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Qatar was the first country in the region to enact legislation that aimed to conserve and protect its environment.

Responsibility for the environment is vested in the Ministry of Industry and Agriculture. An Environmental Protection Committee was created in 1984 to monitor environmental issues. The government has since established the Supreme Council for the Environment and Natural sanctuaries, which is headed by Sheikh Tameem Bin Hamad Al Thani.

As head of QNOC and an IOC member, Sheikh Tameem has linked his passion for the environment with his equal passion for sport.

The Asian Games in 2006, for example, included a complete environmental programme (covering recycling and cleaning), as well as setting up environmental projects and environment education.

Two projects linked to the Asian Games typify Qatar’s concern for the environment and for sustainability.

Umm Tais National Park Project

Umm Tais is an uninhabited island on the northern coast of Qatar, with a high diversity of flora and fauna. The project has turned the island into a nature park and made its environmental treasures available to the public as a magnificent legacy of the Asian Games. Among the mangroves, visitors can observe but not disturb the birds, reptiles (turtles) and fish.

The Umm Tais National Park project had six goals:

• to offset part of the environmental impact caused by the Doha Asian Games
• to create an environmental legacy for the people of Qatar
• to assess, to support and to protect one of the country's most precious cultural and natural heritages
• to create awareness about environmental protection
• to support and enhance ecological research and environmental education in Qatar
• to develop an eco-tourist destination.

Bio-Diesel Project

The Asian Games also included a bio-diesel project, which aimed to demonstrate the positive effects from recycling activities.

Bio-diesel is a clean-burning alternative fuel, produced from vegetable oil, a domestic, renewable resource. During the Asian Games, waste cooking oil was taken from the catering operations and supplied to the Secondary School for Industrial Technology (SSIT) in Qatar, which recycled it to produce bio-diesel.

To showcase the recycling process, a branded Environment Bus travelled with the Torch Relay team around Qatar, and was fuelled with bio-diesel. In addition, a small version of the bio-diesel plant was displayed at the Main Media Centre during the Games.

Assessing Environmental Impact

However, environmental and sustainable considerations are not just limited to sport – they now guide the development of all major construction projects in Qatar today.

The original Lusail master plan, for example, was first presented as an illustrative concept. This allowed an environmental impact assessment to be carried out, after which significant changes were made to the plan to ensure minimal impact on the coastal environment.

The final master plan aimed to protect the environmentally valuable sea grass beds on the tidal flats and it included a complete redesign of the channels and lagoons to ensure good water quality.

The Pearl-Qatar

The Pearl-Qatar is also being built with environmental concerns upper-most in mind, aiming to create a diversity of environments that will be new to the region.

Its environmental impact assessment shows that new marine habitats will be created by the project and also that The Pearl-Qatar will have a positive effect on bird life. The new upland vegetation that is to be created by this project is likely to attract a variety of perching bird species currently limited to only parks and open spaces within Doha.

Doha International Airport

At the New Doha International Airport, a massive environmental project has also been created. A portion of the site is being built on top of a landfill, which was moved to a cleaner and better organized facility. It became the largest landfill relocation in the Gulf region.

The airport itself will be equipped with heat and occupancy CO2 sensors, and the roof will be tinted to conserve energy.