Qatar

MAIN PHYTOGENETIC RESOURCES OF QATAR AND THE MAIN THREATS

Land plant diversity in Qatar comprises 371 species belonging to 236 genera and 61 families (Qatar Biodiversity Inventory, 2003). According to the Red List of the IUCN and UNEP-WCMC and the species data base of the Qatar Biodiversity Inventory, about 26 species are currently at risk of extinction.

Hunting and uncontrolled collection of plant species has placed certain species at risk and some have even become extinct. The construction of stockyards in pasturelands has also damaged the land environment.

Insome places, contamination relating to the oil and gas industry hashad irreversible effects on species diversity.

STATUS OF IN-SITU AND EX-SITU CONSERVATION

In-situ conservation

Theprotected areas in Qatar are:

• ShahaniyaWildlife Park.This was one of the first protected areas to be established in Qatarfor breeding gazelles and oryx in captivity. It covers 1 km2 and islocated 40 kilometres from Doha.
• RasOsheirij. Thisprotected area is located in the north-west of the country, 110 kmfrom Doha. It was created in 1991 and has a surface area of 8 km2.
• Al-Mashabiyya. Thisis in south-west Qatar, 120 km from Doha. It was established in 1997and covers 8 km2.
• KhorAl-Odaid.This was declared a sanctuary in 1993. A UNESCO study considers thatthe Al-Odaid wetlands qualify for inclusion in the Biosphere ReserveProgramme (Aspinall et. Al., 2002).
• RasLaffan. Arefuge for species of flora and fauna at risk of extinction.
• IslaAl-Safiliya. Marine Protected Area, covering 1.1 km2 and located 8 km north-eastof Doha.

Ex-situ conservation

Accordingto Qatar’s National Strategy for the Conservation of Biodiverstiy,there is an urgent need to safeguard the country’s plant andanimal genetic resources. One of the best ways of achieving this isby setting up germplasm banks as well as seed banks, experimentalfield stations and sperm banks. Today one field station exists,being run by the Universityof Qatar.

Inaddition, the SCENR and Ministry for Municipal Events andAgriculture aim to cooperate to set up public parks and botanicgardens in Qatar’s main cities where localplant diversity can be exhibited and conserved. An example of thistype is the Koranic Garden of Doha, promoted by the QatarFoundation.

Centers of plant diversity

Qatar is the second largest country in the Persian Gulf and is located on a small peninsula 180 km long and 85 km wide, with a surface area of 11,437 square kilometres.

Much of the country is a low, sterile plain covered with sand. To the south-east is the spectacular Khor al Adaid or “inland sea”, an area of moving sand dunes surrounding a bay in the gulf. The highest point in Qatar is the Jebel Dukhan in the west. This is also the location of Qatar’s main inland oilfields. The natural gas reserves are in the sea to the north-west of the peninsula.

Within The desert biome that occupies the whole of Qatar, WWF has distinguished two ecoregions: Persian Gulf desert and semi-desertalong the coast, and Arabian and Sinai desert and xeric shrublandsinland.

The following habitats can be found in Qatar: mangrove swamps, sabkha (marshlands), sand dunes, Hammada desert (rocks and gravel), rocky ecosystems, and fine sand depressions.