Doha: The Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME) has intensified efforts to plant endangered and rare species of wild trees across the country under an ongoing drive to increase greenery.
“The Department of Protection and Wildlife at the Ministry has adopted a plan to plant rare species of wild trees in meadows and natural reserves,” said Head of the Wildlife Section, Ali Saleh Al Marri.
He said that all types of rare and important plants will be cultivated in fenced meadows to protect the plants from overgrasing, destroying and running over by cars.
“Proper watering system will be provided to grow them in a natural environment,” said Al Marri. The Ministry of Municipality and Environment, represented by the Department of Protection and Wildlife, recently carried out a campaign to cultivate a number of wild plants in Rawdat Al Sij near Umm Taqah.
Under the campaign, a number of wild plants were cultivated such as Al Abal (Al Arti), Al Ghada, Al Ramt, Al Marakh, Al Arfaj and Al Jad in Rawdat Al Sij. Director of the Protection and Wildlife Department, Talib Khalid Al Shahwani, said that this campaign aims to cultivate and propagate rare and endangered wild and pastoral plants, to rehabilitate meadows. He said that drive also helps increase the number of plants and replant rare local trees.
He said rare local trees being planted include Al Abal and Al Ghaza which were found at certain places in Qatar in large number many years ago.
Dr. Hayel Muhammad Al Wawi, an expert on wild plants and pastures at the Department, explained that most of the campaigns for the cultivation of wild plants in previous years focused on specific pastoral trees and shrubs such as Samar, Salam, Sidr, Al Awsaj, Al Ghaf, and Al Qurt.
However, he said, the drive will focus on new plants and trees of rare and endangered species, as well as medicinal and aromatic species. “Six important species of wild trees will be planted including pastoral ones that grow in sandy areas such as Al Ghada, Abal, Ramth and Al Markh in addition to the most important medicinal and aromatic species, including Aljad and Arfaj,” said Dr. Al Wawi.
He said that Rawd Al Sij has been selected to plant these trees because it has sandy soils which are required for such species of trees.
Dr. Al Wawi pointed out that Al Ghada is an important wild plant, and it is one of the plants of the Qatari environment that has become almost extinct due to drought, overgrasing and cutting for firewood, and its presence has become limited to some natural reserves and field genetic banks in Rawdat Al Faras.
Rawdat Al Sij is considered one of the fenced and protected areas that are supervised and rehabilitated by the Department of Protection and Wildlife, and many trees and wild shrubs and perennials grow in it.
