Deserts are defined as “waterless, desolate areas of land with little or no vegetation, typically ones covered with sand”. Eighty percent of United Arab Emirates is covered with desert. Still this daunting statistic has not deterred this nation from trying to green its landscape. The tourists landing in UAE regularly get perplexed by the sheet of flowers enveloping the roundabouts. Beneath this beauty lies the constant efforts to keep environment alive. Usually greenery is the blessing which rainfall bestows on a land, but in absence of bountiful rains or rather due to scanty rainfall pattern of this geographical region, it is only innovations which have made it happen.

UAE has been an early adopter of drip irrigation technology. In fact, underneath every green patch one can find the time-set serpentine pipes depositing just the right amount of moisture. Yet forestry and agriculture is not only about water. Soil, that too fertile soil is an important ingredient. The sandy soil presents a unique challenge as even if it rains or is made to rain using the cloud seeding technique, it goes straight down into the sand causing runoff water which actually most of the time causes flooding of valleys. Soil salinity is also a major issue. For handling this issue, special soil management practices have been established for productive cultivation. The native sandy soils are mixed with organic and inorganic amendments and enriched with nutrients for horticulture and agriculture.

Building up food security is considered a priority by UAE government and strides have been made in this direction too. The initial steps in this direction with hydroponics, pisciculture and horticulture have made indigenously grown food available now on large-scale. The crowning glory of this exercise has been the growing of wheat in UAE. Understandably, it is difficult to imagine lush green crop fields in UAE, but it’s precisely this which has been achieved in the Emirate of Sharjah using science, technology and human efforts. The 400 hectares wheat farm at Mleiha has just welcomed its first harvest of approximately 1600tonnes. This AI monitored farm has soil and weather sensors to calibrate the use of water for irrigation and is a template for future such forays. Drone technology is helping to keep a watchful eye on such agricultural fields. Green tech is here to stay in UAE.

The government has also provided incentives to the farmers in form of 50% subsidy on seeds, fertilizers and pesticides, as well as special loans to buy machinery . New technologies like breathable sand and liquid clay are being brought in and used to tide over sandy desert soil problem and create a decentralised rainwater harvesting network. To mitigate the climate change, the reforestation through planting of native sturdy trees like ghaf and acacia is adding to the green cover. Areas like Al Qudra in Dubai, which was an expanse of sand six years back, is lush green now with a whole hub of man-made ponds becoming the habitat for a vast variety of flora and fauna. The Seed Bank and Herbarium in Sharjah works to preserve plant biodiversity in the region and protect endangered plants. Dubai Municipality has added 2.83 million square metres of green areas to the city by planting trees along roads and squares, and Abu Dhabi’s focus on mangroves plantation is helping to further combat desertification.

Combating desertification falls under the Sustainable Development Goal 15 of UNSDGs. UAE government under its UAE 2030 vision is bravely trying to push back the onslaught of desertification. UAE residents are already exclaiming- How green is my valley!