Everything you need to know about the mangroves: The MENA region — particularly the GCC — are investing heavily in boosting their capacity of nature-based carbon sinks, funneling investments toward increasing mangrove plantations to offset carbon emissions and bolster biodiversity efforts. Hailed as an effective carbon mitigation solution to the climate crisis by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, and Qatar are jumping on the bandwagon with mangrove planting initiatives — but how does it work and why is it important?

Nature’s carbon sink: Mangroves — which have 60 different species — only grow along waterlogged coastlines near the equator due to their vulnerability to cold weather and can sequester 10x more carbon than other forests in the sediment, roots, and branches surrounding them. In our neck of the woods, two mangrove species — Avicennia marina and Asiatic mangrove — grow along the Red Sea coast.

Restoration efforts: The rapid development of the shrimp aquaculture industry usurped hundreds of thousands of mangrove acres to make room for artificial ponds, and pollution from fertilizers and pesticides runoff and improper disposal of wastes contributed to the loss of over a quarter of mangrove forests in the past five decades. In our region, direct human activities including coastal developments, land conversion, and sea-level rise on the back of climate change all impacted the health of our mangrove population. In a bid to dial back the damage and right the ship, a USD 4 bn protection package was announced during COP27 under the Sharm El Sheikh Adaptation Agenda (pdf) due to the coastal trees being considered biodiversity superstars based on their ability to host some 341 threatened species.

Mangroves are worth investing in: Mangroves could generate USD 1 tn in net benefit for climate adaptation by 2030 if conservation efforts are stepped up fast, WWF notes. Carbon mitigation aside, mangrove forests also serve as a first line of defense against flooding and erosion, providing more than USD 80 bn in avoided losses annually and protecting some 18 mn people from the effects of climate change, the organization adds.

The UAE is betting big on the coastal trees: The Emirates plans to plant 100 mn mangroves as part of its Roadmap for National Carbon Sequestration. The project — carried out by the country’s Climate Change and Environment Ministry in collaboration with the private sector and international NGOs — will increase the number of mangroves to 100 mn from 30 mn in a bid to create a carbon sink to sequester carbon. UAE-based business conglomerate Essa Al Ghurair also inked an agreement with the UAE’s Climate Change and Environment Ministry to plant between 500k-1 mn mangrove tree seedlings in the next decade.

Saudi Arabia is following suit: The Saudi Arabian government has an ambitious target to plant some 10 bn mangrove trees under its USD 186 bn Saudi and Middle East Green Initiatives — which it launched in 2022. Last week, Red Sea Global, a global multi-project developer fully owned by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund the Public Investment Fund, opened its first dedicated mangrove nursery and plans to plant 50 mn mangrove trees by 2030.

The rest of the region is also onboard: Oman’s Environment Authority is planting mangrove seeds in the North Batinah, South Batinah, South Sharqiyah, and Al Wusta governorates as part of its 2 mn mangroves forestation target by mid-August. Similarly, the Qatari government has been earmarking capital since 2019 to up local mangrove plantation capacity, and recorded last year an increase in the surface area of mangrove swamps to 14k sqm from 9k sqm. Over in Bahrain, the government is looking to partner with the UN Habitat program and banking company HSBC on a two-year rehabilitation and restoration aimed at quadrupling mangrove plantations in the country by 2035 from the current 0.8 square kilometers. Further afield, Iraq is partnering with the United Nations on a program that will see it plant 4 mn mangroves in the Khor Al-Zubair mudflats region — near major oil fields — in a bid to push down its emissions and alleviate the effects of climate change. In 2020, Egypt launched a mangrove reforestation program in a bid to restore 210 hectares of forest cover.