Lecture: Mapping Abu Dhabi’s Habitats by Richard Flemmings

VENUE:  Salon 1, Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi Hotel and Villas, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi  

LECTURE SUMMARY: In early 2013, Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi commissioned a project to produce a habitat map of the entire Emirate. The goal was to produce a highly detailed record of the entire landscape as a baseline to work from for future environmental planning. Using Very High Resolution satellite imagery the entire Abu Dhabi Emirate was mapped at 1:10,000 scale, classifying the land and sea into 42 terrestrial and 13 marine habitats. The map, which is now complete, was ground breaking in its magnitude and level of detail; the methods that were used are usually only deployed for small scale Environmental Impact Assessment studies. This map is the first of its kind in the world to use these techniques over such a large area.

This presentation will explore how this highly detailed habitat  map can be used to inform environmental decision making in years to come, as well as briefly explaining how the map was created, using a mixture of disciplines and techniques, combining classic cartographic principles with cutting-edge satellite processing technologies and local ecological expertise. A demonstration of the final map will be given, and how this can be accessed by the general public through the Environment Agency’s website.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Richard Flemmings is the General Manager of Proteus, a company who specialise in using innovative map making techniques, primarily using satellite imagery. He moved from the UK to Abu Dhabi in 2013 to lead the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi habitat mapping project. Richard has a degree in Cartography and a MSc in Geographical Information Science. He has 14 years’ experience in surveying and map making. Richard has worked in offshore survey in the Indian Ocean and Australia, and was a camera operator in survey aircraft mapping several countries in Africa and Europe. His passion for map making and discovering new landscapes and environments has led to him becoming a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (FRGS), and achieving Chartered Geographer status (CGeog).

Richard sits on the ENHG committee and is responsible for coordinating corporate sponsorship for the group.