We’re determined to do our part for the world and help to protect the planet. That’s why we’ve launched the Etihad Mangrove Forest. Adopt a mangrove today and help make a difference.
Launched in February 2022, the Etihad Mangrove Forest is focused on biodiversity, wildlife and environmental protection.
It aims to bring our guests into our sustainability story by giving you the opportunity to plant, adopt and discover mangroves’ important ecological role.
Mangroves are a habitat for birds and underwater wildlife; they improve water quality and provide flood protection.
One mangrove tree absorbs circa 12 kg of CO2 in just 12 months and 250kg over its usual lifetime
As an Etihad Guest member, you can adopt a mangrove in the Reward Shop using your Etihad Guest Miles.
For every Extra legroom seat booked, we’ll plant a mangrove on your behalf to help you offset your carbon emissions.
The Etihad Mangrove Forest is located on Jubail Island in Abu Dhabi. By planting mangroves in this large-scale natural forest, we’re able to maximise the absorption of CO2 without having to use additional water or fertiliser – even with the UAE’s harsh climate.
Abu Dhabi is our home, but it’s also home to mangroves. We’re passionate about protecting our home and preserving its rich environment, so, it was a natural choice to establish the Etihad Mangrove Forest.
Plus, mangroves are one of the biggest defences against global warming since they absorb a lot of carbon – up to 10 times more than a tropical forest!
Mangroves also help to protect the coastline and marine life as well as providing a home to millions of sea creatures, animals and birds.
The Etihad Mangrove Forest is a coordinated effort between Etihad, Jubail Island, Eco Matcher, The Storey Group, EMEG and the Environmental Agency of Abu Dhabi. We’re all working together to ensure the proper planting, maintenance and survivability of the mangroves.
We don’t plant and forget – we’re in it for the long run. Because together, the mangroves we plant and care for will increase biodiversity, make our coasts safer and help fight climate change.
Scientific studies have found that mangroves store carbon 2 to 4 times greater than mature tropical forests and contain the highest carbon density of all terrestrial ecosystems.
Our tree planting partner has worked hard to establish that the average amount of CO2 absorbed by a mangrove forest is 12.3kg per tree per year, which equals to 308kg (0.3 tonnes) of CO2 per tree over its lifetime. That’s the same as absorbing the amount of CO2 an onboard guest is responsible for when they travel from Abu Dhabi to London on our fuel-efficient B787-9.
With an average tree grow life of 25 years, a hectare of mature mangrove forest absorbs 840 metric tonnes!
If every guest planted one mangrove for each flight travelled, we would sequester all the CO2 emitted by. This is of course not sustainable, however in the short term before sustainable aviation fuels and other technical solutions are in place it is an incredibly desirable alternative with positive secondary effects for livelihoods and ecosystems.
Details of every tree we plant / adopt are captured using a specially-developed app called TreeCorder, which is used by EcoMatcher’s partner foundations when planting trees. This is a part of our process to ensure that there is full transparency throughout the tree planting process.
With TreeCorder, each tree is recorded with its individual unique photo, GPS location, date of planting, species and even the farmer who planted the tree.
Etihad Airways and EcoMatcher work with foundations specialized in tree planting, which provide farmers with high-quality seedlings to plant on their land.
Your donation finances the growth of the seedlings, their transportation to the farmers and for all their maintenance needs. The farmers who take care of the trees will own them and your funding also allows them to reap the benefits that the trees may offer to their community.
Yes. The foundations that we have partnered with have carefully selected the farmers who will care for the mangrove trees. The farmers – like our partner foundations – have also signed a contractual agreement with EcoMatcher to make sure that they care for them properly. They will also receive regular checkups using EcoMatcher’s digital tree planting maps to make sure that the mangroves are healthy and thriving.
