Qatar celebrates Qatar Environment Day on February 26 under the slogan “Our environment is a trust” to emphasise the importance of concerted community, official and civil efforts to preserve the country’s environment, maintain all its elements, and make it safe, sound and healthy for current and future generations.
Qatar has been celebrating this national environmental occasion since 1996, under a specific slogan that serves a specific environmental issue, to remind and draw attention to the fact that protecting the homeland’s environment is everyone’s responsibility, especially since the issue of the environment has become a global issue in all its dimensions without exception, receiving international attention through holding summits, conferences and meetings to find effective and innovative solutions to all its challenges.
Qatar not only celebrated this annual celebration but also launched many initiatives such as planting 1mn trees in 2019, which was launched with a QR1bn budget in 2019 to support international efforts in addressing climate change and promoting environmental sustainability.
Qatar also pledged to host a carbon-neutral FIFA World Cup Qatar in 2022. They also committed to following international standards in environmental conservation and adopting sustainability standards for stadiums based on different categories such as design, construction, energy and water use.
In the environment pillar of Qatar National Vision 2030, Qatar has implemented a balance between “development needs” and “environmental protection” by creating effective and advanced environmental institutions that work to provide and enhance public awareness about environmental protection issues and encourage the use of environmentally sound technologies.
The Qatar Environment Day activities aim to increase environmental awareness among the public, enhance knowledge, skills, trends, and values associated with the safety and recovery of Qatar’s environment.
They encourage participation in diverse activities and encourage entrepreneurship among residents, groups, and citizens.
These activities aim to increase the role of public institutions and private bodies in the area of environmental protection.
It is evident that the success of Qatar Environment Day has contributed to raising community awareness. The large participation in the events reflects the wisdom of the leadership in Qatar to protect the environment from any kind of pollution, waste, or deterioration.
Qatar News Agency (QNA) – Assistant Undersecretary for Environmental Affairs of Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Eng. Hassan Jumaa Bu Jamhour al-Mohannadi said that the slogan for the celebration of Qatar Environment Day for this year, “Our environment is a trust,” reflects the excellence of the biodiversity in Qatar, which unites the sea, land, heritage, and natural resources, noting that the ministry seeks to protect this diversity by preparing a database to preserve the environment and achieve a balance between environmental, social and human development to ensure a sustainable future.
Negative practices in the environment and tampering anywhere with its components are unacceptable behaviours, al-Mohannadi explained. He added that Islamic teachings reject these practices because they threaten resources, spoil the environment, drain its resources and deprive future generations of maximum benefits from the environment.
He said that every resident and citizen should be active in protecting the environment.
He also pointed out that the 2022 Qatar Environment Day celebration is distinguished by the high-level participation from state institutions and private sector companies. He explained that the celebration activities will continue over several days. They began on Thursday in the Sealine with the participation of HE Sheikh Dr Faleh Bin Ahmed bin Ali al–Thani and the camp owners.
These activities included the launch a group Rhim gazelles in Sealine Nature Reserve and the organisation of campaigns for hygiene and agriculture with the Qatar Scouts and Guides Association.
Today’s activities at the Brouq Natural Reserve will include campaigns for hygiene and cultivation, as well as the release of a specific bird, al-Mohannadi stated.
He explained that Monday’s activities will take place at Bin Ghannam Island. These activities will include releasing fish from the forest and conducting eco-introductory tour inside the forest.
The country is interested in ecotourism within the framework of the Qatar National Strategy for Environment and Climate Change (launched in October), and has a keen interest in the expansion of natural reserves, green spaces, and green areas, as well as animal and plant biodiversity and other eco-tourism attractions.
Al-Mohannadi said the ministry’s focus this year will be on eco-tourism, adding the ministry released deer and Arabian Oryx in the reserves, organises tours, and works to preserve and develop the eco-tourism places.
Regarding his assessment of the environmental situation in Qatar, he described the situation as “excellent,” explaining that this approach will be continued further during the next stage, as part of the Qatar National Strategy for Environment and Climate Change, which receives the utmost care, attention, and follow-up from the state.
The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change stressed the importance of biodiversity and its sustainability in Qatari environments and encouraged agriculture and land reclamation.
In this context, the 1mn tree planting campaign was announced at the 7th Qatar International Agricultural Exhibition (QIAAE) and the first Qatar International Environmental Exhibition (QIEE).
The international effort to address climate change and increase environmental sustainability is the goal.
Moreover, the growing interest in Qatar’s environment includes the continuation of the implementation of various projects related to the environmental sector, including the development and creation of monitoring devices, the development of national capacities and the work system, the increase in the number of nature reserves, the conservation of the plant environment and endangered species and plants, and the fulfilment of treaty obligations of the various international and regional environmental projects signed and ratified by Qatar, and other projects aimed at maintaining the ecological balance, given that any defect caused by it would deplete some other components of the environment.
Protecting “Our environment is a trust” is a collective and societal responsibility, as all citizens, residents, individuals, and institutions are affected by the environment, hence the slogan of this year’s celebration aims to reflect all these contents and interests and Qatar’s growing efforts to protect its environment.
Qatar Environment Day emphasizes the importance to protect the environment with all its components and resources. Qatar National Vision 2030 has made environmental sustainability one of its four pillars in order to achieve sustainable development.
These efforts and accomplishments are proof of the great care Qatar places on the environment. This is especially true given Qatar’s prominent international position in the area of environmental preservation in cooperation with the international community as well as relevant and specialised international organizations. Qatar has hosted many conferences of parties in this field.
