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From rare desert flora to centuries-old native trees, Qatar’s wild meadows are emerging as a frontline of environmental protection, with authorities accelerating efforts to safeguard fragile ecosystems that cover thousands of hectares across the country.Qatar is home to more than 1,825 natural wild meadows, covering approximately 2.5% of the country’s total land area and providing habitat for between 300 and 500 species of native plants, some of which are protected to ensure their long-term survival.**media[396952]**Most of these meadows are concentrated in the northern and southern regions of the country. To date, 1,273 meadows have been officially registered, with their data recorded in a comprehensive digital database. The information includes details on vegetation cover — such as plants and trees — as well as the threats and challenges facing each site, enabling authorities to develop appropriate protection and maintenance plans.As part of these efforts, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MECC) has completed the maintenance and fencing of 38 wild meadows across the country to further protect Qatar’s green cover. In addition, the ministry is implementing an ambitious project to rehabilitate 100 Qatari meadows by 2028, prioritising the most endangered areas that contain rare plant species.**media[396953]**To prevent damage, some meadows have been fully closed, while others have been partially restricted to deter intrusion — particularly by irresponsible visitors and motorists attempting to enter sensitive areas with vehicles.So far, more than 17,463 seedlings of native wild plants, shrubs and trees have been planted at targeted rehabilitation sites. In parallel, 4,980 wild trees have been transplanted from state infrastructure project locations to rehabilitation areas, under the supervision of environmental specialists.**media[396954]**MECC has stressed that public access to key ecological sites has not been denied, but rather regulated to prevent harmful or careless practices. The ministry has repeatedly urged the public to enjoy Qatar’s natural landscapes responsibly and to comply with environmental regulations, noting that respect for nature is an integral part of the country’s cultural heritage.Several Qatari meadows are known by distinctive local names, reflecting their environmental and historical significance. These include Umm Al Sahnat Meadow, located in the north-east and covering 232,148 sqm, which hosts native trees such as Sidr, Samr and Awsaj alongside diverse plant species.**media[396955]**Other notable sites include Al Qaiya Meadow in the north-west (approximately 854,461 sqm); Al Sulaimi Al Gharbi Meadow in the north-east (120,739 sqm); Rawdat Muaither Al-Darb near the Muaither and Abu Nakhla areas; Rawdat Al-Ajouz in the northern region west of Umm Al-Amad; and Rawdat Rashid, along with Rawdat Saeed, Rawdat Al Arnab and Rawdat Al Faras.Among the most prominent wild trees and shrubs found in Qatari meadows are Sidra (Ziziphus spina-christi), Samr (Vachellia tortilis), Awsaj (Lycium shawii), Qurm (mangrove) (Avicennia marina) and Gafnah (Dipterygium glaucum).**media[396956]**Native grasses and herbs include Dahah (Lasiurus scindicus), Ain Al Qot (Gymnarrhena micrantha), commonly known as cat’s eye, Aqool (Alhagi maurorum) or camel thorn, as well as Stipagrostis species and Cyperus conglomeratus.**media[396957]**Environmental protection is enforced under Law No. 32 of 1995 on the Prevention of Damage to Plant Ecology and Ecosystems, which stipulates penalties including imprisonment of up to three months and fines ranging from QR1,000 to QR20,000, or both. The law also allows for the confiscation of vehicles or tools used in violations and obliges offenders to compensate for environmental damage. 

Once hailed as a solution to Ethiopia's creeping desertification, a foreign tree is now spreading uncontrollably across the east African nation, threatening fragile ecosystems and the very survival of local communities. Native to Latin America, the prosopis shrub-like tree was first planted in Ethiopia's northeastern Afar region in the 1970s. It has become a nightmare for locals like livestock farmer Khadija Humed. "Because of this plant, we have become poor," she said. **media[381888]** Heat-resistant and fast-growing, prosopis initially promised to curb soil erosion and provide shade to cool the local micro-climate in Afar's arid lowlands. But today it has overrun the region's vast plains — its thorny, drooping branches rising up to 10 metres high. Each tree can draw up to seven litres of water a day through its deep roots, drying out the soil and crippling agriculture. The prosopis also harms livestock, local pastoralists say. **media[381889]** "The plant has turned against us," said Hailu Shiferaw, a researcher at the Ethiopian Water and Land Resources Centre. "No one could have foreseen its harmful effects." In Khadija's village, some 200 kilometres northeast of the capital Addis Ababa, she said the tree's pods make their cows sick, blocking their mouths and stomachs and killing some — losses that have driven the community into deep poverty. "I personally have 10 cows and more than 20 goats and sheep. But before prosopis, people here used to have 50 to 100 cattle," she said. "Everything has changed," said 76-year-old local Yusuf Mohammed, adding that the tree's dense foliage attracted wild animals that attack their livestock. "We never had wild animal attacks before... after prosopis spread, lions, hyenas, wild cats and foxes invaded our villages," Mohammed said. **media[381890]** Its poisonous thorns also injure livestock, leaving them too weak to roam for food, he added. Worldwide, there are some 3,500 invasive species introduced by humans, many of which have damaged local ecosystems. They cost local economies a total of $423bn, according to a 2023 report by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services — equivalent to the entire GDP of Denmark. Ketema Bekele, associate professor of environmental economics at Ethiopia's Haramaya University, estimates that prosopis has cost Afar $602mn over the past three decades — nearly four times its annual budget. OUT OF CONTROL Some 20,000 square-kilometres of Afar is now invaded by the plant, which is "out of control" and spreading into Amhara and Oromia, he said. It covered 8.61 % of Ethiopia in 2023, according to the Journal of Environmental Management published last year, up from 2.16 % in 2003, while overall pastureland shrank by more than a quarter. The report said prosopis could occupy 22 % of Ethiopia's 1.1mn square kilometres by 2060. Camels help it spread by eating the pods and excreting them far and wide. CARE International, an NGO, has attempted to stop the spread since 2022 by encouraging locals to harvest the plant. Supported by Danish fund Danida, it also removes the trees to plant fruit orchards. It is controllable, said Mohammed, but more support is needed. "We can't tackle it alone," he said.