Mangroves Are More Than Trees, They Are Water Infrastructure
By H.E. Abdulla Balalaa, UAE Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Energy and Sustainability
What if some of our most effective water infrastructure is already growing quietly along our coastlines?
After many decades of loss, mangroves and coastal wetlands are showing signs of incredible recovery. The State of the World's Mangroves report, drawing on four decades of mapping from 1985 to 2025, identifies a turning point - global mangrove cover is increasing overall, with 65% of new gains sprouting in places where mangroves have not previously grown.
Ecosystems such as mangroves, seagrasses, and salt marshes play an essential role in providing nutrients as well as breeding grounds for a wide range of species, from birds to phytoplankton to shellfish. Growing where land and sea meet, they also protect coastlines from storms, erosion, and flooding, as well as improve water quality, store carbon, and create habitat for fish and other wildlife. Research has shown that these coastal wetlands reduce the impact of floods for almost half a million people and avoid approximately $2 billion in damages every year.
Beyond the vital role they play in everything from biodiversity conservation to coastline protection, mangroves are emblematic of the symbiotic relationship between water and land. When one element is adversely impacted, the other falls out of balance. While amazing progress has been made in accelerating mangrove conservation, we still have much to accomplish. Mangrove losses continue even as new forests are developing, while rising sea levels and polluted waters are adversely impacting growth.
To continue protecting mangroves, we must treat water and land as a living interconnected system, deserving the same ambition we bring to every frontier we pursue. Achieving this requires a stronger global recognition of the interconnected nature between SDG 6 – access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene – as well as SDG 14 – ensuring the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development. One is not possible without the other.
Home to 20% of the world’s mangroves, Indonesia knows this interconnected reality very well. So does the United Arab Emirates, where mangroves have been treasured since Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan started the country's first mangrove plantation project along the Abu Dhabi coast in 1966. At COP26, we also unveiled a pledge to plant 100 million mangrove trees by 2030, accelerating the deployment of nature-based solutions to expand carbon sinks and prevent coastal erosion.
Our geographies may be different, but both countries understand that mangrove and coastal wetlands conservation is not just a nature issue; it is very much a water issue.
The UAE and Indonesia have helped turn this shared recognition into action. Together, our countries spearheaded the Mangrove Alliance for Climate, launched at COP27 to accelerate mangrove conservation and restoration of mangrove ecosystems. A core focus of the alliance is to boost global understanding of the relationship between water quality and mangrove restoration, as well as how mangroves can reduce coastal flooding. In Bali, the Mohamed bin Zayed–Joko Widodo International Mangrove Research Centre is creating a platform for accelerating research, innovation, and knowledge exchange. Supported by a US$10 million commitment from the UAE, the centre is intended to advance mangrove cultivation, coastal habitats, biodiversity, and international collaboration.
These partnerships are accelerating water resilience and mangrove conservation through science, policy, and investment together around a shared objective, while creating opportunities for knowledge to be exchanged across borders. It also reflects an important principle: international cooperation is most effective when it builds on local capabilities and responds to the realities of the communities and ecosystems it serves.
More importantly, we are showcasing the vital importance of linking SDG6 and SDG14, and the positive impact that can be created when we rally investments, expertise, and advanced technologies around nature-based solutions.
The opportunity now, for both our countries and the wider international community, is to more closely connect efforts to boost water resilience and mangrove conservation. A desalination plant can secure supply. A restored mangrove belt can reduce coastal risk, support biodiversity, and improve the health of the wider water system. Smarter networks can cut waste. Healthy watersheds and wetlands can strengthen natural storage and resilience. Each intervention becomes more powerful when designed as part of the same ecosystem.
This is also exactly the type of bird’s eye view we want to bring to discussions at the 2026 UN Water Conference, which will take place in Abu Dhabi in December. The Conference presents an opportunity to translate these principles into practical cooperation, stronger policy frameworks, and investment in solutions that protect both water resources and the natural systems that sustain them. Success should be measured not simply by how much water we produce or move, but by whether the ecosystems and communities around it are stronger.
No country can build that future alone. We need governments to create enabling policy, businesses to invest and innovate, scientists to deepen the evidence, and communities and young people to shape solutions that work on the ground. Above all, we need to make cooperation practical: shared research, open knowledge, investable projects, and partnerships that move proven ideas across borders without ignoring local context.
Our experiences with mangroves across the UAE and Indonesia show that adversity can become a catalyst for progress. The next chapter of water resilience will be written by bringing infrastructure and nature together, and by countries choosing to learn from one another before the next crisis forces them to.
