Al Ain: Al Ain Zoo has unveiled its green vegetation cover based on the best practices in agriculture and irrigation. It is a critical factor in maintaining ecosystem health by improving air quality and lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
The Zoo’s vegetation cover includes approximately 500 species of local and non-native plants distributed across various areas of the Zoo.
One of the Zoo’s major efforts is growing plants that can flourish in the challenging UAE climate, which has extreme heat and limited rainfall.
The Zoo employs advanced irrigation and treatment methods and supplements animal diets with plant resources. Additionally, they actively replant and propagate vegetation across different sections of the Zoo.
The Al Ain Zoo’s horticulture team is actively engaged in several projects aimed at promoting community awareness about conserving natural resources and fostering sustainability.
They achieve this by sharing information through the Zoo’s social media channels, engaging with students during their visits, and taking part in external exhibitions and conferences.
The Zoo also focuses on the importance of these natural resources and their contributions to supplying seeds of local plants, such as palm trees, and shares the knowledge and expertise of its specialists with environmental bodies to preserve and propagate endangered plants, as per the statement.
These initiatives of Al Ain Zoo come following the Year of Sustainability under the slogan “Today for Tomorrow,” to reaffirm its commitment to apply the highest sustainability standards as one of its noble values. The Year of Sustainability was launched by President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.