Just beyond Dubai’s skyscrapers and busy streets lies a five-square-mile wetland reserve that is a vital seasonal habitat for migratory birds. Earlier this month, the Dubai Executive Council approved a Dh650 million ($177 million) development plan for the Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary, as the reserve is known. And at the heart of this vision are trees – specifically, mangrove trees.
The sanctuary is already home to thousands of mangrove trees, but it is in need of revival – which the new development plan does in addition to sustainably increasing its coverage area by 60 per cent. That’s not just good news for birds and marine life; it’s a bold bet on nature’s most underrated ally in the fight against climate change.
Countries are beginning to realise the massive untapped value of mangroves. They are nature’s coastal bodyguards, buffering shorelines from storms and cyclones, reducing soil erosion and protecting against rising sea levels. Their tangled roots capture carbon dioxide – up to five times more than tropical rainforests – making them one of the planet’s most powerful carbon sinks.
Mangroves are also fish nurseries, bird sanctuaries and water filters. In the UAE, they provide critical breeding grounds for commercially important fish species such as mullet and sea bream. Ras Al Khor itself hosts more than 450 species of wildlife, including large flocks of beautiful flamingos that rely on the mangroves and surrounding wetlands.
For coastal communities in the Global South, mangroves offer food security, income and natural protection all at once. Villages protected by mangroves have suffered significantly fewer casualties and less damage during tsunamis and cyclones compared to those without them. These trees provide us with more benefits per square metre than any other ecosystem.
The UAE sits at the crossroads of Asia and Africa, which together host over 60 per cent of the world’s remaining mangroves. This geographic position makes the Emirates a natural hub for mangrove conservation, knowledge exchange and restoration expertise. The government has already committed to planting 100 million mangroves by 2030, and this Ras Al Khor initiative is a major down payment on that promise.
The country has become a hub for the wider industry associated with promoting the cultivation and spread of mangroves around the world. Large-scale, carbon-financed projects are being developed in the UAE and rolled out across Africa and Asia. The company is developing restoration and conservation projects on a coastal area similar in size to Luxembourg. NGOs like Emirates Nature-WWF and international players such as the IUCN are also active or headquartered in the UAE. The end result is a cluster that promotes knowledge-sharing and, ultimately, contributes to the fight against climate change in a niche, but nonetheless really impactful way.
A single hectare of healthy mangroves can deliver the equivalent of nearly $33,000 per year in ecosystem services. This includes coastal protection, fisheries support, carbon sequestration and tourism benefits. Scale that up to the tens of thousands of hectares possible in the UAE and regionally, and you could be looking at a multi-billion-dollar nature economy.
Mangroves also open the door to high-integrity carbon credits. As demand for nature-based carbon removal projects continues to rise, countries that can supply verified, high-quality blue carbon credits will stand to benefit. The UAE, with its ecosystem restoration commitments and home-grown blue carbon project developers, is perfectly placed to play a leading role in this marketplace.
Historically, restoring mangroves has been slow, messy, and expensive. But that’s changing fast. AI is now being used to map mangrove health, monitor growth and predict where restoration will succeed. Satellite imagery paired with machine learning can track seedling survival and carbon storage in real time. Drones powered by AI are already being deployed in the UAE to plant and monitor mangroves at scale.
AI-powered tools are being used to map mangrove health, monitor growth and design community-led restoration projects that have the highest probability of success – saving time, money and effort. This innovation recently enabled the planting of 10 million mangroves at multiple sites in Mozambique in just three years.
The UAE, with its tech-forward mindset and AI ambitions, could become a global hub for cutting edge nature-based solutions. With the right data infrastructure and policy support, mangrove forest restoration could become faster, cheaper and more transparent than ever.
The Ras Al Khor announcement is a powerful moment for the UAE’s mangrove ecosystem, and also a reminder to keep pushing to scale up. Indeed, the UAE has an opportunity to not only conserve existing mangrove forests but to lead a global mangrove renaissance. That means doubling down on science-based restoration using AI and satellite tech and continuing to draw investment in knowledge, training and project development.
If done right, mangroves can become one of the UAE’s most powerful climate assets. And that is the case not only for their value in biodiversity, but for coastal resilience, climate jobs and long-term economic stability. What’s happening in the wetlands on the outskirts of Dubai provides a glimpse into an exciting future for the UAE and mangroves globally.
