THE GHAF PROJECT
Around the world, climate change – and the wildfires, desertification and deforestation it causes – is destroying the habitats of millions of humans and animals. And it’s a vicious circle: the ongoing loss of trees and vegetation reduces nature’s ability to remove harmful carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, worsening the effect and accelerating the process.
After seeing the devastating impact of wildfires around the world, we began to think of ways we could help. Our first solution combines drone technology with one of the UAE's natural treasures.
THE SOLUTION
Introducing the Ghaf Tree Project. An ambitious initiative to re-green barren eco-systems by planting millions of Ghaf trees – a species native to the UAE.
The national tree of the UAE, the Ghaf (Prosopis cineraria) is a hardy, drought-tolerant tree that improves the quality of both the soil in which it’s planted, and the air around it. With roots growing up to eighty metres, each Ghaf absorbs up to 34.65kg of harmful carbon dioxide a day, later releasing it as oxygen.
They also provide an important habitat and food source for a wide range of animals and birds, including the desert eagle owl and the long-legged buzzard.
THE CHALLENGE
Planting Ghaf is a labour-intensive process. The UAE’s desert climate, with summer temperatures often topping 45°C, means that manual work is best avoided at all but the coolest parts of the day. Given the extent of planting required to make a difference to the environment, this presents a seemingly insurmountable problem.
Our answer? Using highly advanced AI-driven drone technology to remove the ‘human element’ from the planting process, and deliver a ‘Made in the UAE’ solution that will see up to one million Ghaf trees planted across the UAE, radically improving its natural environment and eco-system.
HOW IT WORKS
1
2
This information is beamed to a cloud-based AI that uses the data to calculate the best spot for each individual seed to be dropped, creating a highly-accurate map of potential planting locations.
3
GPS allows the drones to pinpoint each location exactly, giving each seed the greatest possible chance of success.
4
The seeds are dropped at the pre-determined locations, and the GPS coordinates of each is saved for future reference.
5
Monthly drone inspections are conducted to check the tree’s growth, and the condition of the soil and local environment.
FOR THE GOOD OF ALL
This is just one example of how we at CAFU are putting our technological expertise to work for the good of our community.
To keep up-to-date with the progress of the Ghaf Tree Project – and to hear about the other innovative ideas we’ve got in the pipeline – please check back here often. After all, we’re in this together.
OUR PARTNERS
