The First Environmental Forum Stresses on Protecting Wildlife in Qatar

A number of experts, researchers, and specialists in the field of environment stressed the importance of concerted community, official and civil efforts to preserve the wildlife in Qatar, maintain all its elements, make it safe, and healthy for current and future generations and instill its love and friendship in the hearts of young people.

The participants in the second symposium of the first environmental forum organized by the Friends of the Environment Center in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change stressed the need to increase environmental awareness among the public, enhancing knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values related to the safety and recovery of Qatar’s environment, and developing an entrepreneurial spirit and environmental sense among citizens and residents referring to the role of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education in this aspect, and the importance of reconsidering some laws and procedures related to hunting dates, serving migratory birds and building artificial nests to settle some species.

During the symposium, which was held under the title “Wildlife, what it has and what it is against,” and moderated by Dr. Muhammad Saif Al-Kuwari, an environmental expert, they called for the formation of a “bird unit” at the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, whose mission is to register a database for birds, count their species, standardize their names, and issue a letter approved by the Ministry in this regard.

They also called for an increased focus on scientific research to preserve wildlife in Qatar, expansion of the establishment of natural reserves and obligating major companies to adopt initiatives that support the environment.

They stressed that the State of Qatar, represented by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, is making great efforts to preserve wildlife through organizing legislation, encouraging surveys related to wild plants and birds, developing endangered species (Arabian oryx, reems, hawksbill turtles, Ghaf trees and some types of birds), and promoting environmental awareness.

The speakers also reviewed the role of the Genetic Bank of the Agricultural Research Department of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change and its future vision, explaining that at the beginning of its establishment in 2011, it worked to inventory and preserve many wild plants with their genetic characteristics and traits, However, since 2016, the interest in food security began, and the study of the best plant varieties that suit the environmental conditions in Qatar. The Bank has also worked to preserve the best breeds of sheep that suit the Qatari environment and will be announced soon.

Engineer Farhoud Hadi Al-Hajri, CEO of the Friends of the Environment Center, indicated that the third symposium, which will be held within the activities of the forum, will be after the holy month of Ramadan and will discuss the topic of “eco-tourism: a vision and a message” in the presence of a group of experts and workers in this field.