In cooperation with the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, the Friends of the Environment Center of the Ministry of Sports and Youth organized the first green forum 2022 to discuss the conditions, phenomena, and challenges facing Qatar’s environment. It will investigate the problem and make recommendations to the relevant authorities.
The forum is called “The Grandparents Meadows.. Trust” and provides an open discussion platform for academics, researchers, and experts to discuss the challenges facing Qatari society through a series of seminars and discussions over the next weeks.
The forum’s first symposium was held under the title “Environment in Qatar: Challenges and Ambitions”. Engineer Farhoud Al-Hajri, Chief Executive Officer of the Friends of the Environment Center, urged that sustainability be given the attention it deserves. He stated that “real development cannot occur without preserving the environment and changing our consumption patterns.”
He stressed the need to develop a strategy with specific goals and priorities that draw upon the expertise of developed nations that have made great strides when it comes to dealing with the environmental. However, he warned that society also has rights, including the right to a safe, healthy environment.
Al-Hajri stated that the forum reviews a variety of environmental topics and challenges as well as opportunities facing the country’s quest for an environmental future and develops effective solutions. He pointed out that the next symposium will be held on April 13 under the title “Wildlife Qatar: Reality and Hope”.
The symposium was moderated and led by Dr Mohamed Saif al-Kuwari who is an environmental expert. Participants discussed the effects of environmental encroachments on individuals and society. They gave examples of land, water, and air pollution, and how some companies and factories dump their waste in the ocean or on the land, along with the resulting fumes and smokes.
They also discussed the negative effects of these negative phenomena on society and public health, and the development of solutions to reduce them.
The symposium speakers stressed that Qatar is experiencing rapid activity and progress at all levels of commercial, industrial and construction. They also said that the environment is a living organism that can get sick or healthy and that this affects its environmental components. It is similar to the human body that is composed of tiny cells. The environment can be affected by even the smallest things.
The speakers warned against overgrazing wild plants and wildlife and stressed the importance of educating and raising awareness. They stated that development must be balanced and take into consideration the preservation of the environment.
