Endangered tree to become national symbol

Dubai: Residents have just six days left to vote for the ghaf tree to be a national symbol as part of the Save the Ghaf Tree Campaign.

Almost 1,000 virtual ghaf trees have been planted online and the endangered tree has received 839 votes to make it the UAE's national tree.

For every 10 virtual saplings planted, an actual tree will be planted in the desert. The campaign launched a few months ago in the UAE by the Emirates Wildlife Society and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) aiming to make the tree a national symbol and to raise more awareness about it. Residents are urged to plant a virtual sapling in order to repopulate the desert with this tree at www.savetheghaftree.org.

So far 951 virtual saplings have been planted. Rashmi De Roy from WWF in the UAE said the organisation was very pleased that the campaign, which ends on February 28, had been well received. "The more we have the better of course but we are very pleased. We did not have a set target but with the number of votes received we will be planting at least 100 trees," said De Roy.

Sometimes referred to as the umbrella tree, the Ghaf tree needs to be protected as the number of trees has dropped due to land clearance for development projects, over grazing, and excessive water extraction.

The saplings will be planted in Abu Dhabi in an area where they will be looked after.