ABU DHABI: Dr. Amna bint Abdullah Al Dahak, Minister of Climate Change and the Environment, said that July 26th marks the International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem, a day aimed at highlighting the immense value of mangroves in safeguarding the planet’s health.

In a statement, Dr. Al Dahak said that mangroves are not just critical to enhancing the biodiversity of our planet, they also act as carbon sinks and play a key role in protecting coastal ecosystems, making them an effective nature-based solution in our fight against climate change. They are a vital component of coastal and marine ecosystems, providing breeding grounds for marine biodiversity, with an estimated 80 percent of the global fish population relying on mangrove forests either directly or indirectly.

She added that mangroves are also natural carbon sinks and offer a unique carbon sequestration system with the potential to store carbon up to 400 percent faster than land-based tropical rainforests. The protection and restoration of mangrove forests are critical to reaching the goals of the Paris Agreement.

The UAE’s mangroves are integral to its climate mitigation strategies and a key resource for achieving the Net Zero by 2050 goal, she highlighted, noting that these plants species, despite offering innumerable benefits to the environment and human populations, are highly vulnerable and are threatened by rising global sea levels, habitat destruction, pollution, and other causes.

Dr. Al Dahak stressed that the mangrove ecosystems of the world need urgent protection and support. Our nation has long championed the conservation, protection, and planting of mangroves within the country and globally.

At COP26, the UAE embarked on a plan to plant 100 million mangroves across the country by 2030, she said. “It is heartening to see the public sector, the private sector and non-governmental organisations across the UAE joining the nation’s mangrove drive and supporting this initiative.”

At COP27, the nation further cemented its commitment to mangroves by launching the Mangrove Alliance for Climate (MAC) in partnership with Indonesia. The aim of the alliance was to scale up, accelerate conservation, restoration, and plantation efforts of mangrove ecosystems for the benefit of communities within the UAE as well as around the world, Dr. Al Dahak stated.

“We recently broke ground to build the Mohamed bin Zayed - Joko Widodo International Mangrove Research Centre (MBZ – Joko Widodo IMRC) in Bali, Indonesia, a joint project undertaken by the UAE and Indonesia. Once open, the centre will be a game changer in mangrove cultivation and restoration globally through research and exchange of knowledge and best practices," she further said.

Dr. Al Dahak concluded, “On this International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem, let us renew our promise and strengthen our efforts to restore and protect these invaluable assets of nature to build a cleaner, greener and more sustainable world.”