UAQ to root out damaging damas tree
▶ Municipality offers to remove pest for free and gardeners told to avoid it as harm to pipes and drains spreads
Thousands of trees causing a menace in Umm Al Quwain neighbourhoods are to be felled.
Municipality officials in the emirate are offering to remove the dangerous damas trees at no charge as the fast-growing species’ roots cause widespread damage to underground pipes, drains and walls.
Private landscape gardeners typically charge about Dh500 to remove them, often pouring hot oil over their stumps to guarantee they do not survive.
Umm Sultan, 47, a Moroccan mother of four living in a one-storey house in Al Ramla, said roots from nearby damas trees blocked her well.
“My husband planted about 11 trees seven years ago to create shade around the house but he didn’t know that this would happen,” she said.
“They produce a very bad smell, attract insects and caused us allergies so we wanted them removed.
“Roots started blocking our well and came through the ground into the house, so I contacted the municipality to come and remove them.” The damas tree, or Conocarpus lancifolius, is native to coastal areas of Somalia, Djibouti and Yemen.
The species, which can grow up to 18 metres tall, is also found throughout the Horn of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and South Asia.
The tree is particularly popular across the UAE because of its tolerance to heat, drought and salt.
Gardeners and landscapers have planted them as a means to quickly provided shade or a barrier against strong winds.
Talal Suaifan, head of the agricultural department at UAQ Municipality, said there were about 7,000 damas trees growing in the emirate.
Mr Suaifan said the extensive damage they caused should make gardeners and city planners think twice about using them and that alternatives such as sidr trees or the Acacia tortilis were much better.
He said the damas tree could harm other plants around it because its roots spread horizontally and could reach lengths of up to 15 metres.
“Removing a tree can cost more than Dh500 but we’re offering the service for free,” Mr Suaifan said. “We want to spread awareness of the dangers associated with growing damas.
“Uprooting the tree requires heavy machinery and a lot of work because of the length of the roots.”
The owner of three tree nurseries in UAQ said the species was becoming less common because of the problems it caused.
Matthew M, 61, said the tree had been extremely popular through the 1980s but he now sold only about one a month.
“Small Damas trees cost about Dh10 so they’re cheap compared to others and grow fast,” he said. “People planted them around the house to provide privacy and shade.
“They can reach six metres in just two years. We used to sell many in the past but now people are more aware of its disadvantages and choose other species.”
Officials in UAQ said they planned to distribute brochures to residents and advertise the scheme on social media.
Last year, Dubai Municipality received about 20 complaints of damage caused by damas trees being planted near homes.
In 2012, the developer Emaar issued a warning to Dubai communities saying all damas trees should be felled because their roots were blocking drains.
UAQ and Dubai have reported problems with the damas and are felling the troublesome trees