Doha: The State of Qatar celebrates the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought on Friday, which falls on June 17 annually, under the theme “Rising Up from Drought Together,” as Qatar is always keen to be an active partner in the system of international collective action, seeking concerted efforts on ways to combat desertification.
Out of Qatar’s belief in the importance of addressing the effects of desertification and its global dimensions that require joint action, it has acceded to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD since 1999 to contribute to combating desertification and mitigating the effects of drought in countries experiencing drought or desertification within the framework of an integrated approach that contributes to achieving sustainable development.
Within its environmental system, Qatar is keen to take into account the environmental factors on the lands in which development projects will be built in the country and the ecosystems that contain them.
Under the umbrella of multilateral international environmental agreements and the adoption of strategies and action plans, the country has largely been able to overcome the challenges of desertification, land degradation, and drought or mitigate their effects.
Qatar applies the concepts of sustainable economic growth, through a tight strategy adopted by all concerned ministries in coordination with the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, previously the Ministry of Municipality and Environment, which was keen on developing a national framework to combat desertification in the country based on the principles of sustainable development, building capacities in a way that ensures taking the necessary measures to protect the lands, and developing plans that would combat desertification and drought at all levels, whether national, regional or international.
In addition to the initiative to plant a million trees previously adopted by the Ministry of Municipality and Environment, the initiative to establish a Greenbelt Zone around Doha and its suburbs identified by the second National Development Strategy will contribute to reducing the effects of the factors causing desertification such as dust-laden winds and sand encroachment and aesthetic character that it will give these green spaces.
Work is also underway through the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change to complete the rehabilitation projects of the Qatari deserts and meadows, where the lands affected by desertification and its repercussions are being rehabilitated at a steady pace and planted with trees of the Qatari environment in a way that harmonizes the preservation of vegetation cover and the consolidation of the natural and cultural heritage.
A number of programmes, initiatives, projects, and works related to studying the ban on grazing on vegetation cover and preserving it, working to rehabilitate meadows, and cultivating the Qatari mainland with plants from the Qatari environment are also being implemented.
A permanent working group was also formed to study the positive and negative effects of the decision to ban grazing on the vegetation cover and the camel herd.
Qatar is making great efforts to double the green spaces in the various regions of the country, where the per capita share of these green spaces exceeded 9 square meters. In cooperation with bodies working in the field of environmental protection, the Parks Department of the Ministry of Municipality contributes to combating desertification and provides these bodies with seedlings of local environmental plants produced by the ministry.
The Qatari interest in combating desertification is not limited to the local issue only. The country has been keen to play its regional and international role in this regard. The most prominent of its role is the adoption of the Global Dryland Alliance, an initiative put forward by Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani in his speech before the United Nations in 2014
In October 2017, the Global Dryland Alliance was established with the participation of 11 countries, namely Qatar, Benin, Burkina Faso, Morocco, Tunisia, Iraq, Senegal, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, and Tanzania. Among its many activities, the Alliance is exploring ways to address the challenges arising from phenomena such as climate change and desertification.
