DRONES FIRE NEW LIFE INTO MANGROVE BEDS TO BUILD UP COASTAL DEFENCES
▶ Pilot seeding scheme in Umm Al Quwain set for widespread expansion
A major project is under way to replenish mangrove forests by planting seeds along the UAE’s coastlines using drones, a senior minister said.
Flying low and firing mangrove seeds into the water, the eco-friendly craft may become a common sight by next year.
Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, said the drone-powered reforestation project would help to protect UAE shores from rising sea levels while boosting fish stocks.
“The ministry is working on a number of initiatives, including the planting of mangroves via drones,” Dr Al Zeyoudi told The National.
“We recently launched a pilot phase in Umm Al Quwain that aims to restore a natural ecosystem that is beneficial to wildlife, environment and local population.
“If successful we will roll it out across the country by the end of this year or early next.
“Mangroves reduce almost 10 times the amount of CO2 emissions in comparison with on-land trees. As well as this, they help to purify the water and provide safe areas for fish and other marine life to live and grow.”
As part of the initiative, mapping drones would help to assess the quality of the ground. Once collected, the data would be used to analyse the best places to plant.
There are several key threats to mangroves, including urban expansion, limited fresh water resources and pollution.
Dr Al Zeyoudi said the need to restore, replenish and grow more of these coastal shrubs was vital to rebuilding the UAE’s ecosystem.
In the Emirates, mangrove coverage varies. The latest data from the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi, which uses satellites to map the mangrove beds, put their area at about 15,500 hectares. That figure is believed to have doubled over the past three decades as a result of planting projects.
Some of the key species inhabiting the country’s mangroves include the greater flamingo, the western reef heron and the Kalba collared kingfisher.
Recently the ministry for the first time seeded more than six million local plant species using drones.
“We managed to spread 6,250,000 seeds of local plants and shrubs, from the ghaf tree to samar plant, in just eight days,” Dr Al Zeyoudi said.
“We did it during the rainy season so we could capitalise on the water falling during that period.
“On average we planted about 800,000 seeds per day using about three to four drones on a constant cycle.”
Compared with manual plantating methods, he said this technique proved more efficient, quicker and helped the team cover a wider area.
The UAE government is one of the first to introduce drone-planting projects on a large scale and it has already contributed to a global goal to plant billions of trees to help tackle climate change.
“The project was carried out in a number of emirates including Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah and Abu Dhabi,” he said.
“The more than six million seeds planted could help absorb more than 300 tonnes of CO2 per year.”