Environmental Issues in Qatar: A Socio-ethical Approach

Environmental sustainability stands as one of the most important issues in contemporary life. Environmental problems such as environmental degradation, corruption in the physical environment, the exploitation of nonrenewable natural resources, climate change and global warming have been attracting momentous attention from academicians, environmental activists, governments, NGOs, and the media. These and other environmental problems are viewed as risking the future of humankind, by making the globe an unsafe and unhealthy place to live in. Qatar is currently facing serious environmental problems including air, sea and land pollution, limited freshwater sources; endangered natural wildlife heritage, desertification of agricultural land, and soil degradation. Qatar’s environmental shortcomings include that it is No. 1 worldwide in per capita emissions of carbon dioxide; Qatari citizens have little incentive to conserve energy, since the government provides them with free electricity and water, and the country spends vast amounts of energy to air-condition. Besides, climate change is making Qatar vulnerable to environmental risks. There are considerable approaches and arguments that attribute the root cause of environmental degradation, whether in Qatar or elsewhere, to human beings behaviours and attitudes without losing sight of some external and natural factors such as the desert wind and some pollution caused by hydrocarbon industries and other environmental problems caused by neighbouring GCC countries. However, it is important to highlight that Qatari leaders and government are aware of the environmental challenges and attach great importance to international cooperation for the preservation of the environment. They have taken numerous practical measures at the national level to preserve the environment and achieve the goals of sustainable development. However, still have to be done at the individual and societal level particularly from a socio-ethical aspect. Therefore, this research endeavours to discuss the socio-ethical foundation in perceiving the position of environmental sustainability toward a sustainable society in Qatar and the ethical way of dealing with environmental problems. The core issues that will be discussed in this research include; the central position of preserving the physical environment in Qatar and the fundamental ethical principles and requirements in dealing with its problems. The research will also elucidate how could environmental issues be addressed from a socio-ethical perspective. The researcher will use the analytical method, and conduct interviews with key officers from the Ministry of Municipality and Environment, prominent environment activists from the Green Center in Doha, and prominent researchers from the QEERI in HBKU.