Expo 2023 Doha: Qatar University...Research-Based Approach to Facing Environmental Challenges, Promoting Sustainability

Doha, September 30 (QNA) - Applied research projects in the field of environment and sustainability at Qatar University occupy an important place in the university's research map, in line with the national priorities for applied research set by Qatar's research and development and innovation strategy 2030, and in accordance with Qatar's National Vision 2030, which has made environmental development one of its basic pillars.
The fruits of these applied research projects are evident in the cooperation between Qatar University and ministries, institutions, and centers concerned with the environment, agriculture, and sustainability strategies. The university has spared no effort in expanding the circle of cooperation with these ministries and entities, in line with its commitment to supporting the state's orientations at all levels, in accordance with the requirements of the plans and strategies that guide the country's development journey.
In light of Qatar's hosting of the 2023 Doha Horticultural Expo, which is being held for the first time in the Middle East and North Africa, highlighting the technologies and innovations that enable sustainable agriculture in arid lands and address desertification will be at the heart of the agenda of this international event.
In this context, Qatar University will hold its 2023 annual life sciences symposium from Nov. 8-9 under the umbrella of the 2023 Doha Expo, under the title of sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions for a green desert environment.
The conference will review sustainable solutions for a green desert environment in the Gulf region and Qatar, the latest developments in environmental conservation and sustainability in the Gulf region, and the development of biotechnologies for sustainable development and integrated management of desert areas.
The conference comes within the framework of Qatar University's leading role in the field of scientific research specializing in the environment and sustainability, especially as it has a developed research system in this field, through which it has succeeded in enhancing the state's efforts in the fields of sustainable development.
The university also sought to introduce modern technology and use it in research on the environment and agriculture, and to establish a seed bank for Qatar's native plants, and to place their genetic fingerprint to promote them globally and benefit from them in the field of sustainability and food security.
Qatar University has also completed many research and projects related to the environment and agriculture to support the state's efforts to achieve food security and sustainability, including - for example - the Qatar University Herbarium, which is the oldest in Qatar and contains 3,200 plant specimens and is constantly evolving.
Among the related research projects are the project of a gel to support food security, the project of a robot to preserve green spaces, and the project of an artificial coral reef forest in the shape of a mushroom plant, which was designed, developed, and verified its effectiveness within the facilities of Qatar University. This is a new technology for restoring the marine ecosystem of coral reefs under the sea and the associated biodiversity, which recently reached the shores of Brazil as a Qatari product.
These projects also include the project of cultivating algae, the project of extending the shelf life of fruits, and other projects.
In addition to this, the university sought to establish the first factory for fresh vegetables in Qatar within the university campus, based on the latest scientific technologies in this field, including hydroponics without soil. The factory is expected to provide leafy vegetables, such as lettuce, spinach, and arugula, among others, which will reduce the import of those products from other countries.
These projects were not just passing ideas, but rather the fruit of institutional efforts by a number of research centers affiliated with the university's research sector, specializing in the environment and agriculture, and interested in addressing local environmental problems, according to a unified vision; with the aim of enabling a sustainable environment, preserving natural resources, and dealing with them in a rational manner.
The University's Environmental Sciences Center is one of the most important research centers with a long history. Since its establishment in 1980, it has played an important role through basic and applied research, consulting, and building national capacities related to sustainable development in the country.
The center's interests include marine sciences, which cover physical and chemical oceanography, as well as environmental issues, including marine and terrestrial biology, atmospheric sciences, and earth sciences. These three sectors include many research tracks.
The center has recently presented a number of applied research studies in the fields that serve the environment and agriculture, and address the problems of desertification and agricultural pests that threaten crops, including the development and identification of resilient germplasm of bread wheat in Qatar, Genetic improvement of tomato for environmental stress tolerance through agrobacterium-mediated transformation, and In vitro fertilization of endangered desert medicinal plant species in Qatar. 

