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Save Ghaf Tree drive launched

ABU DHABI — The ‘Save the Ghaf Tree’ campaign was launched yesterday in the capital by the Al Fahim Group and the Emirates Wildlife Society - World Wide Fund for Nature (EWS-WWF).

The campaign, spanning two months, seeks to promote awareness about the Ghaf among UAE residents, who are also asked to vote for it in order to be declared the National Tree of the UAE.

For this purpose, the Al Fahim Group and the EWS-WWF have jointly opened a web site, www.savetheghaftree.org, where all the information about the tree and the campaign can be found.

Among other things, the web site includes a virtual Ghaf garden and for every 10 trees virtually planted by visitors, the campaign’s organisers will plant a real Ghaf in the desert.

Apart from the online activities, the campaign will focus on sending e-mails, flyers and posters to various organisations to promote the tree.

The Ghaf tree has been growing in the deserts of south-eastern Arabia for thousands of years. It supplied food, medicine, fuel, forage and shelter for human beings and animals. Moreover, the tree plays a vital role in desertification, as it has the ability to reduce sand encroachment on oases.

Majid Al Mansouri, board member of the EWS-WWF, said, “Today, Ghaf trees are being felled all over the region.”