Death In The Desert How Dubai Let A Million Trees Perish

A vaunted tree planting project has failed after developers thwarted attempts to halt desertification

- Richa Syal

It all began so beautifully, with the ruler of Dubai photographed planting the first tree of his ambitious environmental initiative, as smiling officials applauded.

In 2010, the One Million Trees initiative was announced by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the vice -president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai. The aim was to increase green areas in Dubai through afforestation while contributing to overall beautification of the city.

There would be a nursery for the young trees on land, contributed by the Dubai Police Academy, and a company called Green Land partnered with a government-backed environmental organisation to develop the nursery and begin planting the trees.

“This is our attempt to stop desertification, and to add to the aesthetic appeal of Dubai,” said Lt Gen Dhahi Khalfan, the deputy head of Dubai Police and General Security, in 2010.

At its peak, the tree nursery spanned more than 130,000 sq metres, irrigated using recycled wastewater and desalinated water. The once empty land had more than 30 types of trees chosen to withstand desert conditions, including olives, palms and chefs, the national tree of the UAE. But then the stark realities of hyper-development in Dubai began to overpower the project.

Dubai Holding, an investment holding company that is the personal corporate portfolio of Sheikh Mohammed, announced plans for the Mall of the World, conceived as the world’s largest shopping centre, a 4.4 m sq metre project costing more than 25bn dirhams ($7bn).