00:00A wildlife sanctuary along the coastline of Jabal Ali has become the latest mangrove forest
00:07in Dubai that will help protect and host endangered marine species.
00:12Hundreds of saplings were planted at Dubai Mangrove Forest located at the Jabal Ali Wildlife
00:17Sanctuary on Monday afternoon.
00:20The nature reserve, situated near the Dubai-Abu Dhabi border, has a total land area of 15
00:26km, including 6 km of wetland.
00:29Mangroves which grow along the salty coastline not only protect the area against erosion,
00:34but are also vital in promoting biodiversity.
00:37The aim of the Dubai Mangrove Forest is to help balance out Dubai's cosmopolitan impact
00:41in agreement with the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan, which aims to expand green spaces focused
00:48on enhancing the population's well-being.
00:51So you see about the mangrove, mangrove is a local species and we call it, you know,
00:56Sina Marina.
00:57This species is special for, you know, in the Gulf.
01:00And it's because, you know, we have heat, and we have salt water, and this species is,
01:05you know, always grown very well here.
01:08We start long time really to plant this.
01:11We have in Abu Dhabi, we have in Dubai, in Sharjah.
01:14And why we planting this mangrove?
01:17Because the mangrove takes CO2 five times than any plant, which is good, you know, for
01:23global warming.
01:24And it's good also, you know, for many species.
01:29You know, always the wetland is having, you know, many kind of bear and also having shrimp.
01:38It's all growing well under this mangrove.
01:41The mangrove also is good for the crabs, the oyster.
01:46And it's amazing to see them growing, you know, very well in this area.
01:51And also, you know, the gazelle, they come to take the salt from the mangrove.
01:56If you see the root, this is the only plant where the roots come up, not going down.
02:01And why they coming up?
02:02To take the water, salt water, and make fresh water.
02:05And it's amazing really, you know, we love the mangrove.
02:09And now we are doing a big project.
02:12You can take your own mangrove and, you know, we can make a network.
02:17You can see it in your telephone.
02:19And also, you can see how much you reduce CO2 every day.
02:23It's amazing.
02:24And for the children, it's good.
02:25And they can chat with their tree, you know, why this tree, what's going.
02:30It's really very interesting, you know, program.
02:39NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
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