Green spaces
Initiative description: Mitigating air pollution from the operation of stadiums, training sites and overlay infrastructure by developing green spaces in and around sites, leveraging the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) Nurseries.
Open parklands and green spaces have been created near and around stadiums as part of the environmental legacy of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. Developing green spaces not only creates amenity value and improves aesthetics but also mitigates local air pollution. Plants absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen, increase humidity, and can passively absorb pollutants through their leaves and in their root-soil systems. Certain plants also enhance habitat for local fauna.
The green spaces programme related to the tournament sites formed part of the national effort in Qatar to increase green spaces and recreational spaces across the country. Over the past 10 years, the Public Works Authority completed a comprehensive programme that saw 11 new parks developed, revitalisation of 12 public beaches, over 2,000 km of pedestrian and cycling paths constructed and a total of over 11 million square meters of new green space. The pedestrian and cycling paths were connected to all stadiums that hosted FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ matches.
Construction of Al Bayt Stadium, Al Janoub Stadium and Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium included large adjacent public parks. Al Bayt Stadium Park, for example, is the size of over 30 football pitches and features a vast green space along with children’s play areas, exercise stations, cycling tracks, various sports fields and courts, boat rentals, food stations, and much more. It includes a large artificial lake that attracts many species of birds and other wildlife, over 1,000 trees of various species, and 54 solar powered light poles or ‘columns’ situated throughout the park.
Al Janoub Park also features large green open spaces, cycling and running tracks, exercise stations, and children's play areas. Plans to develop a horse-riding trail, a community marketplace, a school and a mosque are also underway at Al Janoub Park.
Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium is surrounded by sports facilities, parks, football and cricket fields, tennis courts, children’s play areas, a water park, and a skate park.
These parks were designed to provide recreational amenities for local residents. Many of the trees in the parks were transplanted from other parts of Qatar, where they had either grown too large or were in locations earmarked for other developments. Trees and plants were also supplied from the SC Nurseries, where irrigation occurs using municipal recycled water.
The parks were opened ahead of the tournament and have already become popular destinations for the local community.
Planting 1 million trees to celebrate sustainability at the FIFA World Cup 2022™
The State of Qatar successfully implemented a programme to plant one million trees before the end of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. Inspired by the tournament’s ambitious sustainability goals, and as part of Qatar’s commitments to absorb greenhouse gas emissions and ensure a healthier environment, the initiative was announced in 2019 and managed by the Public Works Authority (Ashgal) in collaboration with the Ministry of Municipality and the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change.
The one millionth tree was planted on 18 December 2022 during the celebration of Qatar National Day and the final match of the tournament. Trees have been planted at various parks, project sites, building premises and streets across Doha and other municipalities, thousands of students and volunteers from government and private institutions, organisations, clubs and community collectives participating in the initiative.
Qatar has also committed to plant 10 million trees by 2030 in the framework of its support to the Middle East Initiative, aimed at intensifying, protecting and preserving vegetation, and combating desertification, in a way that contributes to the development of many ecosystems as well as combating climate change.