In the mountainous enclave of Hatta, a new partnership between honeybee research centre Hatta Honey and a property firm aims to get landscapes buzzing.
The initiative, called Yalla Beena! Preserving the Pollinators of the UAE, brings together Amwaj Development, Green Gardenia Landscaping and the One Hive Group. They have launched a project to cultivate pollinator-friendly plants.
“This isn’t about branding,” says Meriem Hammal, a beekeeper and business development manager at One Hive. “It’s about rebuilding ecosystems that urbanisation has pushed to the brink. Pollinators aren’t optional. They’re essential to life.”
Globally, pollinator numbers have plummeted, with climate change, pesticide use and habitat loss driving colony collapses at unprecedented rates. In the UAE, which has recently seen record-breaking temperatures, the impact is particularly stark.
“Last April was one of the wettest on record. This year, it’s the hottest. Bees can’t adapt that quickly,” says Hammal. “They get disoriented. Colonies collapse. One day they’re thriving, the next, the hive is empty.”
Integrating bee-friendly flora
The Yalla Beena! project – its name a playful twist on the Arabic for “Let’s go!” and “bee” – began this year when three hives Apis mellifera bees were adopted. The hives, each home to about 60,000 bees, are located at the Hatta Honey Bee Discovery Centre, where they support local flora.
What sets this project apart is its integration into the development process. Green Gardenia is redesigning urban landscapes using melliferous plants – which are rich in nectar and pollen – tailored to native pollinators.
“Too often, developers choose landscaping for aesthetic value only,” says Hammal. “But not all flowers feed bees. We’re designing spaces that look beautiful and function ecologically.”
Aida Al Shehabi, chief operating officer at Amwaj Development, says the move reflects the firm's broader vision to create communities that are not only intelligently designed, but also environmentally friendly. “Through strategic collaborations like this one, we are proving that real estate development and ecological stewardship can – and must – go hand in hand.”
Bees thrive with the right resources
The project reflects a growing shift in the property sector’s approach to sustainability. Long criticised for greenwashing and monoculture planting, some developers are beginning to reframe biodiversity as not just a branding tool, but a business imperative.
“There’s definitely a trend,” says Hammal. “We’ve had interest from hotels, schools and now real estate. But we’re selective. We don’t want to be a tick box. This has to be real.”
One Hive’s work spans field research, queen bee breeding, swarm rescue and mentorship programmes. The group also runs school visits and public training.
As climate change is causing more extreme weather events globally, bees – and the crops they support – face mounting stress. “They’re foraging earlier or later than expected, flowers are blooming at the wrong times, and rain now damages more than it helps,” says Hammal. “If we don’t act, we’ll lose them. And if we lose them, we lose our food.”
The stakes, she says, are existential. “Bees pollinate 75 to 80 per cent of our fruit and vegetables. It’s not about honey. It’s about food security. It’s about survival.”
UAE developers balancing nature with design
Elsewhere in the UAE, developers are starting to respond to the issue.
The Sustainable City in Dubai was an early adopter of integrating pollinators into community plans. In 2018, 250 beehives were bought under the My Hive programme to provide residents with organic honey and raise awareness of bees' important ecological role.
This year, renowned conservationist Jane Goodall opened a bee sanctuary named after her in Expo City Dubai. It is a haven to more than 30,000 of the insects.
Arada’s Masaar community in Sharjah is planting 50,000 trees. Aldar’s The Wilds project promotes rewilding principles in suburban Dubai.
But for Hammal, the benchmark remains integrity. “The bees can tell if you’re faking it,” she laughs. “They either thrive or they leave.”
In Hatta, the hives hum with quiet urgency. Summer is coming and with it, a harsh test of survival. But for now, the bees are working – pollinating the mountain blooms, educating visiting schoolchildren and, perhaps, rewriting the blueprint for sustainable development in the desert.
As Hammal puts it: “We’re not here to save the bees. We’re here to let the bees save us.”
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand
UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
MIDWAY
Produced: Lionsgate Films, Shanghai Ryui Entertainment, Street Light Entertainment
Directed: Roland Emmerich
Cast: Ed Skrein, Woody Harrelson, Dennis Quaid, Aaron Eckhart, Luke Evans, Nick Jonas, Mandy Moore, Darren Criss
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
THE DEALS
Hamilton $60m x 2 = $120m
Vettel $45m x 2 = $90m
Ricciardo $35m x 2 = $70m
Verstappen $55m x 3 = $165m
Leclerc $20m x 2 = $40m
TOTAL $485m
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Gender equality in the workplace still 200 years away
It will take centuries to achieve gender parity in workplaces around the globe, according to a December report from the World Economic Forum.
The WEF study said there had been some improvements in wage equality in 2018 compared to 2017, when the global gender gap widened for the first time in a decade.
But it warned that these were offset by declining representation of women in politics, coupled with greater inequality in their access to health and education.
At current rates, the global gender gap across a range of areas will not close for another 108 years, while it is expected to take 202 years to close the workplace gap, WEF found.
The Geneva-based organisation's annual report tracked disparities between the sexes in 149 countries across four areas: education, health, economic opportunity and political empowerment.
After years of advances in education, health and political representation, women registered setbacks in all three areas this year, WEF said.
Only in the area of economic opportunity did the gender gap narrow somewhat, although there is not much to celebrate, with the global wage gap narrowing to nearly 51 per cent.
And the number of women in leadership roles has risen to 34 per cent globally, WEF said.
At the same time, the report showed there are now proportionately fewer women than men participating in the workforce, suggesting that automation is having a disproportionate impact on jobs traditionally performed by women.
And women are significantly under-represented in growing areas of employment that require science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills, WEF said.
* Agence France Presse
In Praise of Zayed
A thousand grains of Sand whirl in the sky
To mark the journey of one passer-by
If then a Cavalcade disturbs the scene,
Shall such grains sing before they start to fly?
What man of Honour, and to Honour bred
Will fear to go wherever Truth has led?
For though a Thousand urge him to retreat
He'll laugh, until such counsellors have fled.
Stands always One, defiant and alone
Against the Many, when all Hope has flown.
Then comes the Test; and only then the time
Of reckoning what each can call his own.
History will not forget: that one small Seed
Sufficed to tip the Scales in time of need.
More than a debt, the Emirates owe to Zayed
Their very Souls, from outside influence freed.
No praise from Roderic can increase his Fame.
Steadfastness was the Essence of his name.
The changing years grow Gardens in the Sand
And build new Roads to Sand which stays the same.
But Hearts are not rebuilt, nor Seed resown.
What was, remains, essentially Alone.
Until the Golden Messenger, all-wise,
Calls out: "Come now, my Friend!" - and All is known
- Roderic Fenwick Owen
Managing the separation process
- Choose your nursery carefully in the first place
- Relax – and hopefully your child will follow suit
- Inform the staff in advance of your child’s likes and dislikes.
- If you need some extra time to talk to the teachers, make an appointment a few days in advance, rather than attempting to chat on your child’s first day
- The longer you stay, the more upset your child will become. As difficult as it is, walk away. Say a proper goodbye and reassure your child that you will be back
- Be patient. Your child might love it one day and hate it the next
- Stick at it. Don’t give up after the first day or week. It takes time for children to settle into a new routine.And, finally, don’t feel guilty.
How to help
Call the hotline on 0502955999 or send "thenational" to the following numbers:
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