Doha: Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) organized Sunday the introductory workshop on the project of developing biodiversity database in the state of Qatar, in partnership with UN Environment Program (UNEP).
In his inaugural remarks to the workshop, MOECC Assistant Undersecretary for Protection and Natural Reserves Affairs Dr. Ibrahim Abdullatif Al Maslamani underscored the utmost importance of biodiversity, in terms of environment conservation and stability, and stemming from this point the ministry has devoted considerable attention to the projects that support environment conservation, he added, noting that one of the most importance projects entails the development of biodiversity database in the state of Qatar, which seeks to issue a list of flora and fauna species registered in the state of Qatar to be an approved reference that supports the stakeholders working in this field, including decision-makers in the field of environment protection.
He indicated that the project has crucial regional and international dimension for its role in updating the biodiversity elements in the state of Qatar and contribution to flagging up biodiversity within these elements, including MOECC's efforts dedicated to conserving these vital elements.
In his similar remarks delivered to the workshop, Consultant to UNEP Ihab Eid reviewed the significance of this program, including its anticipated goals and outcomes after finalizing its various phases, including the role undertaken by the competent authorities to collate the relevant data.
In his statements to the journalists, Dr. Ibrahim Abdullatif Al Maslamani hailed the existing cooperation between the state of Qatar, represented by MOECC & UNEP, explaining that the project of developing biodiversity database in the state of Qatar is a vital subject -matter because it offers a knowledge about biodiversity and its effects, pointing out that the three-year project comprises several phases to develop flora & fauna database in the state of Qatar in cooperation with the competent authorities.
In a similar statements to the journalists, Ihab Eid said that the significance of workshop is contingent on introducing an integrated database on flora and fauna species available in the state of Qatar, including endangered species and eco-systems to remain a vital reference for the entire stakeholders who are primarily interested in this field, in addition to the contribution offered by this database in supporting decision-making process, noting the significance of the project at the national level, emphasizing Qatar's commitment to UN's Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), as well as its importance at the international level since the state of Qatar is one of the countries that has ratified CBD whose principal goals entail the development of national database with respect to biodiversity.
