Cultivation of more than 4 million coral pieces in the waters of Abu Dhabi

His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the representative of the ruler in the Al Dhafra region, Chairman of the Environment Authority – Abu Dhabi, directed the expansion of the authority’s project to rehabilitate coral reefs in Abu Dhabi by cultivating more than four million coral colonies in the emirate’s waters by 2030, covering an area estimated at more than 900 hectares, which makes it the largest project to rehabilitate coral rehabilitation in the world.

The authority had succeeded during the last period by reaching the goal of rehabilitating a million coral colonies in eight different locations in the emirate, with a total area of ​​more than 300 hectares, which increased the area of ​​coral reefs in Abu Dhabi, and the areas that were rehabilitated have witnessed a success rate exceeding 95%.

The rehabilitated sites began to show signs of recovery, as life began to form around it until the increase in the vital mass of fish and biological diversity reached 50%, and unlike the nature of coral reefs, coral reefs continued in nurseries and all regions that were rehabilitated in growth even during the summer, which indicates their high resistance and enduring the difficult climatic conditions.

Rehabilitation rehabilitation

The scope of the rehabilitation project of coral rehabilitation includes the development of coral reef nurseries that help alleviate the negative impact of natural and human pressures on coral reefs arising from coastal development and climate change, and this includes the direct threat to high sea water temperatures.

The first phase of the project included assessing the natural habitats of the sculpture, determining the heat -resistant coral reef sites, and choosing nurseries sites that guarantee a protected growth environment according to the standards of water quality, depths and temperatures.

This stage also included the establishment of a number of underwater incubators, to care for the coral reefs that were collected from specific areas with productivity of one million colonies of coral.

The second stage included harvesting the stock of custody custody of the coral reefs, transferring it to various locations to rehabilitate it, and restoring the integrated coral regime, and the third stage witnesses the completion of the harvest of the custody stock, and the restoration of sites by transferring coral to the deteriorating areas.

His Excellency Dr. Sheikha Salem Al Dhaheri, Secretary -General of the Environment Authority – Abu Dhabi, said that the successful results achieved by the project to rehabilitate coral reefs so far by planting a million coral colonies so far enhances the commitment of the authority to continue the program of rehabilitation of coral reefs and expanding its scope.

Preserving the marine environment

She explained that this strategic initiative aims to increase its scope through the rehabilitation of more than four million coral colonies by 2030, which confirms the commitment of the authority to preserve the marine environment and restore ecosystems, and the project is consistent with the Abu Dhabi vision and the goals of biological diversity flexibility.

She added that despite the harsh environmental conditions of coral reefs in the Persian Gulf, they are able to adapt and provide habitats for a variety of marine species in the region, as they have a high degree of flexibility that enabled them to be adaptive and steadfast in the most heat seas, which distinguishes them from other types of coral reefs in the world.

Her Excellency affirmed that the project, which is one of the natural solutions to address the effects of climate change and high temperatures at the sea floor will increase the total area of ​​coral reefs in the emirate and rehabilitate the affected areas to preserve this important ecosystem, which represents our most diverse marine wixis.

She pointed to the committee to continue its efforts to monitor coral reefs and rehabilitate them to enhance marine environmental systems in the emirate and contribute to mitigating the effects of climate change, which supports the goals of the climate change strategy of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

For his part, Ahmed Al -Hashemi, Executive Director of the Landy and Biological Diversity Sector in the Authority, said: The authority seeks through this project to increase the flexibility of coral reefs in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi to face climate change by choosing the types of coral most tolerated heat.

Coral reefs are also essential to support the local stock of fish, as they are a home to fish species at different stages of their life, which helps to enhance their stock.