In its efforts to adapt to the effects of climate change, the Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture has created a number of integrated plans aimed at implementing The Kingdom of Bahrain’s commitment to achieve zero neutrality by the year 2060, a goal that was announced in the Glasgow Summit in November 2022 by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Prime Minister. The announcement detailed a chain of initiatives that aimed to remove carbon dioxide mainly through quadrupling the number of mangrove trees, implementing support initiatives to increase the number of trees planted in government projects and major industrial companies, and developing policies that support both afforestation and individual participation in the afforestation process.
With the aim of implementing initiatives and programs targeting the increase of Mangrove trees in Bahrain, the nation-wide plans for mangrove farming have successfully resulted in establishing several agricultural nurseries including the nursery recently inaugurated by His Excellency, Eng. Wael Bin Nasser Al Mubarak, The Minister of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture. Said nurseries aim to produce thousands of mangrove trees which will then be used to rehabilitate a number of geographical areas. This will be done through cleaning waterways, pruning deteriorated trees, and rehabilitating some agricultural areas on the coasts and natural reserves such as Tubli Bay, Ras Sanad, Dohat Arad Reserve, and other important sites.
Mangrove trees possess a great ability to absorb carbon dioxide 4 to 5 times the ability of other trees. They also represent an important bio-habitat for crustaceans, marine organisms, and birds of all kinds. That is why the Ministry targets to increase this type of trees specifically because of its important environmental return.
To achieve its goals, the Ministry has begun procedures to establish a group of specialized nurseries for the purpose of growing mangroves. It has also created a team of related specialists along with obtaining the help of regional and local experts.