Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) and Dubai Municipality jointly organised a Mangrove Tree Planting initiative recently at Jebel Ali Wetland Sanctuary to mark the UAE’s Golden Jubilee and support sustainability efforts in line with the UAE’s Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative.

The Mangrove Tree Planting initiative took place as part of the corporate social and environmental responsibility programme in line with the UAE’s ambition to expand its mangrove cover by planting 100 million mangroves by 2030. This would see an increase of 70 million mangroves on the 30 million saline-tolerant trees by the 2030 commitment originally declared as part of the second Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement.  The new target was confirmed in November 2021 further to the announcement by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change that the UAE will host the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28), taking place in 2023.

The Mangrove Tree Planting event was hosted in the heart of the Jebel Ali Wetland Sanctuary, a spectacular 2,000-hectare reserve, which was added to the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance in 2018. The coastal and marine wetland comprises areas of coral reefs, mangroves, shallow lagoons, seagrass beds, oyster beds and sandy shorelines, which maintain a healthy and diverse wetland habitat that provides shelter for over 500 marine species.

The Mangrove Tree Planting initiative supports ongoing sustainable development strategies undertaken by the Department of Economy and Tourism and Dubai Municipality to combat climate change, and preserve and protect natural bio-diversities and ecosystems, whilst strengthening Dubai’s position as a sustainable destination.

The initiative follows the recent announcement that the UAE plans to invest over AED600 billion as part of the UAE’s efforts to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.