OQ Green Initiative: Campaign to plant 50000 Mangroves in North Batinah begins

Shinas: The Environment Authority, in cooperation with the OQ Group, today carried out a campaign to plant 50,000 mangrove seedlings as part of the OQ Green Initiative in Khor Shinas in the North Al Batinah Governorate, on an area estimated at 2.5 hectares, with wide community participation.

Eng. Amani Bint Abdullah Al-Shibliya, Environmental Inspector at the Environment Agency, said that mangrove environments are among the most important ecosystems that characterize the marine environment in the Sultanate of Oman, as they are distributed in coastal areas (the creeks) extending from the North Al Batinah Governorate to the Dhofar Governorate.

She added: The project to rehabilitate mangrove forests was implemented in 2001 by establishing several nurseries in the governorates of Muscat, South Al Sharqiyah, and Dhofar. Since the beginning of the project, approximately 820,000 mangrove seedlings have been planted in 32 locations, in addition to planting 3.5 million seeds during 2022 and 2023.

For his part, Omar bin Muhammad Al-Abri, General Manager of Corporate Identity and Work Culture in the Refineries and Petrochemical Industries Sector at the OQ Group, explained that planting 50,000 mangrove trees comes as part of the OQ Green Initiative, which aims to increase the green area and achieve environmental balance in its business and investments, and to support the efforts that the Environment Agency and other government agencies are making efforts to cleanse the environment, preserve natural resources, and create the desired balance between development and the environment.

He added that OQ attaches great importance to aspects that achieve environmental sustainability and works with the relevant government agencies to promote all initiatives and programs aimed at this regard. The group has contributed to financing the planting of half a million trees in cooperation with the Ministry of Agricultural Wealth, Fisheries and Water Resources and the Environment Agency.

As part of the initiative to plant ten million trees, in addition to financing many initiatives aimed at preserving nature and protecting the environment. The campaign witnessed the planting of mangrove seedlings in various locations in Khor Shinas. A number of governmental and private agencies and members of the community participated in the planting.