Doha, Qatar: Sustainability is one of the main axes in Qatar’s comprehensive development process, and includes environmental, economic, social, urban sustainability, and others.
The century is keen to adopt the best international practices to ensure the sustainability of natural resources, in a way that serves current and future generations, in line with Qatar National Vision 2030.
From this standpoint, Qatar pays great attention to sustainability and related green projects, as it is one of the strategic goals of the state and a global issue that its importance is highlighted in every summit, conference, or meeting as well as its priority in any current or future sustainable development plans, projects, and programmes.
Qatar has stressed the importance and vitality of the issue of sustainability and the consolidation of its culture in society, by including it in its National Vision 2030, and making it a focus of attention for citizens and residents, and in different short, medium, and long-term development plans, initiatives, and programs.
These are including the provision of modern infrastructure and urban development, capable of meeting the needs and aspirations of current and future generations, by adopting the best practices to achieve the goal of sustainability in various fields, including urban sustainability, and the transformation into smart and environmentally friendly learning cities.
Urban sustainability has received wide attention from countries and specialised organisations. This relates to the design and development of cities and communities in a way that achieves a balance between human needs and the preservation of the environment and natural resources, and the provision of a healthy, educational, and living environment for city residents to improve their quality of life.
In this context, Qatar has been keen to pay attention to this vital aspect in all its dimensions, and to launch several ambitious national initiatives that aim to increase green spaces, including planting one million trees by the end of 2022, and launching the initiative to plant ten million trees by the beginning of 2023.
This is in order to improve the quality of life in cities and achieve sustainable development, as well as transforming various areas and cities into an urban model for sustainable and environmentally friendly planning, while identifying environmental controls and basic indicators that should be taken into account when carrying out sustainable planning for green cities to ensure a healthy and sustainable environment.
In turn, all of this contributed to eight Qatari cities receiving the title of Healthy City from the World Health Organization, as well as seven Qatari cities joining the Unesco Global Network of Learning Cities.
The Qatari cities that have successfully joined the Unesco Global Network of Learning Cities include Al Wakrah in 2017, Al Shamal in 2019, Al Sheehaniya in 2020, Doha, Al Rayyan, and Al Daayen in 2022 and finally Umm Salal in 2024. Work is currently underway on the eighth city, Al Khor and Al Thakhira.
The accession of Qatari cities to the Unesco Global Network of Learning Cities is a culmination of the state’s efforts to adopt a strategy to spread the concepts of sustainability and integrate society into it by implementing programs, projects, and initiatives in cooperation and partnership with civil society institutions.
