Shorouk Awad (Dubai)
The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment confirmed that mangroves cover 204 square kilometers of the country’s area during the year 2022, of which 176 square kilometers are in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, while the remaining 28 square kilometers are distributed over the Northern Emirates, which confirms the state’s keenness on the sustainability of mangroves by focusing on On cultivating and preserving them from wrong human behavior, in addition to considering them among the plants subject to natural reserves.
In statements to Al-Ittihad, the ministry stated that this result came within the latest statistics issued last year, pointing to the continuation of work on the national carbon sequestration project, which aims to plant 100 million mangroves by 2030, at the state level, as part of its efforts to promote development and conservation. Mangroves and their rehabilitation, in addition to relying on nature-based solutions to meet environmental challenges, and to enhance efforts to capture carbon dioxide in order to mitigate the effects of climate change and enhance adaptation capabilities.
The Ministry indicated that it had recently launched a road map for the implementation of the One Million Tree Planting Project, as the map was based on four activities, which are evaluating mangrove planting sites, producing mangrove seeds and seedlings, a program for planting seedlings and seeds in selected sites, and monitoring and following up on planted mangroves and carbon rates that will enable From its isolation, referring to its work within an integrated work system to implement the activities of the National Carbon Sequestration Project through cooperation with government and private sector institutions and international non-governmental organizations, in order to ensure the achievement of the ambitious target of the project by 2030.
The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment stated that most of the mangrove forests in the UAE are considered to be in good health and density, as studies have shown that there is a significant increase in the area and spread of mangrove forests between 3 to 4 times greater than it was in the 1970s in the country. Pointing out that the state’s efforts to preserve and sustain the development of habitats and their cultural and civilizational heritage have positively affected the spread of mangrove forests in its lands.
The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment affirmed its continuation in developing programs and initiatives that would visit the green areas on the coasts of the marine environment, as it coordinates with the competent authorities in the country to rehabilitate the affected areas and ensure the sustainability of the species, through cultivation or declaring mangrove areas as natural reserves.
The ministry attributed the reasons for the state’s focus on mangroves, to the fact that they are considered a habitat for many marine species, and also represent a site for hatching and feeding important fish, in addition to being working to protect beaches from coastal erosion, noting that the mangrove forests that cover thousands of hectares of land along the line Coastal areas in the United Arab Emirates also form an integral part of the ecosystems that provide society with multiple services and goods through the provision of biological resources and recreational uses, as they are considered the cornerstone of the natural and cultural heritage of the citizens of the country, and mangroves also play a role in contributing to adaptation to climate change. By storing blue carbon.
special care
The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment pointed out that the UAE laws have paid special attention to preserving mangroves and other plant resources that the UAE enjoys, and the best evidence of that is Federal Law 24 of 1999 regarding the protection and development of the environment, which focused in one of its clauses on preventing the cutting of trees. Crimea in the country.
#Ministry #Climate #Change #Environment #Mangroves #cover #square #kilometers #countrys #area