Global focus: Qatar

7th July 2014


Related Topics

Related tags

  • Natural resources ,
  • Construction

Author

James Dobing

Harry Sealy describes how Qatar is helping to advance sustainability in the Gulf region

Qatar is a small nation that became independent from Britain in 1971 and has achieved incredible development over the past 20 years. Yet it is a paced development that has drawn on the experiences of other nations in the Gulf region.

Few modern countries share the range and intensity of Qatar’s social and environmental challenges – including water and food security, poor urban air quality and limited waste management facilities – all of which are critical to the country’s sustainable development (SD).

In 2008, Qatar’s “National vision 2030” introduced “human development” – that is, development of all its people to enable them to sustain a prosperous society – as a fourth pillar to the traditional SD trio of social, environmental and economic. It recognises that the population itself is a key resource to be nurtured as custodians of the nation’s sustainable development. The 2009 document, Advancing sustainable development, takes this further and provides a status report on Qatar’s marine environment, water resources, air quality and economy. Delivery of the 2022 World Cup will be a major milestone en route to 2030, but the overriding vision is to move the emirate from a hydro-carbon economy to a knowledge-based one.

Comprehensive environmental regulation is relatively new in Qatar. For example, Law 30, the foundation of environmental protection, was introduced in 2002, followed by environmental by-laws in 2005. The ministry of the environment (MoE), which replaced the environment and natural resources council (SCENR), was established in 2007. Today scores of mega-projects are under way in Qatar (including road, rail, port and waste management) as the country strives to achieve legislative compliance and raise standards. Progress includes banning trawling, cutting gas flaring and strictly controlling marine discharges.

“Hima” is an ancient Arabic word meaning protected area and reflects an ability to live sustainably with the surrounding environment. Qataris are realising the importance of revitalising this knowledge. Sustainability will be “re-achieved” in Qatar, albeit at a rate that is right for the country, and which does not disrupt the delicate balance between development and preservation of culture and heritage.

Harry Sealy, MIEMA, chair of IEMA Middle East, is a consultant at CH2MHILL International. These views are his personal opinions.

Subscribe

Subscribe to IEMA's newsletters to receive timely articles, expert opinions, event announcements, and much more, directly in your inbox.


Transform articles

UK’s CCUS strategy based on outdated assumptions, government warned

The UK government’s carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) strategy is based on optimistic techno-economic assumptions that are now outdated, Carbon Tracker has warned.

13th March 2024

Read more

The UK government’s latest Public Attitudes Tracker has found broad support for efforts to tackle climate change, although there are significant concerns that bills will rise.

13th March 2024

Read more

A consortium including IEMA and the Good Homes Alliance have drafted a letter to UK government ministers expressing disappointment with the proposed Future Homes Standard.

26th February 2024

Read more

Global corporations such as Amazon and Google purchased a record 46 gigawatts (GW) of solar and wind energy last year, according to BloombergNEF (BNEF).

13th February 2024

Read more

Three-quarters of UK adults are concerned about the impact that climate change will have on their bills, according to polling commissioned by Positive Money.

13th February 2024

Read more

The reality of delivering net zero is that we need solutions tailored to specific areas. Peter Gudde explores models that local authorities could adopt

15th January 2024

Read more

Heat pump installations in UK homes increased by nearly a fifth last year, with over 200,000 now having been installed across the country.

11th January 2024

Read more

Last year was the warmest ever recorded, surpassing the previous annual high set in 2016 by a large margin, scientists have confirmed today.

9th January 2024

Read more

Media enquires

Looking for an expert to speak at an event or comment on an item in the news?

Find an expert

IEMA Cookie Notice

Clicking the ‘Accept all’ button means you are accepting analytics and third-party cookies. Our website uses necessary cookies which are required in order to make our website work. In addition to these, we use analytics and third-party cookies to optimise site functionality and give you the best possible experience. To control which cookies are set, click ‘Settings’. To learn more about cookies, how we use them on our website and how to change your cookie settings please view our cookie policy.

Manage cookie settings

Our use of cookies

You can learn more detailed information in our cookie policy.

Some cookies are essential, but non-essential cookies help us to improve the experience on our site by providing insights into how the site is being used. To maintain privacy management, this relies on cookie identifiers. Resetting or deleting your browser cookies will reset these preferences.

Essential cookies

These are cookies that are required for the operation of our website. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of our website.

Analytics cookies

These cookies allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors to our website and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works.

Advertising cookies

These cookies allow us to tailor advertising to you based on your interests. If you do not accept these cookies, you will still see adverts, but these will be more generic.

Save and close