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The construction works of the Qur’anic Garden in Qatar are expected to be completed by the end of 2015, the director of the project has said. |
Fatimah Saleh al-Khulaifi, project manger of Qur’anic Garden in Qatar, told Gulf Times yesterday that the garden would be located in front of the Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies in the Education City.
Covering 122,000sqm, the garden will comprise an education center, an administrative building, a seed bank, a herbal laboratory and an information centre, in addition to the other necessary logistic services.
“It is expected to be not just a botanic garden but rather an educational, research and cultural institute. The architectural design has already been approved and the project is on track to be completed by the scheduled time,” she said.
Al-Khulaifi pointed out that the garden would have more than 50 different plants mentioned in the Holy Qur’an. These are classified into three main categories: Plants found in the desert areas, Mediterranean plants and tropical plants.
“We have already planted some 40 different plants in the nurseries of Qatar Foundation to be transplanted in the garden and the other varieties will be imported, mainly the tropical ones, taking into consideration that they are fostered in conditions that suit the local environment,” she explained.
A project of Qatar Foundation (QF), the Qur’anic garden was launched by HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, the chairperson of Qatar Foundation, on September 17, 2008. She planted the distinctive garden’s first tree, the Sidra, to mark the occasion.
Al-Khulaifi said that all the plants for the garden had been collected by professor Kamal H Batanouny, former scientific adviser, Green Projects, QF. He compiled the information and created a catalogue of all the plants mentioned in the holy text alongside their scientific names and qualities.
Plants in the garden include aloe, wild ginger, safflower, wheat, henna, tamarisk, Christ’s thorn, grapes, fig and pomegranates.
Al-Khulaifi was speaking on the sidelines of the 2nd International Forum of the Qur’anic Botanic Garden which opened at the Education City yesterday . She is also the chairperson of the forum, which is scheduled to be concluded on Thursday. The theme of the forum is “Islamic perspectives on ecosystem management”.
“The forum aims to explore new initiatives that will support the conservation and education programmes of the Qur’anic Botanic Garden, associated with the importance of botanical gardens, ecosystems management and cultural heritage,” she said.
Local, regional and international experts in the field are taking part in the forum.
It is jointly organised by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Commission on Ecosystem Management (CEM), and sponsored by Qatar Petroleum.