Eco Harvest Carbon Alliance

Where things stand

The UAE has already done the hardest part

Few countries have grown forests in a hyper-arid climate. The UAE has, at scale. Our role is to help extend that success with less water, using forestry science and AI.

220,000 ha

of planted forest in Abu Dhabi, 12 to 20 million trees

30M+

mangroves planted toward 100 million by 2030

300,000

trees planted by Dubai Municipality in 2025

80%

Abu Dhabi's target reduction in groundwater use for forestry by 2030

Aerial view of a planted desert forest grid in Abu Dhabi

Grow trees in the desert on the least water possible, and prove it.

Technology

What the AI does: three jobs

Live data from the field, read by AI, used by foresters. People stay in charge of every decision.

Survey drone above rows of young Ghaf trees — Drone survey over a young planting block

1. Sees every tree

Drone and satellite imagery. The system counts trees, spots those that need attention and measures growth. One model can review 200,000 trees a day.

2. Decides the water

Learns how each block of trees responds to water, soil salinity and weather, and sets irrigation daily instead of on a fixed timer. Target: 20–40% less water, same survival.

3. Predicts before planting

Which species thrive on which soil and water, answered from data before a tree goes in the ground. Built from the pilot dataset.

Trees in the ground

Sensors & drones

The dataset

AI models

Better decisions

Every tree the UAE plants makes the system smarter.

Science first

Who does what

Forestry science from India's national forestry institute; AI, data and operations from EHCA. UAE research and irrigation partners will be added for Gulf soil and water conditions.

Sanjay Tandon receiving the License Agreement from Dr. Renu Singh, Director, Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, 9 December 2024 — 9 December 2024: Sanjay Tandon, EHCA, and Dr. Renu Singh, Director, FRI Dehradun, at the signing of the License Agreement

FRI, Dehradun

Forestry science. 120+ years of forestry research. Species selection, trial design, nursery methods for desert survival, and scientific validation of results. FRI has licensed EHCA to propagate and supply its improved planting varieties in India under a License Agreement dated 9 December 2024. Extension of the relationship to UAE work has been applied for and is under process.

EHCA

AI and operations. The monitoring and irrigation platform, sensors and drones, day-to-day pilot operations, customers and reporting.

On the record

"The FRI Dehradun on 9.12.24 signed License Agreement for commercial multiplication of released varieties of Melia dubia (Malabar Neem) and Neem with three firms viz. M/s Eco Harvest Carbon Alliance, Kanpur (UP)..."
Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, on X, 9 December 2024

Coverage in News9, 10 December 2024 · FRI's announcement on X

Signing ceremony at the Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, 9 December 2024 — Signing ceremony at FRI Dehradun with the three licensee firms

The plan

A small, measured pilot: 36 months

Every tree, every litre of water and every measurement recorded from day one.

A single drop of water from a drip emitter at the base of a young Ghaf seedling — Water is the central resource and the central measurement

Abu Dhabi, science site

2–4 hectares on an existing farm. Five to six species tested side by side, native first. Recycled water, fully metered.

Dubai, customer site

Under one hectare inside a live greening project. Same sensors, same AI, on trees already being planted.

What it proves

Survival by species. Water per unit of growth. AI accuracy against field measurement. A prediction model for new sites.

No species is promised in advance. We test, measure and let the data choose.

Wood and biomass

Timber as a by-product of greening

The UAE imports around USD 2.5 billion of wood every year. None of it is grown locally. Trees planted for greening, shade and carbon are thinned and replaced over their lifetime, and that wood is not used today.

Stacked logs and wood chips at the edge of a desert plantation — Wood from thinning and replacement, at no extra water cost

Species with wood value

The pilot tests commercial-wood candidates alongside native species, on equal terms. A species is kept only where survival and water use justify it.

No extra water

The trees are planted and watered for greening in any case. Wood and biomass from thinning and replacement come at no additional water cost.

Local buyers

Plywood, MDF, furniture and biomass producers in the UAE currently rely entirely on imports. A traceable local supply, however small, is new.

Greening is the business. Timber is the bonus.