FEC brings nation’s youth into the green fold

The Friends of the Environment Centre (FEC), that was established in 1992 and which became fully operational in 1995, is one of the main non-governmental organisations in Qatar that focuses on conservation. The mission of the group is to encourage youngsters to be more aware of their environment and to get involved with projects, such as planting mangroves at Al Khor. The FEC is guided by a board of nine members and chaired by Dr Saif Ali al-Hajari, a climate protection pioneer, who has been working for decades to raise awareness of Qatar’s fragile eco-system and its connection to the wider world. Dr al-Hajari manages, promotes and protects the Al Khor Mangrove Centre, north of Doha, where school children can learn about the importance of these beautiful plants which are also natural carbon ‘sinks’ and help to plant them. Mangroves can absorb 50 times more carbon than a tropical forest, and so can play a big role in removing climate change gases from the environment. Dr al-Hajari said: “We try to show the children that they have a responsibility to their environment. We train them and they help us take the message home to their families. Through the children, we can also change the behaviour of their parents.” The FEC’s contribution to the 2012 UN Climate Change Conference (COP18/CMP8 Doha), being hosted from November 26 to December 7 at the Qatar National Convention Centre, will be vital to the international conversation on climate change. Incidentally, Qatar’s top opinion formers officially started the journey towards COP18/CMP8 Doha through a meeting gathering civil society leaders at FEC’s ‘Green Tent’ on Monday evening. The event also celebrated the start of a series of engagements showcasing environmental initiatives in the country. HE Fahad bin Mohamed al-Attiya, the chairman of the Organising Sub-Committee for COP18/CMP8 Doha, said that the work of the FEC is invaluable to the education of future generations and COP18/CMP8 Doha is proud to be able to help promote its good work. Hala Kilani, the Outreach and Public Engagement Director for COP18/CMP8, said the FEC is one of the most applauded Qatari organisations and the most closely connected to the local community. “It is also one of the best known and most active, locally and internationally. The FEC is a well-established group that has been very keen and proactive from the start and has helped us to connect with NGOs from Gulf countries who also want to participate.” In the coming weeks Friends of the Environment Centre will be helping the COP18/CMP8 team encourage other NGOs and Doha residents to get involved with climate change action. The FEC’s mandate is three fold, focusing on: environmental protection, environmental awareness and environmental education. The role played by FEC in promoting environment conservation in Qatar, is focused on five issues. Firstly, there is a long-term botanical and floral project which has been going on since the year 2000 with great success. This project, ‘The Flower for Each Spring’ is fully sponsored by HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, wife of HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani. It aims at celebrating on an annual basis, a selected Qatari plant. The programme involves every week a different group of at least 200 school children attending a FEC camp in the country side, together with their environment teacher, for a period of six to eight months. At this well organised and equipped camp, they receive lectures on the selected plant, practical exercises on how to plant and protect, and various indoor games and art competitions related to the plant. The camp is located in a coastal area where other FEC activities/projects such as bird and insects stands are also exhibited to increase awareness regarding their role in the environment. In short, thousands of school kids and students have benefited from this project since its inception in increasing their awareness and education about environment conservation. As a result, this FEC project was given an award in 2001 for being the most effective and useful awareness project in the GCC. Secondly, the FEC is running an insect project aimed at surveying, identifying and documenting insects of Qatar. This project is also involved in many school programmes designed for teaching students the role of different categories of insects in the Qatari environment. So far, about 500 species of insects (beneficial and harmful) have been identified and documented. Among them, about 10 new insect species have been discovered and given Qatari scientific names, for the first time. The insect project is also conducting some laboratory work where investigations aim at preparing samples for schools and the public to observe under microscopes. Thirdly, the FEC is conducting a bird project aimed at field surveying, identifying and documenting birds of Qatar. The project is specifically aimed at achieving two goals, firstly, producing a comprehensive field guide of the birds of Qatar in Arabic and English. This guide will include all categories of birds (about 320 species) identified by their Arabic, English, scientific and local names. Each bird species will be illustrated in colour with accounts on its description, topography, ecology and habitat together with its status in nature. Secondly, the project is involved, through an additional project called ‘My Country Birds Programme’, in environmental awareness focusing on students and their families. The aim is to celebrate a selected Qatari bird each year, elaborating on its role and behaviour in the environment in order to increase awareness regarding its importance, targeting ways and means of its conservation. Games and art competitions among schools and families are introduced to attract more attention to project goals. In order for such activities to succeed, the FEC is continuously producing relevant posters, booklets, charts and pamphlets. The field guide of the birds of Qatar will also contribute in attracting birders, birdwatchers, research centers, nature organisations, visitors and eco-tourists. Fourthly, and previously during the last ten years, the FEC has been involved in implementing several projects which were concluded with success. These included a network of waste gathering and usage activities, environmental health, sports & environment and eco-kids. It is worth mentioning that the FEC is basically a non-governmental organisation supported by both the private and public sectors. Technically and logistically the FEC is benefiting from its membership in several regional and international organisations. These include BirdLife International, International Union for the Conservation of Nature, United Nations Environment Programme, and the Arab Forum for Environment and Development, in addition to enjoying very good working relations with several GCC and Arab environment organisations. Fifthly, the FEC has recently succeeded in implementing a regional initiative by HH Sheikha Jawahir, wife of HH the Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, that aims at establishing and promoting a Hima Fund designed for protecting important bird areas and saving endangered birds in the Middle East. An initial contribution of $1mn by Sheikha Jawahir was put at the disposal of the Hima Fund. Recently Qatar, Lebanon, Jordan and Oman benefited from the Hima Fund which spent $150,000 on protecting some vulnerable or endangered birds in these countries.