The world's largest coastal regeneration project

The Dubai Mangroves project will cover Dubai's coastal area with giant mangrove forests to prevent erosion, flooding and reduce CO2 emissions .

Dubai-based Urb plans to transform the area with the world's largest coastal regeneration project. This ambitious development plan includes planting more than 100 million mangrove trees, helping to protect the city from erosion and rising sea levels, New Atlas reported on May 2.

The Dubai Mangroves project will spread across more than 72km of coastline. (Photo: Urb).

Urb is not a strange name because the company is also behind a huge air-conditioned cycling track project and the largest coral reef regeneration project. The company's new project will span more than 72km. According to Urb, the heart of the initiative is the mangrove tree, famous for its exceptional ability to absorb CO2 _, prevent coastal erosion, support marine life and ensure food security. With the ability to absorb about 12.3kg CO ₂ /tree, the entire project can collect 1.23 million tons of CO ₂ per year, equivalent to emissions from more than 260,000 gasoline-powered passenger vehicles on the road. In addition to reducing CO2 _and providing natural coastal protection, the giant mangroves will act as nurseries for marine life, increasing fish stocks and filtering water with their roots.

Planting such a large number of trees will take many years. To speed up project completion, Urb proposed using AI-powered drones and satellite photography to monitor and promote the growth of mangrove trees.

Besides the main focus on mangrove forests , Dubai Mangroves also owns many small beaches, social spaces and walkways. The project also includes a visitor education center, botanical museum and nature research center.

Currently, the Dubai Mangroves project is in the design phase and Urb has selected 6 pilot studies that can be conducted to demonstrate feasibility. This will be an important project to help Dubai cope with the effects of climate change.