Tribune News NetworkDoha
Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation, attended the opening ceremony of the Earthna Summit 2023 at Msheireb Downtown Doha.
Speakers at the inaugural Summit, hosted by Qatar Foundation’s Earthna Center for a Sustainable Future, include Hakainde Hichilema, President of the Republic of Zambia, Julius Maada Bio, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, His Excellency Sheikh Dr Faleh bin Nasser bin Ahmed bin Ali Al Thani, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, and Her Excellency Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani, Vice Chairperson and CEO of Qatar Foundation.
The theme of the two-day Summit is “Building New Sustainability Pathways for Hot and Arid Environments”, and it brings together sustainability experts and policymakers including indigenous peoples to learn from each other and exchange knowledge. The Summit aims to renew focus on examining ancestral solutions to climate challenges and how these may support current plans for advancing sustainability.
At the opening ceremony of the Summit, HE Sheikh Dr Faleh bin Nasser bin Ahmed bin Ali Al Thani said: “The Earthna Summit 2023 will provide us with an opportunity to build a community of environmental stakeholders that will contribute to shaping the future of sustainability in hot and dry regions. The Summit provides us with a platform to highlight hot and dry countries that are often absent from global discussions related to climate change.
“The Summit will also focus on the unique challenges faced by these countries with difficult weather conditions. And these are the challenges that Qatar is committed to addressing, and sharing the best solutions and practices on how to overcome them with neighboring countries and other countries of the world.”
Sustainability discussions have typically revolved around tropical and temperate needs. The Earthna Summit aims to make hot and arid environments – such as Qatar’s – more prominent in the global conversation by highlighting the critical adaptation needs of countries with such climates, and exploring options as the world moves towards energy transition.
In her speech at the opening of the Summit, Sheikha Hind said, “At this inaugural Earthna Summit, we have deliberately placed a significant emphasis on exploring indigenous practices, in search of the fountains of accumulated wisdom tucked away in ordinary places.
“The purpose of seeking out indigenous wisdom is for us to discern and choose wisely that which resonates in our local environment, so that we may adopt simple whole solutions instead of complicating things. And so that, when we adopt new policies, we can attack the root causes of our modern issues, instead of getting lost in the branches.”
Earthna is hosting a variety of sessions, workshops and panel discussions based on themes of food and security adaptation; climate change and energy transition; resilient cities; and biodiversity.
Among other prominent experts, academics, and officials, was renowned primatologist and anthropologist Dr Jane Goodall who closed the first day of the Summit with a discussion about biodiversity, ecosystems and values.
Throughout the two-day summit, members of the public can visit the ‘Earthna Village’ at Barahat Msheireb, a sustainability-focused exhibition showcasing indigenous and sustainable practices.
The agora section of the Earthna Village is hosting practitioners for short, interactive discussions with the audience about their exhibits.
