Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Office Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Prince William of the UK discussed their work on globally impactful sustainability initiatives.
Sheikh Khaled met Prince William at Jubail Mangrove Park in Abu Dhabi.
The two were briefed on Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi’s (EAD’s) ongoing work to protect the environment and enhance biodiversity and the Abu Dhabi Mangrove Initiative.
The initiative marks Prince William’s visit, aiming to establish the emirate as a leading global center for research and innovation on mangrove conservation and resilience.
The initiative will be implemented by EAD and has formed its first partnership with conservation charity the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) – of which Queen Elizabeth II is patron.
It will provide a platform for innovation in mangrove research, climate change mitigation, and community engagement.
It will also see a state-of-the-art mangrove nursery established in Abu Dhabi as a research, learning, and outreach center.
The initiative will enable the mass scaling of mangrove recovery as a key nature-based solution to biodiversity and climate crises through research and innovation.
These areas will provide sources of connection to nature, carbon stores, havens for biodiversity and sustainable incomes for local communities.
The partners will also build a joint program of research support on the assessment of blue carbon storage in different regional ecosystems and support the translation of science into policy practice.
It includes collaboration on developing standardized assessment methods across habitats (mangroves, reefs, seagrasses) that allows comparison of datasets.
The Abu Dhabi Mangrove Initiative’s efforts to enhance mangrove resilience include developing cutting edge genetic and planting methods to breed resilient strains.
ZSL will support these endeavors by field testing different approaches.
Using the Abu Dhabi Mangrove Initiative as the center, ZSL will work with nurseries developed within regions and foster the direct exchange of expertize between centers to build knowledge and expertise.
The program will also develop outreach, training, and advocacy for mangrove restoration in local contexts and global networks.