UAE, Indonesia unveil Mangrove Alliance for Climate at COP27

UAE, Indonesia unveil Mangrove Alliance for Climate at COP27

SHARM AL SHEIKH: Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, Minister of Climate Change and the Environment, on Tuesday announced the launch of the Mangrove Alliance for Climate (MAC). Led by the UAE and Indonesia, the initiative seeks to scale up and accelerate the conservation and restoration of mangrove ecosystems for the benefit of communities worldwide. The announcement was made at the 27th UN Climate Change Conference (COP27), in Egypt. Five other countries — India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Japan, and Spain — have joined the Alliance. MAC seeks to raise awareness about the role of mangroves as a nature-based climate change solution, and, through its members, will work towards expanding and rehabilitating mangrove forests globally. Mangrove forests are among the most productive and ecologically important ecosystems on earth. They offer significant climate change mitigation and adaptation co-benefits, as they store carbon up to 400 per cent faster than land-based tropical rainforests, protect coasts from rising sea levels, erosion, and storm surges, and provide breeding grounds for marine biodiversity. Around 80 percent of the global fish population depend on healthy mangrove ecosystems. Mariam Almheiri said: “Increasing reliance on nature-based solutions is an integral element of the UAE’s climate action on the domestic as well