Would you believe that between 35-50% of the world’s mangrove forests were lost between 1980-2000? The Rainforest Trust makes that claim.
It is worth knowing that mangrove forests provide ideal habitats for fish, crustaceans, and other organisms seeking food and shelter.
Dubai Golf identified the significance of conserving the Emirati coastline and established a partnership with Emirates Marine Environmental Group to engage in the planting of ecologically advantageous mangroves and the release of critically endangered Hawksbill Turtle hatchlings.
“Protecting mangroves and restoring damaged ones also helps combat climate change through carbon sequestration as they are some of the most carbon-rich ecosystems on the planet, storing on average 1,000 tonnes of carbon per hectare in their biomass and underlying soils.”
Led by the Emirates Marine Environmental Group, team members from Dubai Golf, Topgolf Dubai, Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club, Emirates Golf Club, and Jumeirah Golf Estates gathered at the Jebel Ali Marine Reserve to plant new mangroves.
The reserve is used as a base to develop and organize educational camps for schools, community members, and corporate groups.
These camps aim to increase awareness and understanding of environmental issues.
The Jebel Ali Marine Reserve is home to over 1.5 million mangrove plants, of which over 300,000 were planted in 2023 alone.
The UAE has consistently made great strides in conservation and sustainability, to plant over 100 million new mangroves along the coastline by 2040.
The event at the Jebel Ali Sanctuary kicked off with presentations on the importance of mangroves from EMEG President Major Ali and EMEG Marine Director Morea Tomasi.
A demonstration of how to properly plant the mangroves and a safety briefing took place before seven representatives from Dubai Golf clubs began planting mangroves.
In addition to mangrove planting, one of the EMEG’s other key projects is monitoring and preserving the Hawksbill Turtle species.
The beaches at the reserve are protected nesting places that allow the turtles to breed without the risk of their nests being invaded by foxes.
Once safely hatched, the EMEG team releases the baby turtles into the wild. As part of the mangrove planting event, the Dubai Golf team also helped release the hatchlings into the sea.
The mangrove initiative and release of turtle hatchlings are linked to Dubai Golf’s wider sustainability and climate change awareness plan, which includes projects such as implementing more solar panels and eradicating plastic goods.