Discover The Mangrove Forests in Qatar

Over the past few years, those in charge of the environmental sector in the State of Qatar have succeeded in doubling the area of mangroves from 9 kilometers three years ago to reach 14 kilometers.

The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change cultivated mangroves in four areas, on the northern and eastern coasts, after they were limited to the Al Khor and Al Thakhira areas. There are now different sites where mangroves are grown in large areas estimated at thousands of hectares, where mangroves have succeeded in each of Al Ruwais and Umm Al-Houl, Fuwairat, and Ras Matbakh.

The state has succeeded in preserving the environment remarkably. In 2014, more than 23 percent of the country’s land area was designated as nature reserves. In total, there are 12 wild environmental nature reserves: Al-Ariq, Al-Thakhira, Khor Al-Adeed, Riffa, Umm Al-Amad, Umm Qarn, Al-Sana`, Al-Reem, Al-Shahaniya, Al-Mashabiya, Al-Wasail, Wadi Sultana.

The area of marine reserves is 720 square kilometers, including Khor Al Adaid and Al Thakhira.

It is worth noting that the Khor Al Adaid Reserve comes on top of the wilderness reserves in terms of area, with an area of 1,293 square kilometers, or 47 percent of the total wildlife reserves. It is also considered the largest marine protected area, with an area of 540 square kilometers, or 75 percent of the Total marine reserves.

The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change in Qatar is keen to protect, preserve and develop mangrove forests, as these forests are an essential component of addressing climate change and their disappearance may lead to severe social and economic impacts.

Among the most prominent areas in which mangrove trees grow intensively is the Al Khor region, where the trees extend over an area of more than 7 kilometers, and the height of those trees reaches 4 meters. Also, mangrove forests are spread in Al Thakhira over a vast area thriving with natural plants in the surrounding desert from each side.

According to Law No. 6 of 2006, the Al Thakhira area, where there are mangrove forests, was considered a nature reserve. Al Thakhira, which is about 64 km from Doha, is characterized by the presence of evergreen mangrove forests in summer and winter that grow on seawater.

Mangroves can breathe when inundated with highly saline seawater and grow in that water, turning it into fresh water and feeding on it.

Mangrove forests represent rare and amazing natural sites rich in wildlife that separate the land from the sea, and they produce oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide and toxic gases, and this helps greatly in reducing global warming.

The importance of mangrove plants, whose seedlings range from 44 to 60 centimeters in length, is that they work to stabilize the soil, preserve beaches from erosion, as well as improve the conditions for the development of fisheries, as mangroves are a safe place for many fish to breed.