Doha: Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University, has highlighted the fact that Qatar has taken significant actions to address the issue of environmental pollution.
Qatar’s scientific community and decision-makers are working together to overcome these challenges.
Qatar’s government has taken seriously the problem of environmental pollution, which is a major burden on economies and health worldwide.
The arch of Qatar National Vision 2030 as well as the National Development Strategy make environmental health a priority area of Qatar’s Public Health Strategy. The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MoECC), was also established to promote sustainability and coordinate Qatar’s environmental initiatives, Dr. Azhar Sildique, a QEERI scientist, told The Peninsula.
Global disease burden is exacerbated by air pollution. Qatar’s QEERI works with stakeholders to monitor the air quality and develop strategies to protect public health.
Qatar faces a major challenge in meeting its clean air goal. Dr. Siddique stated that the key factors that contribute to Qatar’s air quality are rapid economic and social development, transboundary mass movement, and a variety of natural sand-and dust storm events throughout each year.
The factual data is fed by a growing network of compliance-grade monitoring stations for air quality and research-grade sensor networks, established by MoECC and QEERI. They provide scientific support for developing appropriate policies to mitigate the effects of air quality and its implications on the economy and public health.
QEERI, stakeholders, i.e. MoECC, MoPH monitor the sources and their impact on health and drive key interventions to protect public health. He stated that the most important achievements in the short-term will be the establishment local air quality standards, and preventive communication strategies.
The Water Center at QEERI is a research and development center that focuses on water resources, water treatment materials and processes, and other technologies that are adapted to Qatar’s environment.
Qatar has several projects that will ensure water sustainability. We are a research institute that works in many areas such as water desalination and groundwater research. Our Multi-Effect desalination plant has been developed by our team and is showing promising results. Dr. Zhaoyang Liu is a Senior Scientist at QEERI’s Water Center. He said that we are developing membranes as well as filtration systems that will positively impact Qatar’s circular economy.
The WHO has launched the World Health Day on April 7th to bring attention to urgent needs in the face of a pandemic, an increasingly polluted planet, and growing chronic diseases.
It is difficult, but not impossible, to imagine a world where clean, fresh air is available to everyone. Air pollution is a result of human activities, which are linked to a sharp rise in urbanisation around the world. To improve air quality, it is necessary to coordinate local and regional efforts to quantify and attribute the pollution’s natural and man-made sources.
Dr. M. Rami Al Farrah is Principal Scientist, Environment and Sustainability Center (QEERI). We have access to a vast amount of scientific knowledge from around the world that can be combined with local research and knowledge to enable us to design and implement appropriate interventions strategies to ensure that we all breathe cleaner air.
