The Conservational Role of Qur’anic Botanic Garden of Medicinal, Desert and Tropical Plants in Qatar

Abstract

The scientific program of the Qur’anic Botanic Garden (QBG) is concerning with agricultural, conservational, biotechnology and medicinal fields. The QBG not only focusing on the study of the plants mentioned in the Holy Qur’an and Hadith, but also the endogenous plants of the Flora of Qatar and potential medicinal plants of the Arabic world. In the Hadith, the Prophet’s sayings, there are more than 20 plants mentioned in the occasions of cosmetic or medicinal uses. The garden is conserving special kinds of plants collected from different parts of the world to be restored at one place for preservation and study purposes. Both ex-situ and in-situ conservational programs are designed to collect and conserve plants inside and outside their natural habitats. The QBG plant nursery, herbarium, and seeds units are main components of the QBG that build to produce and preserve the plants at QBG. More than 59 plant spices are preserved from three different geographical zones: desert, Mediterranean and tropical zones. The Garden also is collecting and preserving those traditional entities from the entire world in order to be exhibited in the Botanic Museum of the QBG. By following the Islamic principles of conservation, the QBG highlights these conservational ethics and explains them for all people. Garden emphasizes multi-activities, campaigns, events, fairs and exhibitions for the students and public in order to encourage people to preserve the natural resources through an ordinately oriented educational program which is based on plant conservation. Another side of QBG’s conservation roles is the conservation based on community engagement and education. QBG’s education programs, horticulture and conservation programs, dissemination activities, and partnerships are fundamental in ensuring the transfer of this knowledge to the global community.