Drones plant mangroves in the UAE
The Abu Dhabi Environment Agency (EAD) has used drones to plant almost one million mangrove seeds in the Al Dhafra region. Mangroves are known to contribute significantly to the fight against carbon dioxide and climate change.
The UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment had earlier set a nationwide target of planting 100 million mangrove seeds by 2030. The use of drones simplifies the planting process.
In particular, they eliminate the need for physical labour and transportation of seedlings and maintenance of mangrove nurseries. Thus, the overall cost of planting mangrove trees, including in remote and inaccessible areas, is reduced.
An unmanned aerial vehicle has been designed and engineered to drop seedlings from the air, monitor mangrove growth, map their growing environment and produce three-dimensional images of the forests.
Mangrove plantations were a personal passion of the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founder of the UAE. It was the UAE’s first president who started planting them on the coasts of the islands and the mainland.
In the spring of 2022, Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates, invited passengers to take over the Etihad Mangrove Forest.
On Jubail Island, environmentally-conscious passengers can ‘adopt’ a mangrove tree. The cost of planting one tree is just US$5, but even a small donation is a contribution to the great cause of reducing the carbon footprint.
Customers receive a unique code and can follow the ‘adopted’ trees and the development of the evergreen forest as a whole on the mobile app. The virtual access package is available for 10 years. Parents can give the mangrove trees names.
A mangrove forest is a group of shrubs and trees that grow in coastal saltwater or brackish water. Mangroves do not need irrigation so they help the UAE to conserve water resources as well.
A special species native to the Gulf region is called Sena Marina. The mangrove forest absorbs five times more carbon dioxide than other plants and is suitable for combating global warming.
Source: Arabian Business
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