Doha, March 01 (QNA) - Earthna Center, a member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF), announced that its upcoming summit, which will be held in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, will take place in Msheireb Downtown Doha on March 8-9.
Titled, 'Building New Sustainability Pathways for Hot and Arid Environments', the summit's four main streams will focus on creating new sustainability frameworks for hot and arid environments; food security, adaptation and resilience; climate and energy; and biodiversity, ecosystems and indigenous knowledge.
Six sessions at the upcoming Earthna Summit will be open to the public. The Summit will host the "Earthna Village" at Barahat Msheireb that is also open to the public which will showcase an exhibition of indigenous, sustainable practices that span cultural, environmental, and social sustainability. Additionally, the exhibition's agora section will host practitioners to hold short, interactive discussions with the audience about their exhibits.
A unique aspect of the summit will be its emphasis on weaving indigenous knowledge into all its streams, as it provides a platform for experts and policymakers in sustainability to learn from and exchange knowledge with those who know their countries best - their indigenous peoples.
Through this, the summit aims to bring renewed focus to examining ancestral practices, and how they can potentially support plans for advancing sustainability in the world of today - reflecting the fact that hot and arid climates have been part of the fabric of our planet for centuries, and so the past holds knowledge that can serve the present and future.
Executive Director of Earthna Center Dr. Gonzalo Castro de la Mata said he is confident that through the inaugural Earthna summit, which will bring together all the different players, including the private sector, government sector, academics, researchers, policymakers, and the indigenous community, "we will be able to start the development of a new understanding when it comes to sustainability and trigger new dialogues. All of which will contribute to creating a new sustainability framework tailored to our needs, created by us." "Vastly diverse ecosystems mean the journey towards a sustainable future should and will look different for different countries - one that should be shaped by questions that fully consider the unique challenges in each country or region and tailor solutions accordingly," said Dr. Castro de la Mata.
"We can't import practices, solutions, or even policies from countries that are very different from us in terms of their ecology. Instead, we have to reframe the questions and discussions so we can come up with local solutions to create a sustainability framework that works for us. And that is precisely what the upcoming Earthna summit will focus on." "Indigenous communities have developed practices that allow them to live with and from nature by respecting natural resources and cultural values. Some of these practices are still relevant today," said Dr. Castro de la Mata.
Speaking specifically on the different challenges faced by hot and arid countries, he explained that because of the harsh conditions, their natural environment is less productive and therefore unable to sustain the economy, and so many of these countries, including Qatar and other neighboring countries, have developed economies that are based primarily on hydrocarbons.
"Now, if we look to the future, we know sustainability is about diversifying economies. So, for countries in this region that rely primarily on hydrocarbons to sustain their economy, the biggest challenge is figuring out what their pathway to having a diversified economy will look like," said Dr. Castro de la Mata. (QNA)