Future Perfect

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ustainability

olicies

, P

rogrammes

and

their

conomic

mpact

Within the Gulf region, countries share the challenges

of hydrocarbon-driven growth and desert conditions,

including water scarcity. Moreover, because pollutants

do not stop at national borders, environmental prob-

lems spill over, requiring regional rather than national

solutions. Just as the national Government will require

national databases to support environmental regulation

and policies, the Gulf region will need regional data-

bases to support regional initiatives.

Strong regional cooperation will require continuous

diplomacy and cooperation at all levels. Qatar is becom-

ing more actively involved in regional and international

platforms for sustainable development, including

hosting the 18th session of the Conference of the

Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention

on Climate Change in December 2012.

Improved governance and outcomes

A culture of evidence-based policy-making will be

needed, backed by information systems that ensure

both informed decisions at the outset and continuous

monitoring to guarantee compliance and, over time,

measure impact. To make concrete the principles of

gathering and sharing better information, the Ministry

of Environment will mandate new reporting require-

ments, with all major industrial companies submitting

quarterly environmental performance reports covering

their emissions, water discharge and hazardous waste

treatment. It will also provide a template for all compa-

nies to use for these reports.

Qatar’s emerging commitment to environmental

protection will require a virtual revolution in informa-

tion and data-gathering systems. In mandating new

standards for water, solid waste, airborne pollutants and

biodiversity, the Government is taking stock of present

conditions while defining realistic improvements for

the next six years. However, decision makers need more

information on groundwater levels, biodiversity and the

health effects of air pollution – to cite just three areas

where information gaps pose a challenge to assessing

present and future risks and designing solutions.

A sustainable course

QNV 2030 established a framework of aspirations,

calling for programmes and projects that ensure sustain-

able prosperity for future generations. Qatar’s NDS

2011-2016 for the first time explicitly aligns the growth

of national prosperity to the realities of environmental

constraints. The programme of strengthened envi-

ronmental management across economic and natural

resource sectors sets out a framework for continuing

economic growth that adheres to the foundational

concept of intergenerational justice.

Interventions being initiated as part of NDS 2011-

2016 will set Qatar on a course of environmentally

sustainable development. Many of the changes call for

new patterns in consumption and production, comple-

mented by lasting improvements in environmental

governance and performance.

The Government will enlist the population in supporting and

sustaining improved environmental management. The campaign to

protect Qatar’s environmental endowment draws on values embed-

ded in the country’s religious and cultural heritage. The notion of

protecting the environment for the benefit of future generations has

broad appeal.

Strategic partnerships

Addressing environmental concerns is a cross-generational, cross-

border exercise. One key function of Government in the environment

sector is to forge strategic partnerships with neighbouring countries

as well as private firms and international organizations such as the

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization,

the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Health

Organization, which can provide key knowledge, human resources

and technology. Qatar’s environmental challenges are shared to

some degree by countries in every region of the world. Qatar has

adopted an outward-looking, internationalist view to build part-

nerships that maximize the chance of successfully adapting both

policies and technologies.

Increasing environmental awareness, especially in the young, will support and

sustain improved environmental management

Image: GSDP (2012)