QNA
Doha
The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) celebrated World Tourism Day by organizing an awareness trip to the Khor Al Adaid Reserve, as an introduction to Qatar's wildlife, highlighting the most important wild animals, local and migratory birds, and how ecotourism contributes to the local economy.
The Ministry, by organizing this event, is stressing the importance of protecting the environment, and the fact that Qatar enjoys environmental and biological diversity, as well as having natural reserves which include many wild animals, birds and rare marine creatures.
In this regard, an environmental consultant at the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Ahmed Hussein Al Mutawa, highlighted the importance of ecotourism in supporting national economies, given that it is an essential pillar of development.
He further indicated that the Khor Al Adaid area is one of the most important areas where mammals abound, as well as it being an exceptional environment of significance and attractiveness, especially, the sand dunes areas, representing a unique combination of geological terrain and environmental factors that support the presence of unique types of animals and plants, creating a landscape and an ecosystem that is one of the most exciting natural wonders in the region.
He added that the Khor Al Adaid Reserve is home to flocks of birds of regional and global importance, such as Egret birds, whose migration travels thousands of miles, Osprey hawks, the Arabian gazelle, and Desert Hares, not to mention various types of fish, sea turtles and dugongs.
It is noteworthy that the Reserve is about 60 kilometers southeast of Doha, with an area of about 1,833 square kilometers. It is known as the inland sea, because the water deepens among the sand dunes to form a group of lakes surrounded by sandy heights from all directions.
The World Tourism Day falls on September 27 annually, and the United Nations World Tourism Organization celebrates it this year under the slogan "Rethinking Tourism".