In turn, the Center for Advanced Materials, which plays an important role in supporting multidisciplinary research in materials science and engineering, contributes to environmental research efforts. It is currently working on a research project on the development of a smart green technology infrastructure with a full cycle for extreme climate and adaptation.
The Center has also implemented a project on blue energy generation and simultaneous fertilization using wastewater for fertilizer production, another on organic fertilizer made from biodegradable plastic and cellulose from plant waste, and advanced membranes for cleaning industrial wastewater from oils that can be desalinated and used in crop production.
The Social and Economic Survey Research Institute at Qatar University is concerned with the issue of preserving natural resources and sustainability. This is reflected in the many research projects it has undertaken in the past, such as: the national agricultural census in Qatar, in addition to other projects that focus on the environment and its preservation, and contribute to raising environmental awareness in society.
There are some scientific research and high-impact publications that aim to provide some solutions to adapt to the desert environment to produce food, double production at the lowest costs while preserving water and reducing resource waste.
The institute has contributed its survey-based research techniques to collect accurate scientific data that supports the identification of sustainable solutions that support the efforts of the state and communities to adapt to drought, desertification, the difficulty of producing food, waste management, and identifying needs, in cooperation with the relevant government agencies.
One of the research projects that the Institute has completed is a study related to food production that focused on moving towards sustainable food production systems in Qatar by evaluating the feasibility of hydroponics. The project focused on one of the non-soil production systems as sustainable food options called aquaponics, which is an agricultural mechanism that is implemented in Qatar and is described as an environmentally friendly food production mechanism that combines aquaculture and hydroponics to form a closed loop, with the ability to reuse water and nutrients to support plant growth.
In the same context, the Institute completed a study on evaluating the alignment of food surplus recovery and redistribution technologies with the circular economy. The study aimed to provide the basic information needed to develop innovative mobile applications that enhance food security in the country, reduce waste, while highlighting the main potential benefits that different stakeholders such as farmers in the Qatari economy can reap from the innovative mobile application to recover food surplus.
The project's researchers emphasize that innovation has shown important solutions to many problems, and that its use in the food sector can provide ideal solutions for managing and reducing food surplus waste and loss.
The agricultural census and study of costs and agricultural productivity, which was implemented during the period 2020 - 2021 in cooperation with the Ministry of Municipality, is one of the Institute's most important projects. It sought to provide accurate and detailed data on the agricultural sector, which contributes to the formulation of effective policies to achieve sustainable agricultural development in the state.
The census results helped to draw up the strategic plans for the agricultural sector, due to the accurate picture of the reality of the sector, which facilitates the process of supporting producers and providing production inputs, which supports Qatar's food security strategy. The agricultural census also helped to estimate the expected growth of livestock and its contribution to food security, as well as providing data on natural resources and the capabilities of the agricultural and livestock sectors so that they can be utilized and exploited optimally.
Within the scientific research system concerned with the environment and agriculture, the Agricultural Research Station comes as one of the latest and most important research centers affiliated with the research sector at Qatar University, where it was approved for establishment in 2020. It seeks to find and develop innovative agricultural technologies to ensure the optimal use of available natural resources and to address the challenges of cultivating dry lands, including advanced irrigation systems, and the application of integrated pest management and plant disease control.
The station seeks to develop and innovate sustainable organic agriculture that includes crop rotation, the application of organic fertilizer production in farms to increase the fertility of agricultural soil and preserve it, and the selection and innovation of agricultural technologies suitable for the climate in Qatar, in addition to its role in serving the research community of scientists, researchers, and students.
In light of its goals, the station focuses on developing research and technologies in a number of areas that are a priority for Qatar; these include the research and technology program related to the production of food and fodder, the program to preserve Qatari plants, and a special program for palm research, in addition to training and qualifying national cadres and workers in this field, and working as a center of expertise to meet the needs of the community and stakeholders for consulting, awareness activities, and scientific and technical services. (QNA)