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DEWA supports biodiversity and restoration of mangrove forests in cooperation with DECCA · DEWA Podcasts

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  Okay, let's get into this deep dive. Today we're
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  looking at something pretty interesting. It's
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  how these major infrastructure providers are
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  stepping up to tackle biodiversity loss. We're
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  focusing on a massive conservation initiative
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  in the UAE. Exactly. And the mission for us is
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  to really unpack the strategic scale of this
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  whole effort by looking at the core facts. So
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  let's start with the title because it's, well,
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  it's quite specific. It is. The full title is
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  Dubai Electricity and Water Authority Supports
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  Biodiversity and Restoration of Mangrove Forests
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  in Cooperation with Dubai Environment and Climate
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  Change Authority. That's a mouthful. But it does
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  immediately frame this as a serious strategic
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  commitment. It connects a major utility, Dubai
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  Electricity and Water Authority, directly with
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  critical ecological work. Right. So where do
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  we start? Let's get into the most recent data
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  point that caught our eye. Okay. So the sources
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  point out that Dubai Electricity and Water Authority,
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  working with the Dubai Environment and Climate
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  Change Authority, recently planted 600 new mangrove
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  trees. And where exactly did this happen? This
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  was at the Jebel Ali Marine Sanctuary. But what's
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  really fascinating here is the community buy
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  -in and just the efficiency of it all. What do
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  you mean? Well, for that one planting, you had
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  239 volunteers, and together they contributed
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  a combined 478 hours of service. Wait, hold on.
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  478 hours just for that one batch of 600 trees?
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  That's right. It speaks to a really high -impact,
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  very localized volunteer drive. That's a serious
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  mobilization effort. Mm. So when we zoom out
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  from that one event, what does the bigger picture
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  look like? What are the overall project numbers?
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  It gets even larger. If you look at the whole
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  period between February 2023 and December 2025,
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  the organization has planted a cumulative 13
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  ,950 mangrove trees at that sanctuary. 13 ,950.
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  So this isn't just a one -off event. It's a sustained
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  large -scale restoration project. Absolutely.
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  And who is doing all the planting? You'd need
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  a lot of boots on the ground for that many trees.
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  You would. And the participant base is... Really
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  comprehensive. About 1 ,900 people have been
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  involved so far. Yes. It includes Dubai Electricity
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  and Water Authority employees, their families,
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  staff from the utilities subsidiaries, and even
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  students from the Dubai Electricity and Water
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  Authority Academy. So it's an exercise in civic
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  engagement just as much as it is about conservation.
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  That's a perfect way to put it. Which brings
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  us to the strategic mandate, right? Yeah. Why
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  is a utility dedicating so many resources to
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  coastal ecology? This is where we need to look
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  at the leadership's vision. Exactly. This is
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  where you see how this provides critical nature
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  -based solutions. Mangroves are vital for carbon
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  sequestration and, crucially, they reinforce
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  coastal resilience. That protects valuable infrastructure,
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  the kind managed by Dubai Electricity and Water
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  Authority. So there's a direct link. A very direct
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  link. And this commitment was made crystal clear
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  in the official statement. by His Excellency
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  Saeed Mohammed Altair, the managing director
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  and CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority.
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  He said, In line with the Plant the Emirates
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  National Program, launched by His Highness Sheikh
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  Mohammed bin Rasht al Maktoum, vice president
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  and prime minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai,
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  and the national initiative to plant 100 million
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  mangrove trees in the UAE by 2030, we are committed
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  to enhancing biodiversity by expanding green
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  spaces throughout the country. We encourage community
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  members to embrace agriculture and afforestation,
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  making them an integral part of their daily lives.
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  As part of our social responsibility, we continue
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  to collaborate with our strategic partners to
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  protect coastal ecosystems and support ecological
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  habitats. We are committed to preserving local
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  trees, particularly main mangroves, by restoring
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  their forests, ensuring their sustainability,
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  and implementing nature -based solutions to address
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  climate change. Wow. Okay. That quote really
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  connects the project directly to that huge national
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  program to plant 100 million trees by 2030. It
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  provides the full strategic context. It's about
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  building a sustainable future, not just hitting
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  one target. And I guess that buy -in is reflected
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  in the feedback from the volunteers. It is. The
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  sources say participants commended Dubai Electricity
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  and Water Authority for enabling them to make
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  a tangible, positive impact on both terrestrial
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  and marine habitats. So providing that organized
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  opportunity for people to get involved is absolutely
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  key. It turns those big strategic goals into
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  local action. Right. So what does this all mean
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  for you, the listener? Here's a final provocative
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  thought to consider. These corporate -led, volunteer
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  -driven projects, you know, the ones focused
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  on local species like mangroves, they serve as
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  a critical nature -based solution for a global
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  challenge climate change. A very real one. We
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  just heard that nearly 500 volunteer hours were
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  spent on one small piece of this initiative.
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  When you think about these massive global climate
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  targets, how much value do you place on that
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  single volunteer hour? The individual person's
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  time spent contributing to coastal protection
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  and carbon sequestration. Something to think
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  about.