This study focuses on the United Arab Emirates’ relationship with the desert, a crucial element of its geography and heritage. It examines the desert’s role as a cultural symbol, a component of national identity, and a practical element in spatial management. Bialik described the desert as a place of both daunting heritage and essential value, and the UAE faces a similar dilemma: on one hand, the desert served as the cradle of Bedouin settlement and a romantic cultural symbol for locals, a source of national pride and cultural roots. On the other hand, during its rapid development phase, the state distanced itself from the desert and adopted neo-colonial and capitalist approaches introduced by the British. Even in an era of growing environmental awareness, the development ethos in the UAE appears to favor greenery over the desert’s arid expanse.
Over time, a synthesis has emerged between the desert’s symbolic meanings and modernist values. The UAE has increasingly adapted its development to local environmental characteristics, integrating the desert into urban spaces with greater awareness. This process has included preserving Bedouin and agricultural heritage within desert areas, incorporating desert elements in the cityscape—such as the planting of date palms along highways—and fostering access to desert-based recreational activities while emphasizing the desert’s role in Emirati culture and identity.
The study offers an in-depth understanding of the tension between identity and heritage and the drive for development and modernization. To explore this, it draws on environmental perspectives and De-Shalit’s theories on natural space management, alongside Western approaches that view the desert as a landscape requiring control and preservation. Through an analysis of environmental and historical discourse, the study reveals how the desert has transitioned from an indigenous resource to a development hub and how this shift either preserves or distances the “authenticity” of the desert in the nation.
A key question centers on the UAE’s environmental stance, which regards green construction, modern agriculture, tree planting, and the creation of nature reserves and artificial parks as practices that preserve the desert. In contrast, some argue that such activities turn the desert into a curated recreational space disconnected from its original landscapes and atmosphere. Moreover, the rapid pace of urban development may not align with efforts to preserve the desert as part of the daily life of the average citizen.
The insights from this study may contribute to shaping environmental policy in the Emirates and other Gulf states that face similar challenges in determining the desert’s future role in an era of accelerated modernization.
