Dubai (CNN) — Off the coast of Dubai, a property developer is planning to create up to 500,000 square meters of coral reef.
It is using a technique known as “fragmentation,” where pieces of coral are cut with a small electric saw, allowing each coral to potentially regenerate hundreds of times.
The pieces of coral will be then stored in water tanks, monitored and nursed by a team of marine biologists until they grow enough to recreate a reef.
“The Coral Institute will hold and protect the genetic stock of corals … around the Arabian Gulf,” Josef Kleindienst, the chairman of Kleindienst Group, tells CNN.
A 2018 study found that 73% of corals in the UAE have been wiped out by bleaching, largely due to climate change and human activity.
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