DOHA: The Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME) began the second phase of the field observation of the marine environment in Qatar for the year 2018, which is part of the environmental monitoring plan for air, water and soil.
The field monitoring team from the ministry, in cooperation with different municipalities, cities such as Ras Laffan Industrial City and Mesaieed Industrial City and ports management company, used modern monitoring devices to begin the phase. The monitoring will extend until next week. QNA reported. Efforts to protect the Qatari environment, resources and sustainability comes as part of Qatar’s second National Development Strategy 2018-2022. It also comes as part of the importance given to the environments from the wise leadership reflected in making the issue the fourth pillar in the Qatar National Vision 2030.
Manager of the Department of Environmental Observation, Engineer Hussein Al Kibisi, said the phase comes following last year’s programme development, where environmental measurements are carried out at all designated monitoring sites, using modern equipment to monitor 14 coastal sites and 14 beach locations.
These sites are accredited in the programme and cover all areas of the important marine environment in Qatar, extending from Khor Al Adaid, south and east, then the rest of the sites north to Ras Rakan, west and south to Salwa, passing through Dukhan, he said. He added that after the teams make measurements of the different environmental variables in the specified sites, marine samples are then collected and stored by approved technical methods and handed over to an environmental laboratory affiliated with the department. “The lab then runs physical, chemical and microbiological measurements of 36 environmental parameters, to prepare semi-annual and annual reports containing a comprehensive assessment of the marine environment quality in the country to be submitted to the relevant authorities for follow-up,” he said.
Head of the Aquatic Environment Quality in the department, Ali Al Kuwari, said the second phase of observing the aquatic environment in Qatar complies with the ongoing monthly programme of observing seven maritime sites distributed across different parts of the country, where the same procedures are carried out, including measurements at sites, collection and analysis of samples in the environmental laboratory.
