Drone disperses mangrove seeds. SUPPLIED

EAD plants one million mangrove seeds using drones

The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) has successfully planted one million mangrove seeds using drones as part of the first phase of a drone mangrove plantation project supporting the Abu Dhabi Mangrove Initiative. The Abu Dhabi Mangrove Initiative was announced in February 2021 during His Royal Highness Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge’s landmark visit to the UAE, where he met with His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Office, at Jubail Mangrove Park. This initiative, which EAD implements with a series of local, regional, and international partners, supports Abu Dhabi’s ambitious plans to establish the emirate as a global hub for research and innovation in support of the conservation of mangroves and focuses on the importance of mangroves for carbon sequestration to combat climate change. The initiative supports the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment’s target, announced during COP26 in Glasgow in 2021, which unveiled a nationwide plan to plant 100 million mangroves by 2030. Following this, the Abu Dhabi Mangrove Initiative was launched in February of this year. EAD is the first organization to utilize and plant mangroves at large-scale operating ecological principles enhanced by drones. The planting of one million seeds follows a successful initial phase implemented by EAD in partnership with ENGIE, the global energy company, and Distant Imagery, a drone engineering solutions company. The Agency plans to evolve its methodologies and technology further. Data has shown that the growth of the seed in-situ using drones has a success rate that remains stable over three years. In Abu Dhabi, plantation programs have helped increase the range of mangroves. The increase of mangrove areas in Abu Dhabi was more than 35 percent and is the result of plantation and restoration programs and protection laws and regulations that ensure the sustainability of environmental ecosystems. In the past ten years, EAD and its key stakeholders, from both the government and private sector, have planted more than 15 million mangroves along the coast of Abu Dhabi. BKM/ Expat Media
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