Fatima Al-Zahraa Al-Mheiri

A pioneering UAE environmentalist leading sustainable development initiatives in the Middle East.

Fatima Al-Zahraa Al-Mheiri is an Emirati environmental scientist and activist whose work has reshaped sustainability practices in the United Arab Emirates and beyond. Born in 1990 in Dubai, she emerged as a leader in climate action during the early 2020s, advocating for renewable energy adoption and marine conservation. Her 2022 TEDx talk ‘Rethinking Sustainability in Arid Regions’ went viral, highlighting innovative desert agriculture techniques. Al-Mheiri co-founded the Sustainable UAE initiative, which has planted over 2 million mangroves along the Arabian Gulf, combating coastal erosion. She also developed the first Arabic-language climate literacy curriculum adopted by Gulf Cooperation Council schools. In 2023, she led the UNEP’s Youth Climate Ambassadors Program, training 500+ young leaders across 20 Arab nations. Her work bridges traditional ecological knowledge with modern tech, exemplified by her AI-powered desertification monitoring system now used in Oman and Jordan.