Dubai: A natural refuge can be found along the shoreline of Jebel Ali. Dubai's newest mangrove forest was built to help conserve and house rare marine species.
Dubai Media Office recently shared a tweet giving everyone an inside look at the Mangrove Forest, which is still not yet open to the public.
Take a look here:
Currently, the Dubai Mangrove Forest has 500 fully developed mangroves along its coastline. They want to plant one million seedlings this year, with the possibility of increasing to three million saplings in the next four to five years.
The area is 15 square kilometers in size, with 6 square kilometers of marsh. Mangroves along the saltwater shore not only protect the land from erosion, but they also help to promote biodiversity.
Mangroves thrive in sabkha environments (mudflat or salt flat) settings in the UAE. They protect crabs, marine reptiles, and birds from predators. Algae, barnacles, oysters, sponges, and bryozoans also live there, while shrimps and mud lobsters live on the muddy bottoms and mangrove crabs eat the mangrove leaves.
Nature can help humans in resolving up to one-third of climate change. The Dubai Mangrove Forest's goal is to assist in the balance of Dubai's cosmopolitan influence, which is in line with the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan's goal of expanding green areas aimed at improving the population's well-being. The Dubai Mangrove Forest will be used for more than just forestation; it will also be used for animal rescue and species protection.
The sanctuary is a UN protected reserve, included in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance.
Gulf News also had a sneak peek inside the Dubai Mangrove Forest. Take a look here:
