A man waters the mangroves plants with sea water at Lusail Marina yesterday. Shaival Dalal
Doha: The mangroves in Al Wakra could be in serious danger, according to the Ecological Sciences Adviser for Unesco Arab Region, Benno Boer.
The mangroves — one of the eight to 10 notable natural mangroves sites in Qatar — are suffering the impact of construction work of the port, he said.
“I went there a couple of days ago and there were fences all around, the only way to see the condition of the mangroves would be with a satellite,” Boer said.
The Unesco expert was speaking as he unveiled an experiment of floating mangroves to the public yesterday.
The first experiment of floating mangroves for carbon sequestration has been continuing at Lusail Marina since March last year.
For this project to move forward and be effectively useful for carbon sequestration, Unesco aims to recruit at least five students that can work on it for five years. “The project also needs an investment of $500,000,” Boer added.
The idea is to develop the concept in Qatar and plant mangroves in more suitable locations like Thailand, the Philippines or Malaysia. To develop a full prototype, Unesco needs about $2.5m, added the expert.
The plants at Lusail Marina are irrigated exclusively with sea water. They were planted as a result of a project by Unesco Doha, in partnership with Mourjan Marinas IGY and Lusail Real Estate Development Company (LREDC).
Results of the experiment will help understand if climate change can be mitigated with floating mangroves.
The plants can contribute to environmental wellbeing by reducing land-based marine pollution by taking up potassium, nitrogen and phosphates. Globally, mangroves are rapidly declining in quantity, ramping up ongoing attempts to better conserve them.
“Floating mangroves can be developed into large-scale cash crop systems in the sub-tropical and tropical coastal oceans of the world, such as biofuel and livestock fodder, generating jobs, income and profit,” said Boer.
“We welcome the opportunity to partner with Unesco Doha in realising our vision for this iconic new city that is set to become a beacon for sustainable mega developments around the region,” said Engineer Essa Mohammed Ali Kaldari, CEO, LREDC.
“Conservation of the local environment and being as eco-friendly as we can is extremely important to Mourjan Marinas IGY. “We ensure that all of our marinas are built and maintained with the greatest sensitivity to the local environment,” said Wayne Sheperd, General Manager at Mourjan Marinas IGY.
“Lusail City’s involvement in environmental initiatives is a big priority for us,” added Alf Alf Ziegler, Environmental and Sustainability Manager, LREDC.
“As Qatar’s premier lifestyle destination, we are excited to contribute to global research in an area of significant scientific interest.”
The Peninsula
