Minister of Environment and Climate Change H E Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Subaie (right) and Former Minister of Environment and Climate Change H E Sheikh Dr. Faleh bin Nasser bin Ahmed bin Ali Al Thani (second left) planting a tree at Umm Al Amad Reserve.
Doha, Qatar: The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MoECC) organised an array of activities to mark Qatar Environment Day 2024, which was celebrated this year under the theme “Our Earth Our Legacy”.
The Ministry also launched yesterday Be’ah (environment) app and an air quality platform.
Minister of Environment and Climate Change H E Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Subaie with a number of officials and environmental activists participated in an event at Umm Al Amad Reserve.
The Minister with the students of Al Nahda Primary School for Girls planted a number of wild trees. His Excellency also released a number of Houbara Bustards and wild rabbits for maintaining the biodiversity in Qatar.
Al Subaie said the state attaches great importance to preservation of environment and has launched several initiatives.
He said that one of the initiatives is rehabilitating 50 meadows throughout the country by increasing vegetation and an initiative for providing habitats for some of the birds that used to live on the islands.
The Minister said that the environment is a shared responsibility that falls on all members of society and that initiatives to enhance environmental awareness must continue through workshops, seminars, curricula, educational and media campaigns, targeting all ages and groups in society.
He expressed his happiness with the participation of pioneers and activists for the release of some endangered species of animals and birds.
Al Subaie said that the celebration of Qatar Environment Day, which falls on February 26, comes within the framework of Qatar’s keenness to pay special attention to the environment, pointing out the need to educate all members of society about the importance of adopting positive practices for the protection of the local environment.
“The theme Our Earth Our Legacy emphasises the Ministry’s vision regarding the close connection between the environment and our cultural and civilisational heritage, which extends to what we will pass on to the future generations,” said the Minister.
He noted that Cabinet’s approval of the Ministry’s proposal for the participation of government agencies in celebrating this day reflects the interest of the nation’s leadership in the environment and is a practical application of Qatar National Vision 2030.
“The ministry is working to establish a biodiversity database in the Qatar and creating environmental maps of the ecosystem to identify important sites for biodiversity in the country in addition to an electronic platform containing data related to biodiversity. This is part of the Qatar Digital Government Strategy 2023-2025,” said the Minister.
He said that the environmental sustainability and climate change strategy has identified five priorities: reducing greenhouse gas emissions, preserving biodiversity, sustainable management of water resources, and a circular economy to improve economic flexibility, in addition to ensuring optimal use of natural resources, indicating that the strategy is inspired by Qatar National Vision 2030.
In a separate event, Minister of Environment and Climate Change yesterday launched the Be’ah (environment) app, which comes within the framework of the digital transformation undertaken by the MoECC for all its services provided to the public.
The app includes all the ministry’s services currently available on the website. It classifies services into three sectors: the environmental affairs sector, the natural reserves sector, and the climate change sector that serves companies and individuals.
The app provides various services to the corporate sector, including environmental evaluation and permits, environmental monitoring and inspection services, chemical services, refrigeration and ozone services, hazardous waste services, radiological device services, radioactive materials services, radiation work field services, and radioactive source services among many others.
Meanwhile, the MoECC yesterday launched an air quality platform for the public on the ministry’s website. The platform allows all members of society to learn about the level of air quality in all regions of the country through a display screen available on the MoECC website.
The screen displays air quality data in the form of indicators in easy-to-understand colours and with high accuracy for each region in the country, through 40 air quality monitoring stations in accordance with the highest international standards.
