Get back to nature amongst stunning mangroves…

Sometimes it’s time to put the brakes on the fast-paced life and get back to nature.

A beautiful new mangrove forest opened around April 2021 at the Jebel Ali Wildlife Sanctuary, and whilst you’re not able to visit it just yet, there are plans in place to open it to the public.

For now, you can see it on video for the first time as Dubai Media Office has just released a short clip.

Even just watching it brings us a sense of calm.

The mangrove forest covers 500,000 square metres, with one million mangroves trees set to be planted and will be home to 600 species of flora and fauna.

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P&G’s Dubai Mangrove Forest was launched by Procter & Gamble (P&G) and the Emirates Marine Environmental Group (EMEG). It will comprise coral reefs, mangroves, sea grass beds and a natural beach, and will also be used for animal rescue and species preservation.

There will be 15km of mangroves in the area, plus 6km of wetlands. Naturally, it will attract lots of wildlife, from crabs and oysters to birds and even gazelles. There are plans to have 60 per cent of Dubai’s land under forest over the next few decades.

Other beautiful mangrove sites in the UAE (that you can actually visit) include the Mangrove Beach at Khor Al Yeefrah, Umm Al Quwain, which is approximately a 55-minute drive from Dubai, and the Mangrove Walk in Abu Dhabi, complete with a beautiful boardwalk and plenty of activities.

Mangroves play an important part in the environment of the UAE and beyond, by reducing carbon dioxide in the air, which contributes to positively reducing global warming. Mangroves play host to many different species of birds and marine life.

The Mangrove Forest area will be protected and environmental experts are set to use it to develop a full forest by planting new mangroves and adopt older mangroves to ‘to maximize the future carbon sequestration’. The project comes in line with the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan to double green spaces.

Image: Getty