Ministries present first ‘Encyclopedia of Plants in the Eastern Arabian Peninsula’

Tribune News Network Doha The pavilion of the Ministry of Municipality and the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change at the Doha International Book Fa...

Tribune News NetworkDohaThe pavilion of the Ministry of Municipality and the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change at the Doha International Book Fair, in cooperation with the Gulf Organization for Research and Development (GORD), organised an event to present the first “Encyclopedia of Plants in the Eastern Arabian Peninsula’ at the Qatari Forum for Authors in the fair in the presence of Muhammad Ali Al Khoury, director of Public Parks Department at the Ministry of Municipality; and Dr Yousef bin Muhammad Alhor, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Gulf Organization for Research and Development.The encyclopedia is the first comprehensive collection on plants that provides an all-inclusive guide on the cultivation of plants in the climate, terrain and desert plains in the eastern Arabian Peninsula, extending from Kuwait to the coast of Oman on the Arabian Gulf. The encyclopedia, produced with distinguished printing techniques, is also a unique resource that will enrich public and private libraries in Qatar and the MENA region.Speaking on the occasion, Khoury said that the Ministry of Municipality has many publications in various fields, including the book ‘Trees of Qatar’, which talks about the different types of trees in Qatar. “The ministry has also launched several projects and initiatives in the field of afforestation, including the initiative to plant one million trees, which will be completed before the 2022 World Cup, in addition to launching the 10 million trees initiative until 2030,” he added.For his part, Dr Alhor said, “Since the Doha International Book Fair is one of the largest book fairs in the region, we find it an ideal platform to display this encyclopedia, which is a literary and scientific piece in its field. The encyclopedia is among the most comprehensive scientific literature on plants found in eastern Arabia and we sincerely hope that this encyclopedia will inspire researchers to provide more real research work in areas related to sustainability.”The preparation of the encyclopedia took seven years of field research work, in addition to the use of hundreds of specialised scientific references by a group of experts and specialists, to issue the encyclopedia in six volumes containing nearly 3,500 pages and covering more than 800 plants.The encyclopedia includes a systematically arranged collection of plant species with descriptive details such as their conservation status, distribution throughout the world, the age and forms of plants, their adaptability to weather conditions and their cultivation areas.The encyclopedia is characterised by integrating the economic, medical and environmental engineering uses of plants, while providing qualitative and up-to-date information for professionals working in different sectors, such as architecture, health, medicine, green space engineering and other different disciplines.