UAE to plant 10 mangrove bushes for each COP28 customer

Ten mangrove bushes can be planted in Abu Dhabi for every customer attending the COP28 summit later this yr.

The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi stated these bushes can be planted utilizing drone know-how within the final quarter of this yr.

Targeted areas embody Marawah Marine Biosphere Reserve, Al Mirfa City and Jubail Island the place pure mangroves exist already.

The initiative, which coincides with the Year of Sustainability, helps the UAE’s National Net Zero 2050 initiative and the nation’s purpose of planting 100 million mangroves by 2030.

It additionally goals to scale back the environmental footprint of COP28 guests, on the fee of absorbing one tonne of carbon for each 5,000 mangrove bushes.

The United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP28, which runs at Expo City Dubai from November 30 to December 12, is anticipated to draw over 70,000 members.

“Nature-based solutions, including those involving mangroves, have the potential to supply over a third of our climate mitigation needs and build resilience to the effects of climate change. I welcome this EAD-led initiative which both raises awareness and takes action to restore and protect mangroves in the UAE,” stated Razan Al Mubarak, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP28.

Under the patronage of Hamdan bin Zayed, the Ghars Al Emarat Initiative, launched by @EADTweets as a part of the Abu Dhabi Climate Change Strategy, will plant 10 mangrove bushes for every COP28 UAE participant to offset their carbon footprint and obtain local weather neutrality. pic.twitter.com/TE5mu4Az9S

— مكتب أبوظبي الإعلامي (@ADMediaOffice) September 5, 2023

Mangroves are among the many best coastal ecosystems on the planet. They assist mitigate the consequences of local weather change, as they take in greenhouse gases and might retailer and sequester carbon.

Abu Dhabi hosts 85 per cent of the UAE’s mangroves and as a part of its technique, the EAD is working to review and protect these essential coastal habitats.

Thanks to mangrove rehabilitation tasks, Abu Dhabi has witnessed a rise within the measurement of its mangrove areas.

Efforts to revive mangroves within the UAE date again to the Seventies, when the late Sheikh Zayed launched intensive afforestation programmes to plant mangroves on the nation’s seashores.