QNV 2030 focuses on environmental sustainability, economic prosperity, social development, and ensuring a high standard of living for its citizens.
In today’s world, sustainable development has become a vital part of a country’s future economic and social development.
Urbanisation, industrialisation, and globalisation as well as rapid population growth have all led to putting a tremendous amount of strain on the world’s natural resources.
It is estimated that by 2050, the world will need the equivalent of three planets to provide the natural resources required to continue current lifestyles. Sustainable development tries to achieve a fine balance between today’s economic, social, and environmental progress without thwarting future generational needs.
Qatar’s National Vision 2030 (QNV 2030) aims to achieve just that. The vision serves as a master plan and roadmap to propel Qatar into an advanced society capable of competing globally in the 21st century. It focuses on environmental sustainability, economic prosperity, social development, and ensuring a high standard of living for its citizens.
Qatar’s National Vision 2030 address five key challenges facing the country. Firstly, it aims to balance modernisation with the preservation of customs and traditions. Secondly, it strives to meet current societal and economic needs while safeguarding future generational requirements.
Thirdly, the vision aims to manage economic growth and prevent uncontrolled expansion. Fourthly, it seeks to maintain a sustainable path of development and achieve equilibrium between Qataris and the expatriate labour force. And finally, it focuses on effective environmental management alongside economic and social development.
To achieve these goals, Qatar is committed to the four pillars of: human development, social development, economic development, and environmental development.
Water scarcity and security
Water scarcity is a critical global challenge threatening ecosystems worldwide. As one of the most essential resources for human life, water scarcity affects one in four people globally, with projections indicating worsening conditions by 2050.
Thus, one of the main United Nations Sustainable Development Goals is to ensure clean water access to the world by 2030.
There are several solutions that countries can conserve water and benefit from. These include redistributing water resources, modernising irrigation systems, rainwater harvesting, and installation of water metres at homes and businesses to reduce water wastage.
Collectively, these measures contribute to sustainable water management and resilience against future shortages.
Water usage in both domestic and industrial sectors poses a significant challenge to water security in Qatar. As the population has grown, domestic water consumption has increased from 2010 to 2020.
With a per capita consumption rate of approximately 450 litres per day, Qatar ranks among the highest in the world for domestic water use. In 2010, the country had only about 48 hours’ worth of water stored in case of emergencies.
In response, the state-owned water utility company, Kahramaa, initiated the Water Mega Reservoirs project to enhance drinking water storage capacity. This ambitious project involves constructing 24 large concrete reservoirs capable of storing enough water to meet seven days’ worth of demand by 2026.
Qatar aims to promote sustainable living through a new marketing campaign called Tarsheed. Led by Kahramaa, this national campaign encourages the conservation and efficient use of water and electricity, and seeks to inform, raise awareness, and inspire citizens to reduce their daily water consumption.
This article is an opinion piece by Dr Shaher Zakaria, an Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at Lusail University, and does not necessarily reflect the views of Doha News, its editorial board, or staff.
