The Dubai Reefs project has been described as “the world’s largest ocean restoration project” and has been unveiled by URB, a developer of sustainable cities, along the Dubai coast.
URB has previously been involved in designing and building sustainable towns in Yiti, Oman, and Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. URB is known for creating smart, net-zero communities that address the issues of the growing population, urbanization, and the effects of climate change.
With the Dubai Reefs project, URB now has its sights set on the Dubai shore. A variety of residential, hospitality, retail, educational, and research amenities will be available at Dubai Reefs, a sustainable floating community. URB aims to establish Dubai as a global hub for eco-tourism, eco-research, and eco-regeneration through Dubai Reefs.
Baharash Bagherian, CEO of URB, put a strong emphasis on the value of the ocean in sustaining a healthy environment when creating the Dubai Reefs project.
“The health of our cities is intrinsically tied to the health of our oceans,” Bagherian said. “The ocean is the source of life, controlling everything. Given that everything on our planet is connected, a healthy ocean is a healthy city. Our ocean will be entirely different by the end of the century if we don’t take action today.”
The accommodations at Dubai Reefs will be powered by renewable energy sources like solar, hydropower, and wave farms, keeping with Bagherian’s environmental agenda. Unique marine-based eco-tourism experiences are available to Reefs visitors in cutting-edge floating eco-lodges.
A marine institute that seeks to safeguard Dubai’s marine and coastal ecosystem is at the center of the project. Over one billion corals and 100 million mangrove trees will have a natural habitat thanks to a 77 square mile (199 square kilometers) artificial reef. In order to partially counteract the harm done by oil drilling and dredging on Dubai’s coast in earlier decades, these coastal ecosystems are designed to capture and store carbon.
The institute will focus on environmental education and conservation, and it will spearhead a global effort to clean up plastic waste from the oceans so that Dubai’s coastal ecology can serve as a long-term carbon sink. Food security and a greener economy will be made possible by regenerative ocean farming.
Dubai Reefs is anticipated to create over 30,000 jobs within the framework of a green economy in addition to transforming Dubai into an enviable eco-destination.
“We need an entrepreneurial spirit in the planning of coastal cities and the types of infrastructure as well as developments that are linked to the ocean,” said Bagherian. “As an innovative coastal city, Dubai is best positioned to lead such a transformation. Beyond creating a unique resilient destination for ecotourism and marine research, Dubai Reefs aims to become a blueprint for ocean living, while mitigating the impacts of climate change.”