Since 1998 the 26th of July has been called the "International Day of Mangroves" or “Mangrove Action Day,” commemorating the Greenpeace activist Hayhow Daniel Nanoto. Many different organizations, companies and groups in each country celebrated the day with the ways they think is the best to save the mangroves and all species yesterday, on the 26^th of July. Outdoor specialist Entalek and ILQ got together and we decided to clean the beach by the biggest mangroves in Qatar ‘’Al Thakira Mangroves’’ with the participants from different nationalities.

We wanted to see more people but because it was held during Ramadan and also a lot of people already left Qatar for Eid holiday, we were a small group of people, however, we filled up a pickup truck with garbage such as drink bottles, cans, glasses, fishing nets, metals, snacks packages, plastic bags, styrofoam etc.

We found a dead body of Egret (or) Heron on the ground… Effects of improper throwing of garbage can lead big environmental problems and one piece of garbage can kill animals easily.

Steve from Entalek who’s very keen on teaching about the nature world in Qatar explained us how badly garbage affect the animals and the importance of keeping the place clean to protect ecosystem.

There are at least eight mangroves sites in Qatar and Al Thakira and Al Khor has the largest and oldest mangroves in Qatar. Do you know the importance of mangroves to the health of the planet, for example, filtering pollutants to protect sea glasses and corals, storing in some cases 5x more carbon than inland rainforests, being an integral link between land and ocean, adapting to sea level rise, protecting and producing for coastal communities, and helping to mitigate climate change.

We have lost 35 % of mangroves in just 30 years and continue to lose an extra 1 percent every year. We definitely need to protect and restoring this unique and critical ecosystems.

The first step is to ‘’know’’ what’s happening. Entalek Qatar provides kayaking tours through the mangroves, snorkeling, educational programs and many other out door activities. Through their activities, both kids and adults have a chance to learn about nature, marine ecosystem, animals but the point is not just ‘learn’ but by enjoying the activities

The picture below is the participants enjoying kayaking after the beach clean up yesterday.

They had a small lecture from Steve and enjoyed 1h kayaking at night also BBQ by the sea.

What a lovely night it was. For those who are interested in kayaking event, there’ll be ‘’Moonlight kayaking’’ on the 8^th of August. Please contact Entalek for further details: [email protected]

A big thank you goes to Steve for organizing such a great event. To spread the awareness, we need YOUR help. Let’s protect our beautiful Qatar.

Photos: Darren Martinez

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