Nabat named among 10 winners of World Economic Forum UpLink land restoration challenge

Abu Dhabi-based nature technology company Nabat has been selected as one of 10 winners of the World Economic Forum's UpLink Scaling Land Restoration Challenge, recognising its technology platform designed to support ecosystem assessment, restoration, monitoring and verification.

The selection also names Nabat as an UpLink Venture, connecting the company with the World Economic Forum's platform focused on identifying and scaling solutions to environmental and social challenges.

AI platform supports ecosystem restoration

The Scaling Land Restoration Challenge was launched through the World Economic Forum's UpLink platform to identify solutions that can accelerate land restoration while producing measurable environmental outcomes.

Nabat's solution, NabatOS, is an AI-powered environmental platform that brings together ecosystem intelligence and operational workflows for protecting, restoring and monitoring natural environments.

The company said the platform is designed to help determine where intervention is appropriate, what actions should be taken and how ecosystems respond over time. It also considers situations where intervention may not be necessary.

The approach aims to shift restoration efforts from measuring activities such as planting to assessing longer-term indicators, including survival rates, ecosystem health and the return of ecological functions.

UAE programmes cover more than 14,000 hectares

In the UAE, Nabat is applying the platform through multi-year habitat conservation and restoration programmes.

In collaboration with the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, the company has assessed environmental conditions across more than 14,000 hectares of coastline and initiated restoration across more than 2,000 hectares.

The programmes include monitoring seed establishment, ecosystem health and biodiversity to assess whether ecological functions are returning.

Nabat said it is now expanding its approach to other regions facing similar pressures on coastal and dryland ecosystems, including markets across the GCC and Southeast Asia.

Focus on measurable restoration outcomes

Reda Nidhakou, CEO of Nabat, said technology and AI can help improve understanding of natural ecosystems and support decisions aimed at protecting them.

Mehdi Ajana, Vice President of Strategy and Growth at Nabat, said the company's approach focuses on determining where restoration should take place, when intervention may not be appropriate and how success can be measured through ecosystem recovery.

As an UpLink Venture, Nabat plans to engage further with governments, landowners, corporations, scientists and capital providers working on nature conservation and restoration.

The company said its broader objective is to develop technology and operational infrastructure that can help ecosystems be understood, protected, restored and monitored at scale.