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The Emir of the State of Qatar, Sheikha Moza bint Nasser and HRH The Prince of Wales discuss collaboration on marine research in the Gulf
26th October 2010
The Emir of the State of Qatar, HH Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani and Sheikha Moza bint Nasser were welcomed today at Clarence House by HRH The Prince of Wales.
As part of their wide-ranging discussion there was a focus on the challenges faced by the world in the context of climate change, population growth and resource depletion. In particular, an agreement was reached to investigate a possible collaboration between The Prince's Charities' International Sustainability Unit and Qatari marine experts to look at the issues of marine ecosystem sustainability with particular reference to the Gulf.
The Prince’s Charities’ International Sustainability Unit (ISU) aims to facilitate consensus on how to resolve some of the key environmental challenges facing the world, specifically those to do with food security, ecosystem resilience and the depletion of Natural Capital. While continuing to monitor the progress on the tropical forest finance package agreed in Oslo this year, the ISU has been developing two further significant work streams; sustainable agriculture and marine ecosystems.
Marine ecosystems are experiencing multiple threats including pollution, ocean acidification and warming due to climate change, and overfishing. Marine fisheries are in rapid decline and in many cases this is due to the application of inappropriate management practices to this potentially renewable resource. Statistics from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations show that over 75 per cent of commercially valuable fish stocks are now either fully exploited or overexploited.
The ISU has been engaging stakeholders to understand the threats to our marine environment and the areas where consensus is emerging around solutions. One of the many areas of consensus is on the need for reliable scientific data combined with local information about fisheries and the marine environment to inform better management practices. Her Highness Sheikha Moza has already been kind enough to provide support to the ISU’s marine programme.
The Gulf is a globally significant marine eco-region with productive fishing grounds, coral reefs and pearl oyster beds but fish catches have declined markedly in recent years due to overfishing. The future of the Gulf fisheries may benefit from improved access to reliable data in order to support sustainable fisheries management in the region.
An agreement was reached that there is potential for collaboration between the ISU and Qatari experts at QSTP, Qatar University and the Ministry of Environment Department for Fisheries Wealth to work together to improve knowledge about sustainable fisheries management in the region and indeed, should it be appropriate, to share this knowledge with other regions facing similar threats. The ISU will work alongside Qatar marine experts over the coming weeks to continue discussions about whether this work could support our respective objectives.