The Desert Vipers and environment-education experts Nature Wave are delighted to present the 2025 UAE – India BioBlitz, Powered by Styrex | Fuelre4m.
The BioBlitz is an exciting nature-driven event, which will be held across cities in the UAE and India and will involve a cross-section of participants including students and professional athletes.
They will be encouraged to get outdoors, explore the local environment and take wildlife photo observations within a set period of time.
This is a citizen science activation – which means local citizens of all backgrounds are encouraged to connect with nature in their area, whilst simultaneously collecting meaningful scientific data which could be used for research and conservation efforts.
It will take place over 12 days across the UAE and Mumbai, India; and also include a series of focused wildlife walks in various locations including a mountain region & mangrove forest in the UAE, and various shores and a national park in Mumbai.
Central to this initiative is the support of Styrex by Fuelre4m, who have joined hands with the Desert Vipers as their Official BioBlitz Partner, while Fuelre4m have joined as an Official Team Partner.
Styrex is the world’s first innovative solution to the polystyrene crisis – a 100% natural solution that breaks down polystyrene and converts it into a usable fuel. Polystyrene, and plastic pollution more broadly, is a key driver of biodiversity loss. By powering the UAE – India BioBlitz, Styrex by Fuelre4m will be helping to raise awareness of nature in communities and helping to reverse the decline in nature.
The BioBlitz will open with events in Hatta in the UAE, and the Maharashtra Nature Park in India on November 25th, just a week ahead of the first match of the DP World ILT20, which will feature the Desert Vipers and the Dubai Capitals in Dubai.
Over the course of the event, schoolchildren, adults, and athletes will have the opportunity to record species of nature which will then be independently verified by the team at Nature Wave.
This data will be available for use by anyone globally, contributing to citizen science efforts, whilst fostering a greater understanding of local ecosystems and promoting conservation.
The 2025 UAE – India BioBlitz, Powered by Styrex | Fuelre4m, will feature sessions with school children at JA Hatta, Jebel Ali School, and Jubail Mangrove Park in the UAE. In Mumbai, Teach for India – an educational organisation, will help conduct similar sessions in Maharashtra Nature Park, Haji Ali, Nepean Sea Road, and Juhu.
Matt Bailey, Head of Strategy for the Desert Vipers, said: “We are delighted to welcome Styrex by Fuelre4m as our Official BioBlitz Partner. Last year’s BioBlitz with the Nature Wave team was a tremendous success, bringing together professional athletes and school children to contribute to citizen science around nature for the first time.
“With the support of Styrex by Fuelre4m, we are excited to make it bigger and better this season. Nature is important in all corners of the world, and we are pleased to be able to play our part in citizen science contributions and raising awareness of nature in communities in both the UAE and India. I am looking forward to seeing how many species we can record, and which species we find!”
Rob Mortimer, Founder and CEO at Styrex by Fuelre4m, added:
“Styrex takes one of nature’s most stubborn pollutants and turns it into something useful. By converting polystyrene waste into cleaner fuel, we cut emissions while confronting a major driver of biodiversity loss. Supporting the BioBlitz helps us raise awareness of the problem and show how practical innovation can protect the natural world.”
Alan Smith, Founder at Nature Wave, further added:
“Nature Wave’s mission is to ignite a wave of people around the world who feel more connected to nature. If we notice, appreciate, enjoy – even love – something, we are far more likely to look after it, and the natural world is no different.
“That is why we believe that creative, fun ways to connect people with nature sit at the heart of all sustainability aims and a more abundant future for all life on Earth. The 2025 UAE – India BioBlitz is a brilliant opportunity to share this simple yet powerful idea with communities on both sides of the Indian Ocean. We cannot wait to see what we discover together.”
The results of the 2025 UAE – India BioBlitz, Powered by Styrex | Fuelre4m, will be announced at Desert Vipers’ Sustainability Match on 14th December. For this match the Desert Vipers players will be wearing a special kit featuring the ‘Biodiversity Stripes’, designed by Professor Miles Richardson, to highlight the decline in biodiversity over time.
By bringing people into contact with nature, Desert Vipers hopes to play its part in reversing the decline in biodiversity, ensuring a better future for people and planet.
