Doha: The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MECC) has revealed a marked improvement in vegetation density across Qatar's rangeland areas, along with a significant increase in green cover, during the period from 2014 to 2026.
According to Qatar News Agency, the Ministry explained that this improvement was documented through aerial imagery that monitored the development of vegetation cover in a number of natural areas nationwide, demonstrating the impact of national environmental protection efforts aimed at protecting the terrestrial environment and boosting the sustainability of its natural resources.
The aerial imagery provides clear evidence of the effectiveness of protection and rehabilitation programs, field monitoring and regulatory enforcement measures, revegetation efforts, and the implementation of hunting and grazing regulations, the statement read, alongside environmental awareness initiatives designed to strengthen public compliance with environmental requirements in natural areas.
The Ministry explained that the environmental requirements include adherence to designated routes, avoiding overgrazing and vehicle intrusion into sensitive habitats, refraining from igniting open fires directly on bare soil, prohibiting firewood collection, and maintaining rangeland cleanliness.
The Ministry noted that the ecological field survey conducted documented the presence of 40,761 native trees and wild plant species distributed across 1,273 meadows and sites throughout various municipalities and regions, reflecting the diversity of local vegetation cover and its distribution across multiple terrestrial habitats statewide.
According to the survey findings, the number of natural depressions (meadows) and sites documenting vegetation presence reached 1,121 locations, compared to 152 non-vegetated sites where no trees or plant species were recorded, the statement continued.
It added that the survey also identified 179 unique names of meadows, indicating that some mapped locations were registered under more than one geographic range.
Assistant Undersecretary for Protection and Natural Reserves Affairs at MECC Dr. Ibrahim Abdullatif Al Maslamani emphasized that the aerial monitoring documenting the development of vegetation cover reflects the terrestrial ecosystem's natural regeneration capacity in Qatar whenever the necessary habitat protection measures are provided, alongside the implementation of plans and initiatives aimed at reducing human-induced pressures affecting sensitive habitats and natural habitats.
This marked improvement in vegetation density and the clear increase in the number of green sites cannot be viewed merely as a seasonal landscape, but rather as evidence of the importance of the environmental protection framework through which the Ministry operates, he underlined.
The framework, Al Maslamani outlined, includes monitoring terrestrial sites, tracking environmental changes, enforcement against environmental infractions and unlawful encroachments, as well as monitoring activities affecting soil integrity and native vegetation, alongside the enforcement of rehabilitation programs, native vegetation conservation initiatives, and updated hunting and grazing regulations.
Al Maslamani further suggested that the Protection and Natural Reserves Affairs Sector deals with the terrestrial environment as an interconnected ecosystem comprising soil systems, meadows, valleys, wildlife species, and sensitive natural sites, noting that any improvement in vegetation cover is directly reflected in ecological balance, provides better wildlife habitats, and supports sustainable biodiversity conservation in the country.
He clarified that the Ministry works to protect meadows and terrestrial sites through combined measures that include field inspections, remediation of environmental violations, and monitoring grazing impacts, habitat trampling, tree cutting, and illegal dumping, in addition to studying natural sites and identifying their protection or rehabilitation requirements to preserve their natural regeneration capacity.
Al Maslamani recalled that preserving what has been accomplished in terms of the improvement in vegetation cover requires an all-hands-on-deck approach, urging all community members and those who venture out into the wilderness to comply with the designated corridors to avoid trampling sensitive habitats.
What matters most for them is also to dissuade themselves from illegal logging, overgrazing and waste dumping, Al Maslamani stressed, appealing to all people to report any kind of detrimental practices that harm the wilderness so as to conserve the natural resources of the country for the generations to come.
Director of the Public Relations Department at MECC, Dr. Farhood Al Hajri, stated that the environmental awareness content and public outreach programs carried out by the Ministry have largely contributed to embedding environmentally responsible behavior among community members and users of natural areas.
This has been achieved by strengthening awareness of the importance of meadows and projecting the impacts of improper practices, particularly habitat trampling caused by off-road vehicles, driving outside designated trails, littering, firewood collection, and unauthorized campfires in undesignated areas, Dr. Al Hajri suggested.
He pointed out that protecting vegetation cover cannot be accomplished through regulatory oversight and enforcement measures alone but requires public environmental stewardship that shores up respect for rangeland environments and promotes treating them as a natural and national heritage.
Al Hajri stressed that the constant environmental education and outreach messages implemented by the Ministry have helped transform the concept of environmental protection from seasonal instructions into a broader culture of responsible behavior in camping areas, meadows, and Rangeland environments in general.
Overall, MECC reported that boxthorn ranked first among plant species in terms of spatial distribution, being recorded in 1,050 meadow sites with a total of 4,005 shrubs.
It was followed by the umbrella thorn acacia recorded in 960 meadows with 3,688 trees, and then the Christ's thorn jujube, recorded in 597 sites with 1,364 trees.
The Ehrenberg's acacia was recorded in 329 meadows, the ghaf tree in 131 sites, and the acacia species in 35 sites.
Meanwhile, other plant species accounted for the largest share of the recorded vegetation cover, totaling 31,209 plants, including 10,508 desert milkweed shrubs, 6,115 gum arabic acacias, 3,450 caper bushes, 3,000 Syrian rue plants, in addition to 1,001 tamarisk trees.
At the geographical level, Al Wakrah ranked first in terms of total recorded trees and plants with 11,495 specimens across 228 meadows, followed by the Umm Al Aamad Nature Reserve with 6,190, then Al Rayyan with 6,106, and the Al Reem Reserve with 5,872.
In terms of the number of surveyed meadows, Al Shahaniya ranked first with 263 sites, followed by Al Wakrah with 228, and then Al Rayyan with 209 sites.
Some meadows contain particularly high vegetation densities, most notably Wadi Mastah in Umm Al Aamad Reserve and Al Ghubaybah in Al Reem Reserve, each containing 3,015 trees and plants.
This is followed by Wadi Jadid in Umm Al Aamad Reserve with 2,009, Lukbuw Al Wusta in Al Wakrah with 1,207, Jadida 2 (southwest of Umm Salal) with 1,017, and Lukbuw Al Sharqi in Al Wakrah with 1,012 trees and plants.
Vegetation density varies across meadows: 590 sites contain between 6 and 20 trees and plants, while 357 sites contain between 1 and 5, and 71 sites contain more than 100 trees and plants.
This reflects a concentration of high-density vegetation in a limited number of locations, while most sites have light to moderate vegetation cover.
The survey also recorded active vegetation regeneration in 177 sites, while other sites require rehabilitation, protection, or fencing. Indicators of overgrazing, sand encroachment, waste accumulation, and encroachments were also observed in several locations.