Qatar is among the countries which are taking sustainability as a serious state priority policy and the country has taken many initiatives to conserve natural resources by adopting environmentally-friendly practices. According to new report, Qatar has reached in advanced stage in treating and reusing wastewater in line with National Environment and Climate Change Strategy which aims at reusing 100% of treated wastewater by 2030.
The reuse of treated wastewater in irrigation of green spaces across the country is recorded 13.1 million cubic meters in June this year, up by 7.5 percent compared to May 2024 and 11.6 percent compared to June 2023, according to National Planning Council. The wastewater after treatment increased to 23,748,000 cubic meters in June 2024 from 22,701,000 cubic meters in June 2023, up by 4.6 percent. Over 7.6 million cubic meters treated wastewater reused in agriculture for feed in June this year compared to 6.3 million cubic meters in June 2023, recording 20.8 percent increase in a year.
The Strategy aims to ensure sustainable and integrated management of all water resources. For example, Qatar will reduce groundwater extraction by 60%, reduce daily household water consumption by a third and double desalination via reverse osmosis or more sustainable technologies amongst other targets.
It will drive a new trajectory that not only accelerates tangible impact across specific environmental domains, but also installs a robust policy framework, strong governance, and solid capability infrastructure to safeguard Qatar’s environment for future generations.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Municipality in cooperation with the relevant authorities is working to get the status of ‘ideal’ for Qatari cities by making them greener, healthier, more sustainable, and inclusive, said a top official.
All eight municipalities of Qatar received the title of ‘Healthy Cities’. The ideal city is a model resulting from the successful, balanced integration of socio-economic and built-natural factors over time. An ideal city is vibrant, authentic, inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. Qatar has also achieved the indicators of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 on water and sanitation by ensuring the access to clean water and sanitation for all in the country, said Kahramaa chief. SDG 6 envisions “clean water and sanitation for all”. It is one of the 17 SDGs established by the United Nations General Assembly.
District Cooling (DC) capacity of Qatar has also reached 1.2 million tonnes refrigeration, accounting for 19 percent of total cooling capacity of the country. Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa), the regulator of district cooling system in the country, has said that DC plants are expected to share 24 percent of the total cooling capacity in Qatar by 2030.
