On February 25, 2025, just days before Ramadan, the Islamic Culture Foundation (FUNCI) attended the Third International Forum organized by the Qatar Botanical Garden (QBG). The theme of the meeting was “The role of plant conservation in improving biodiversity and environmental preservation”.
FUNCI was invited to participate by presenting its international network for development, ‘Med-O-Med, cultural landscapes of the Mediterranean and the Middle East’, and within this, the Med-O-Med Gardening School in Salé, Morocco.
Since its creation and presentation in Granada in 2007, the Med-O-Med network has many members, including the QBG in Qatar, with which FUNCI has had a very close collaborative relationship for many years.
The gardening school is one of Med-O-Med’s flagship projects. It is a vocational training school for young men and women at risk of social exclusion or dropping out of school. Operational since 2018, it is an initiative of Cherif Abderrahman Jah, president of FUNCI, which aims to provide quality educational tools to disadvantaged young people and to accompany them in a personalised way towards the decent and formal employment market.
The gardening school is one of Med-O-Med’s flagship projects. It is a vocational training school for young men and women at risk of social exclusion or dropping out of school.
All the practices taught are ecological and responsible in the use of natural resources, and among its many activities and facilities is a production nursery specialising in native and endemic Moroccan plants, with species that are better adapted to climate change.
Attending on behalf of FUNCI and Med-O-Med were Inés Eléxpuru, deputy director of the Gardening School, who gave an overview of the project, and Meriam Ameur, director of the professional insertion pole, who focused on its production nursery, as well as on the importance of introducing native species in the conceptions of contemporary green spaces, as a means of adapting to the current water stress suffered by the Maghreb country.
The role of botanic gardens in conservation
The Forum was opened by Princess Basma bint Ali, founder of the Jordan Botanical Garden, who attended the launch of the Med-O-Med network in Granada in 2009, and by Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Subaie, Qatari Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Both listened with interest to the explanations regarding the gardening school, suggesting, in the case of Princess Basma, its possible replicability in Jordan.
Princess Basma bint Ali, who has extensive experience in biodiversity conservation outreach, highlighted the importance of empowering local communities in sustainable development related to environmental activities.
Fatima Al-Khulaifi, director of the Qur’anic Botanical Garden of Qatar, opened the session. Al-Khulaifi referred to the scientific aspect of the Qatar Botanical Garden, which, in addition to its religious and ethnobotanical aspects, carries out important research and conservation work in situ and ex situ of the indigenous Qatari flora.
Princess Basma bint Ali, who has extensive experience in biodiversity conservation outreach, highlighted the importance of empowering local communities in sustainable development related to environmental activities.
Patricia Malcom, botanist and head of membership and conservation services at BGCI (Botanic Gardens Conservation International), spoke about the role of botanic gardens in the preservation of wild flora, and the need to increase networking. Carly Cowell, director of conservation at the BGCI, in a very interesting speech, expanded on the illegal trade in natural species, in this case plants, which is the third largest illegal trade in the world, after arms and drugs. He also mentioned the large number of botanical species that become extinct annually, partly due to the ease with which the most vulnerable ones are trafficked, sold through social media and other platforms.
An ethical reflection on environmental conservation
The presentations continued throughout the day under different panels and themes. Mutaz Alkhatib, professor of Islamic ethics at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar, reflected on the role of the human being as God’s vicegerent, and not as master and lord of creation. He also spoke about the rights contained in the Shari’a, which include the animal and plant kingdom.
The Royal Botanic Garden of Jordan, a member of the Med-O-Med botanic gardens network, was another key player at the meeting, where botanic gardens played an important role as agents for conservation. It was represented by Mohammed Shabaz, Director, who gave a detailed presentation of this garden specialising in the rehabilitation of natural habitats.
Otra interesante intervención en este sentido fue la de Laila Al Harthy, responsable de botánica y conservación en el Jardín Botánico de Omán, uno de los más países más ricos en biodiversidad de la región. Al Harthy se refirió al banco de semillas y a los programas de conservación ex situ. También, a los estudios realizados en cuanto al impacto negativo debido a la introducción de determinadas especies foráneas en los ecosistemas locales.
Another interesting intervention in this regard came from Laila Al Harthy, head of botany and conservation at the Botanical Garden of Oman, one of the most biodiversity-rich countries in the region. Al Harthy spoke about the seed bank and ex situ conservation programmes. He also referred to studies on the negative impact of the introduction of certain foreign species on local ecosystems.
Carly Cowell, director of conservation at the BGCI, elaborated on the illegal trade in natural species, in this case plants, which is the third largest illegal trade in the world after arms and drugs.
In addition to these enriching interventions, others were made on food security in Qatar, the need to create a seed bank and genetic material of local species, the responsible management of scarce water resources, and the importance of environmental education in schools and other institutions and platforms.
At the end of the forum on botany and diversity, the Med-O-Med network received an award for its long-standing work in conservation and exchange of experiences.
A visit to the QBG facilities
During the preceding day, representatives of the Med-O-Med gardening school, as well as other international specialists, had the opportunity to visit the facilities of the Qur’anic Botanic Garden – laboratory, nurseries, greenhouses, etc. – accompanied by Fatima Al-Khulaifi, and by the agronomist and botany specialist, Mohamed Hassona.
The visitors then toured the Qur’anic Garden, located in the Education City. This botanical garden is dedicated to displaying, describing and producing the plant species mentioned in the Qur’an and Sunna, or sayings and teachings attributed to the Prophet Muhammad, from a historical, ethnobotanical and educational point of view.
The QBG also does remarkable outdoor conservation work, as seen in two natural desert spaces, the Rawdat Education City and the Rawdat Faras. It introduces native species such as Zilla spinosa, Prosopis cinararia, Calotropis procera and Vachelia tortilis, experimenting with their acclimatisation and even the animal life generated around them.
The QBG also does remarkable outdoor conservation work, as seen in two natural desert spaces, the Rawdat Education City and the Rawdat Faras.
In conclusion, it was a pleasant stay in the impeccable and ‘human’ city of Doha, and very educational, thanks to the excellent initiative and the warm welcome of our friends from the Qur’anic Botanic Garden.
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