Visa and Emirates Nature-WWF launch Shu’a project to advance Food Innovation and tackle Biodiversity Crisis

United Arab Emirates, 23rd October 2024: Visa, a world leader in digital payments, has expanded its partnership with environment charity Emirates Nature-WWF to explore innovative solutions in the Year of Sustainability. The partnership promotes nature as a business and economic opportunity, engaging rural communities around food innovation, sustainable farming practices, and the production of sustainable products from the Shu'a tree. Building on earlier efforts to plant Shu’a trees in collaboration with Visa employees and local communities, this initiative aims to incentivize the cultivation of Shu’a trees at commercial scale.

Worldwide, biodiversity is facing an unprecedented decline due to human activities. WWF’s Living Planet Report 2024 reports a 73% decline in wildlife populations in just over 50 years. Land degradation and habitat loss are major drivers of this crisis. Locally, the Hajar Mountains in the eastern UAE have been particularly impacted by overgrazing, quarrying, and construction, leading to local extinctions and habitat fragmentation.

Visa and Emirates Nature-WWF are pursuing the feasibility of cultivating native Shu’a trees to address some of these environmental challenges while empowering local farming communities with opportunities to diversify their crops and enhance their livelihoods. Shu’a, or Arabian Moringa, thrives in the UAE's mountains, enhancing soil quality, preventing erosion, and supporting pollinators, which boosts biodiversity and carbon absorption. Its fast growth and low water needs make it ideal for sustainable cultivation. Shu’a seeds yield oil suitable for cosmetics and cooking, opening opportunities for local entrepreneurship. Its nutrient-rich leaves and tubers also support the UAE’s National Food Security Strategy 2051 by contributing to local food production and reducing reliance on imports.

The project aligns with Visa's goal of supporting small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and the ecosystems they operate within by empowering local farming communities, fostering the development of the agri-business value chain in the UAE, and enhancing market access and competitiveness for local farming communities. Beyond this partnership, Visa also funds financial education, materials, and workshops to support local farmers.

Carl Manlan, Vice President, Inclusive Impact and Sustainability, Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa (CEMEA), Visa commented: "According to our Sustainable Commerce Study 2023, 63% of consumers in the GCC view sustainability as a leading societal challenge. In response, our partnership with Emirates Nature-WWF on the Shu'a project highlights Visa's commitment to supporting sustainable farming practices and diversifying livelihoods, which benefits people, the planet, and the economy.”

Laila Mostafa Abdullatif, Director General, Emirates Nature-WWF commented: “The cultivation of native Shu’a trees can be regarded as a model Nature-based Solution that utilizes nature to address biodiversity loss, climate change, and societal challenges. Our partnership with Visa has enabled us to lift this concept off the ground and enter the feasibility stage, moving us much closer towards the market transformation of our food systems.”

In addition, Visa contributes to environmental conservation in the UAE as a longstanding corporate partner of Emirates Nature-WWF’s Leaders of Change programme, which mobilizes civil society to create change on the ground through trainings, ideation sessions, and exciting volunteering excursions. More than 400 Visa employees have engaged in these volunteering and citizen science activities, making an impact for local conservation and supporting the UAE’s sustainability agenda.