"sunrise" It redefines development in the sensitive natural environments of Kalba

Sharjah, June 4, 2017 – Over the past years, the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) has translated the vision of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, which he established to protect the environment from urban expansion. In the coastal city of Kalba, this trend has turned into tourism and environmental projects that attempt to reformulate the relationship between hospitality and nature. The Kingfisher Lodge, affiliated with the Sharjah Hospitality Group, has emerged as one of the clearest of these models.

The lodge is located within the Mangrove Reserve on the eastern coast of the Emirate of Sharjah, within a natural environment linked to the surrounding coastal ecosystem. It includes 40 luxury tents carefully distributed within the site to provide a stay experience that balances comfort and harmony with nature.

The project was developed based on comprehensive environmental impact assessment studies that formed the basis for all planning and implementation stages and determined the locations of the units, lighting levels and movement patterns within the site to ensure reducing any potential impact on the surrounding environment and maintaining its balance.

This was reflected in the adopted architectural solutions, as the accommodation units were designed high above the ground to maintain the movement of sand, reduce pressure on the soil, facilitate plant growth, and not affect wildlife, in addition to the use of light materials that reduce direct interference with the site, while local plants present within the natural environment itself were preserved.

The experience at the Kingfisher Lodge is not limited to accommodation only, but extends to direct interaction with the surrounding environment through activities that depend on calm, observation, and understanding the natural rhythm of the place, such as canoeing among the mangroves, exploring waterways, and observing birds and wildlife.

Crabs stand out as one of the most present creatures in the coastal landscape of Kalba, as they spread in large numbers on the sand during the hours of sunrise and sunset before gradually returning to their burrows with the arrival of night in a regular, natural movement linked to temperatures and tides. These creatures play an important role in aerating the sandy soil and recycling organic materials within the coastal ecosystem, while the lodge allows visitors to observe this scene within an experience based on silent viewing and respect for nature without interfering with it.

The project was developed in coordination with the Environment and Natural Reserves Authority in Sharjah, ensuring its compatibility with the requirements for protecting sensitive environmental systems and confirming that preserving the environment was not a subsequent result of development, but rather the foundation from which it started.

The city of Kalba stands out as a different model within the UAE, where development is not measured by the size of what is built, but rather by the project’s ability to work within the limits of nature.

It extends to the city of Kalba, with mangrove forests extending along the sea, and narrow waterways are formed between the trees. Nature appears as if it still maintains its first rhythm within an integrated coastal ecosystem that embraces a wide diversity of wild and marine life, from rare and migratory birds that rely on the mangrove as a food and rest stop during their long journeys, to deer that move in the surrounding natural areas, all the way to sea turtles and the rich marine life that is linked to this ecosystem extending along the coast.

The current nesting areas for sea turtles in Kalba are located within the scope of the reserve affiliated with the Environment and Natural Reserves Authority in Sharjah, near the center of Al Qurum, where these environments are subject to careful environmental management and control that ensures the protection of sensitive nesting sites and the preservation of their natural tranquility.

These areas are characterized by an almost complete decrease in the levels of light pollution, which provides safe and appropriate conditions for turtles during the seasons when they arrive at the beach to lay their eggs. While limited sightings of sea turtles were recorded near the vicinity of the “Kingfisher Lodge” during previous periods, nesting activity today is mainly concentrated within the areas of the more stable and protected natural reserve, within the broader coastal ecosystem in Kalba.

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