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Good practice Imported

Qatar's One Million Trees Initiative — Treated-Wastewater Urban Afforestation & Green-Space Expansion

Qatar · Doha · See the Qatar profile · See the Doha profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 89% 27/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Qatar's Ministry of Municipality grew urban green space from 3.5 km² (2015) to 16.7 km² (2023) and planted 94,043 trees on treated wastewater near Doha, part of a one-million-tree drive under the National Climate Change Action Plan.

16.7 km2
Mapped green space (2023 (from 3.5 km2))
143
Managed parks (2023 (from 56 in 2010))
94,043
Trees at the Doha North forest site
~1,700 tonnes/day
Estimated daily CO2 absorption
Qatar's One Million Trees Initiative — Treated-Wastewater Urban Afforestation & Green-Space Expansion

Details

Maturity
Scaling
Promoter
Ministry of Municipality, State of Qatar
Period
2015–2023 (ongoing)
Keywords
urban forestry, climate adaptation, treated-wastewater reuse, heat mitigation

Context

Qatar's Ministry of Municipality has run a sustained urban-greening programme since 2015, expanding the country's mapped green space from 3.5 square kilometres to 16.7 square kilometres by 2023, and increasing the number of managed parks from 56 (2010) to 143 (2023). The flagship element is a One Million Trees drive, launched around the 2022 FIFA World Cup and folded into a wider ten-million-tree target for 2030, using drought-tolerant native species -- Prosopis cineraria (ghaf), Ziziphus nummularia (sidr) and Acacia tortilis (samr) -- irrigated largely with treated sewage effluent rather than potable water.

Activities

The largest single site is a 94,043-tree forest on roughly 7.5 square kilometres beside the Doha North Wastewater Treatment Plant, reusing treated effluent that would otherwise need disposal.

Results

Officials estimate the mature tree stock could absorb on the order of 1,700 tonnes of CO2 per day (roughly 1.7-2 kg per tree daily) -- a modelled estimate rather than a measured flux, and one not yet validated by independent monitoring. Qatar's own Ministry of Municipality climate-adaptation strategy separately flags heat-island reduction and green-space accessibility as priorities, giving the programme an explicit policy anchor beyond the tree count itself.

Conclusions

Reported figures come from government and government-adjacent press sources rather than peer-reviewed measurement, biodiversity outcomes of the mostly single-species plantings are not tracked publicly, and long-term water demand of a million more trees in an arid, desalination-dependent country has not been independently assessed.

Implementation

Indicative cost
High (€500k–€5M) — National ministry-funded urban-greening programme; specific budget not itemised.
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — Sustained programme since 2015; One Million Trees drive from 2022, folded into a ten-million-tree target for 2030.
Staffing & skills
Qatar Ministry of Municipality

Conditions for success

  • Use of drought-tolerant native species suited to an arid climate
  • Irrigation with treated sewage effluent rather than potable water

Common failure modes

  • CO2-absorption estimate is modelled, not independently validated
  • Biodiversity outcomes of mostly single-species plantings not tracked publicly
  • Long-term water demand of a million more trees not independently assessed in an arid, desalination-dependent country

Where it fits

Governance type
national ministry programme
Scale
national (Qatar)
Income level
high-income

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

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Data sources

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