Dubai Municipality - Environment Department
The Environment Department of Dubai Municipality (DM-ED) is the competent regulatory authority responsible for the protection and management of the environment in the Emirate of Dubai, and overseeing, managing, and minimizing the environmental impacts associated with the economic growth and anthropogenic activities. The Department is involved in various strategic projects intended to achieve a sustainable development throughout the Emirate. These are performed through five core sections:
- Environmental Planning and Studies Section
- Coastal Zone and Waterways Management Section
- Natural Resources Protection Section
- Environmental Control Section
- Environmental Awareness Section
The Coastal Zone & Waterways Management Section (CWMS) is part of the Environment Department which is under the Environment, Health and Safety Control Sector of the Dubai Municipality. The CWMS oversees the sustainable development and the utilization of Dubai coastal and marine environment through the formulation and implementation of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) plans and procedures within the scope of responsibilities of Dubai Municipality. The section contributes significantly to the decision-making, understanding, analysis and study of coastal phenomena aimed at achieving a sustainable coastal development.
The CWMS manages and reviews the coastal and marine engineering projects conducted and implemented in Dubai’s coastal zone. This extends to:
- Monitoring and maintenance of past and ongoing projects.
- Reviewing and evaluating the outputs from all the technical and environmental studies for coastal, marine and waterways projects being implemented in the Emirate.
- The issuance of Permits and No-Objection Certificates for all the engineering works and the projects in the coastal area.
On a strategic level, the CWMS has the primary responsibility to make sure that the Municipality possesses the scientific expertise, knowledge (i.e., data) and analysis resources (i.e., modeling tools) needed for a sustainable coastal management.