SOMA Newsletter

Author

Soma Mater
February 23, 2026

Welcome to the SOMA MATER weekly newsletter.

At SOMA MATER, we specialize in delivering comprehensive research and advisory services with a focus on Food & Water Security and Net Zero Transition in the MENA Region. In order to support our subscribing clients in navigating these topics and understanding the regional narrative, we produce monthly Food and Water Security and Net Zero Transition Intelligence Reports, along with our in-depth analysis and insights.

This weekly newsletter highlights the top 3 stories from the past week in Food and Water Security and Net Zero transition, along with SOMA MATER's analysis and perspective.

How do governments in the MENA region address food affordability during Ramadan?

How has Saudi Arabia's mangrove restoration effort progressed, and what challenges threaten its long-term success?

What is the value of data for countries like Saudi Arabia and their conservation projects?

Sustainably yours,

The SOMA team

Price Caps, Full Carts: Inside Ramadan's Food Paradox

#FoodandWaterSecurity

Regional governments are working to ensure food security and affordability ahead of Ramadan. Egypt's Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade has ordered frozen poultry prices at certain outlets to drop below EGP 120, while working with other government entities to import poultry nationwide. In the UAE, the Ministry of Economy and Tourism has prohibited price increases on 9 essential food categories—cooking oil, eggs, dairy, rice, sugar, poultry, legumes, bread, and wheat—without prior approval.

These interventions come at a critical time. During Ramadan, household food bills surge by 50-100%, with 83% of families adjusting their consumption patterns. It is driven by significant increases in staples like bread (63%), chicken (66.5%), and dried fruits (25%). Egypt alone consumed 9 million dried fruits during last year's Ramadan, 35% of the country's annual trade in this category. Retailers stock up at least one month in advance to meet the excess demand from Iftar to Suhoor.

Yet the paradox of abundance remains. Ramadan food consumption accounts for 15% of annual food expenditure, yet despite the heightened consumption, an estimated 60% of food goes to waste in Egypt during Ramadan. As regional governments strengthen supply chains through trade agreements and price controls, the challenge extends beyond affordability to mindful consumption.

SOMA’s Perspective:

During Ramadan, extensive catering and Iftar meals are prepared by households and companies for mosques. Families shift from cooking for a few to cooking for many. The fact that this month shifts annually within the calendar adds a layer of complexity to planning, yet the regional system adapts. This coordination is possible for Ramadan, demonstrating the ability of our markets to mobilize supply chains and regulatory frameworks when cultural and social priorities demand it.

Sources:

Trees by the Million: Saudi Arabia's Mangrove Moment

#NetZeroTransition

Saudi Arabia's Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu is leading efforts in coastal restoration. It has already planted 11 million mangrove trees, part of a wider target of 19 million trees. This supports the Saudi Green Initiative's goal of 100 million mangroves across the Kingdom by 2030. These coastal sites are becoming nature reserves that promise economic opportunity through ecotourism.

The numbers tell a story of growth. Saudi Arabia's mangrove coverage (greater along the western coasts) increased 2.73 times between 1986 and 2023. It now represents 40.9% of total GCC mangrove coverage. The Red Sea saw expansion from 27.74 km² to 59.31 km², while the Arabian Gulf grew from 1.05 km² to 8.65 km² from 1985 to 2024. Yet, there have also been periods of decline, driven by urbanization, industrialization, and oil spills. The pattern for mangrove tree growth is not linear, but marked by gradual progress, intermittent setbacks, and acceleration in growth (Figure 1).

Figure 1

Protecting these areas will be a necessity. Saudi Arabia's coasts remain particularly vulnerable to species extinction and biodiversity loss, with expanding land use and transportation networks in at-risk zones posing significant threats. Establishing buffer zones around vulnerable ecosystems and managing land transformation next to mangrove habitats will be critical to ensuring that today's restoration gains last.

SOMA’s Perspective:

Planting mangroves is only half the equation. Without buffer zones between urban development and these coastal ecosystems, restoration efforts risk being undermined by the very infrastructure projects they are meant to complement. As Saudi Arabia is expected to scale up mega-projects along its coasts, integrated spatial planning becomes essential.

Sources:

Terabytes in the Sand: The Hidden Data Story

#FoodandWaterSecurity #NetZeroTransition

Conservation efforts are expanding along Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast. Mangrove nurseries, coral restoration, and inland tree belts are scaling up under the Saudi Green Initiative. Yet these efforts are also fundamentally data projects—a single reef survey generates terabytes of imagery, and mangrove programs track seed provenance, planting sites, and survival rates. Under the Saudi Data & AI Authority, the National Data Management Office is defining how public data is classified, shared, and protected across ministries, giga-projects, and universities.

The challenge is making this data useful. Monitoring tools such as camera traps, AI-analyzed drone footage, satellite tags, and artificial nesting platforms are used, but duplicate imagery wastes money and power, especially where cooling costs are high. Beyond efficiency, data integrity matters for credibility: for blue-carbon claims to hold up, data must be auditable—histories build credibility with regulators, funders, and the public.

This is part of a broader data story. Blue-carbon ecosystems like mangroves and seagrass offer carbon sequestration that could feed into credit markets, making data a financial necessity. Research suggests consistent sustainability data could improve investment decisions, yet GCC corporate environmental disclosure remains nascent. AI's growth is driving rapid data collection, creating a cycle where more data is needed to train models.

SOMA’s Perspective:

Conservation efforts will generate large amounts of data. Communicating and sharing this data is vital for future investment decisions to be made—something the region and the world need in order to close the financing gap. Effective management and presentation of regional data will need to continue scaling and improving in order to fully realize the benefits of these conservation projects.

Sources:

SOMA MATER is writing Intelligence Reports on the topics of Food and Water Security and Net Zero Transition. If you’d like to know more, contact us through the link below:

https://wkf.ms/3BmPiPo