kalba : 56 b. Fujairah 58 c. Murbih and Qidfi 59 d. Khor Fakkan 62 e. Dibba 64 f. Other towns and villages in the E.C 64 8. The infrastmcture of the E.C 65 Summary 68 Endnotes to Chapter Two 70 in. Pre-Oil Economic Activities In The E.C 74 A. Traditional agriculture; 74 1. Distribution of traditional agriculture 75 2. Irrigation methods: 77 3. The Major agriculture production: 84 4. Livestock 93 5. Marketing of agricultural produce 94 6. Primary tools used in traditional farming: 95 7. Types of farms in the E.C 98 8. Inside organisation of the garden 99 9. Farm land system: 101 10. Farm land taxes 103 11. Pastoralism 104 B. Traditional fishing in the E,C.; 105 1. Fishing trips 105 2. Quantity and quality of fish caught in the E.C 106 3. Method of catching anchovies 107 4. Common methods of fishing in the area: 109 5. Night fishing 112 6. The main types of fishing boats in the area: 112 7. Marketing of fish in the area 113 8. Ownership of fishing boats 114 C. Traditional manufacturing in the E.G.; 115 1. Traditional manufacturing related to farming: 116 2. Traditional manufacturing related to fishing 121 3. Traditional manufacturing activities within the home: 125 4. Other traditional manufacturing industries: 129 a. Tanning 130 D. Other economic activities in the E.G.: 130 List Of Contents yj 1. Supplying of water: 130 2. Building 131 3. Supplying firewood: 132 4. Digging wells 133 5. Other services 133 E. Trading and marketing in the E.G.: 134 1. Trading: 134 a. Trade in the E.C 134 b. Trade with other UAE regions 134 c. Trade within the Gulf countries 136 F. Prospect of oil 137 Summary 138 Endnotes to Chapter Three 140 IV. Current Economic Activities In The East Coast 143 A. Agriculture 143 1. Current distribution of the farm land in the area: 143 2. Irrigation systems in the E.C.: 152 a. Distribution of the various irrigation methods in the E.C. farms 153 b. Advantages and disadvantages of the new irrigation systems 160 c. Comparison of different types of irrigation systems 161 3.