If you live in one of Abu Dhabi’s older neighbourhoods, where trees have existed for decades as silent bystanders to the push-and-pull of daily life, you may have seen shiny metal tags appearing on the trunks of some, announcing their arrival by shimmering in the low sunshine of the winter months. In one area of Mushrif, the tags appeared unannounced overnight. Although, given their relatively discreet nature, they may have been hiding in plain sight for days before the moment of realisation.
The tags are part of a programme overseen by Environment Agency Abu Dhabi, which aims to track 100,000 native trees across the emirate, specifically ghaf, sidr and samar species. They are also physical reminders that cities are living organisms and that nature has grown and changed in parallel with the mutable urban landscape it co-exists with.
The ghaf, which was given the status of the UAE’s “national tree” in 2008, is said to have a life span of more than a century, although some examples in West Asia have prospered for hundreds of years in the desert. Samar trees can be found in the country’s wadis and mountainous areas. Sidr trees offer a safe haven to bees. All three are bound by their hardiness and willingness to prosper on hot days and in water-scarce areas.
The tags themselves are small metal plates identifying the species of the native tree, coding it and providing a warning to those who encroach on the natural heritage of the city’s streets. The legal penalty for harming a protected tree is Dh10,000, about $2,700.
For trees that stand on urban verges, or in the gaps between older buildings, they pose a classic question at the heart of the intersection between preservation and change
For those who see that tariff as too high, there are many examples of how much communities can be hurt by violence against nature and helped by its preservation. Consider the 2023 Sycamore Gap tree felling in England, for instance, which made headlines and united communities in grief and anger against such a wilful act of vandalism. We’ve also witnessed how many people drew comfort and joy from the preservation and protection of a 70-year-old ghaf tree in its original place when construction got under way on the Expo 2020 site in Dubai.
Some of Abu Dhabi’s newly tagged trees might be described as more prosaic examples of those species, but maybe the ordinariness of a few of the sample size is also the point.
It takes hundreds of trees to make a forest, some small and some large. A few of that cluster may be arrestingly beautiful, others provide only a few more pixels in the millions that make up our personal vistas. But all are worth saving, preserving and nurturing.
If the tags promote further inquiry or stimulate deeper engagement with the unnoticed constant facets of daily life, then they will have more than fulfilled their purpose. They also signal community, heritage and a significant commitment to preserving traditions.
For those trees that stand on urban verges, or in the gaps between older buildings, they pose a classic question at the heart of the intersection between preservation and change. Tree surgeons will tell you that prudent maintenance is an important part of long and healthy lives. The now untouchable group of trees of the emirate will have to be managed in the medium and longer term, but that will be a task for the experts, rather than the informal squads of enterprising amateurs, who in the past may sometimes have been partial to injudicious intervention.
It is surely no coincidence that the broader project completes the circle from planting to preservation. The past few years have seen, among others, sidr tree planting programmes in Dubai, samar sapling planting schemes in Ras Al Khaimah and, this month, another ghaf tree planting project in Abu Dhabi. The emirate’s municipality said it planted more than 8,000 ghaf trees last year.
The tree tags arrived in my neighbourhood in the week when President Sheikh Mohamed declared 2025 to be the Year of Community, asking all citizens and residents, “all those who call the UAE home”, to help improve their communities. “Hand in hand, we will work together to strengthen social bonds, foster shared responsibility and unlock potential for inclusive and sustainable growth,” he wrote earlier this week.
The initiative is the latest in a lineage that has included the Years of Zayed, Sustainability, Tolerance, Innovation and Reading, as well as preparations for the country’s 50th anniversary in 2021.
It’s easy to form linkages between the Year of Community and neighbourhood-based tree tagging. My instant reaction to the tags was to be charmed and feel connected to something greater. The tags secure the futures of those trees and ensure they will be an integral part of the communities in which they grow for decades to come.
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WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
Teams
India (playing XI): Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami
South Africa (squad): Faf du Plessis (c), Temba Bavuma, Theunis de Bruyn, Quinton de Kock, Dean Elgar, Zubayr Hamza, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Senuran Muthusamy, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Vernon Philander, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Rudi Second
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
The biog
Title: General Practitioner with a speciality in cardiology
Previous jobs: Worked in well-known hospitals Jaslok and Breach Candy in Mumbai, India
Education: Medical degree from the Government Medical College in Nagpur
How it all began: opened his first clinic in Ajman in 1993
Family: a 90-year-old mother, wife and two daughters
Remembers a time when medicines from India were purchased per kilo
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
Gran Gala del Calcio 2019 winners
Best Player: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Best Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta)
Best Referee: Gianluca Rocchi
Best Goal: Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria vs Napoli)
Best Team: Atalanta
Best XI: Samir Handanovic (Inter); Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Joao Cancelo (Juventus*); Miralem Pjanic (Juventus), Josip Ilicic (Atalanta), Nicolo Barella (Cagliari*); Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Duvan Zapata (Atalanta)
Serie B Best Young Player: Sandro Tonali (Brescia)
Best Women’s Goal: Thaisa (Milan vs Juventus)
Best Women’s Player: Manuela Giugliano (Milan)
Best Women’s XI: Laura Giuliani (Milan); Alia Guagni (Fiorentina), Sara Gama (Juventus), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus), Elisa Bartoli (Roma); Aurora Galli (Juventus), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Valentina Cernoia (Juventus); Valentina Giacinti (Milan), Ilaria Mauro (Fiorentina), Barbara Bonansea (Juventus)
BMW%20M4%20Competition
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If you go
Flight connections to Ulaanbaatar are available through a variety of hubs, including Seoul and Beijing, with airlines including Mongolian Airlines and Korean Air. While some nationalities, such as Americans, don’t need a tourist visa for Mongolia, others, including UAE citizens, can obtain a visa on arrival, while others including UK citizens, need to obtain a visa in advance. Contact the Mongolian Embassy in the UAE for more information.
Nomadic Road offers expedition-style trips to Mongolia in January and August, and other destinations during most other months. Its nine-day August 2020 Mongolia trip will cost from $5,250 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, two nights’ hotel accommodation in Ulaanbaatar, vehicle rental, fuel, third party vehicle liability insurance, the services of a guide and support team, accommodation, food and entrance fees; nomadicroad.com
A fully guided three-day, two-night itinerary at Three Camel Lodge costs from $2,420 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, accommodation, meals and excursions including the Yol Valley and Flaming Cliffs. A return internal flight from Ulaanbaatar to Dalanzadgad costs $300 per person and the flight takes 90 minutes each way; threecamellodge.com
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
'The Sky is Everywhere'
Director:Josephine Decker
Stars:Grace Kaufman, Pico Alexander, Jacques Colimon
Rating:2/5
Brief scores:
Toss: Sindhis, elected to field first
Kerala Knights 103-7 (10 ov)
Parnell 59 not out; Tambe 5-15
Sindhis 104-1 (7.4 ov)
Watson 50 not out, Devcich 49
The Freedom Artist
By Ben Okri (Head of Zeus)
