Abu Dhabi Environmental Agency (EAD), the Middle East’s leading environmental regulator, has planted 1 million mangrove seeds using drones.
This is the first time that mangroves have been planted on a large scale using ecological principles –enabled by drones.
The UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment’s goal to plant 100 million mangroves by 2030 is supported by the Abu Dhabi Mangrove Initiative, which was established two years ago.
The company aims to become a global hub for research and innovation, focusing on mangrove conservation.
Mangroves play an important role in mitigating climate change. It can lock away large quantities of carbon and stop it from entering the atmosphere.
Drone planting has very little of an environmental impact because it eliminates the need for labour and sapling transportation. Also, it saves costs compared to the traditional mangrove planting method and facilitates access to difficult and distant places.
After the project, there was a rise in the number of mangroves in Abu Dhabi (35 per cent). Over the past 10 years, the firm has worked with key stakeholders to plant more than 15 million mangroves along Abu Dhabi’s coast.
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