The life cycle of diesel fuel in non-passenger vehicles was assessed for all registered vehicles in Qatar as of November 2017. The Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Transportation (GREET) model was used as a source of normalized data to evaluate diesel fuel emissions for all non-passenger vehicle categories. This work aims at estimating the emissions from all non-passenger diesel vehicles in Qatar and evaluating the impact of the fuel life cycle assessment. The emissions of CO2, NOx, CO, SO2, VOC, black carbon (BC), organic carbon, fine particulates PM2.5, and coarse particulates PM10 were evaluated. SO2 emissions were found to be dominant during the well to pump (WTP) stage of the life cycle assessment (LCA) process, while the pump to wheel (PTW) stage was found to be dominated by CO, VOC, PM10, PM2.5, and BC emissions. NOx and organic carbon emissions were virtually the same during both stages. Total greenhouse gas emissions amounted to 5367 kt of CO2 equivalent (CO2-eq) in 2017 as compared with that in 2014 (5277 kt), the only reported value in Qatar for transportation emissions. In addition, several mitigation strategies are proposed to ensure sustainability in the transport sector and to minimize the negative impact of diesel fuel emissions in the country.

Because pollution is predicted to worsen and sources of quality water for agriculture and other human activities are limited, many countries have been motivated to seek novel water sources. Qatar relies on groundwater and water desalinization to meet its water needs, and additional water resources will be needed to avoid unexpected crises in the future. Industrial wastewater (IWW) is an alternative water source, and much research activities should be focused on developing innovative and contemporary approaches to removing pollutants from IWW. Phytoremediation methods, shown to be efficient methods of removing and degrading contaminants of various kinds from polluted waters and soils, require knowledge of the native plants and associated microorganisms. In Qatar, many native plants (monocot and dicot, indigenous or introduced) have been shown to be greatly effective in remediating polluted areas. This article is a guide for Qatari scientists aiming to identify promising native plants and associated microbes for IWW phytoremediation. In it, we review the basic components of bioremediation and summarize the principle phytoremediation approaches and preferred recycling options. The multiple mechanisms and methods of phytoremediation for cleansing polluted soils and waters are also discussed as are details of the metabolic reactions degrading the organic components of oil and gas. Finally, heavy metal accumulation is addressed. Wastewater from industrial and domestic activities is currently being used to create green areas around Doha, Qatar, and such areas could be at risk of contamination. Many native Qatari plants and soil-dwelling microbes are efficient at removing organic and inorganic contaminants from polluted soils and waters, and some are promising candidates for achieving a clean environment free of contaminants.

Oil pollution resulting from natural and anthropogenic activities in the Arabian Gulf as well as oil residue in the form of tarmat (TM) deposited on the coast is a major environmental concern. The spatial distribution, chemical composition and weathering pattern of tarmat along the west coast of Qatar has been assessed based on the TM samples collected from 12 coastal regions. The range of TM distribution is 0–104 g m⁻¹ with an average value of 9.25 g m⁻¹. Though the current TM level is thirty-fold lesser than that was found during 1993–1997 (average 290 g m⁻¹), the distribution pattern is similar. The results of ATR-FTIR spectroscopy indicate that aromatic compounds are higher in the north (N) coast TMs than those found in the northwest (NW) and southwest (SW) coasts, and Carbonyl Index values indicate that TM of NW coast is highly weathered compared to those found in the N and SW coasts.

Microplastic pollution status in Kuwait coastal areas was assessed A total of 44 intertidal locations were sampled for beach sediment. Short trawls (40) were conducted. In addition, 87 fish and mussels gastrointestinal contents were examined. Microplastics were characterized by Raman spectroscopy. Contrary to the expectation very few microplastic particles were found. Only 37 MPs were detected in beach sediments at 15 locations. Seawater trawls indicated that MPs were low in the numbers. MPs were found in just two samples from Kuwait Bay and also in two samples from the southern areas. In biota, only 3 pieces of plastics were recovered from gastrointestinal tracks of hamour fish. The identified MPs were dominantly polypropylene, polyethylene and polystyrene. It appeared that the microplastic levels in sediment, water and biota were much lower compared to published values from adjoining areas, however, were comparable to the absolute numbers of particles from Qatar and Oman.

The spatial distribution, sources and characteristics of marine litter (ML) from 36 locations spread over 12 beaches along the west coast of Qatar have been assessed. A total of 2376 ML items with varying sizes were found with an average abundance of 1.98 items/m². The order of abundance of ML along the coast was as follows: plastics (71.4%) > metal (9.3%) > glass (5.1%) > paper (4.4%) > fabric (4.0%) > rubber (3.9%) > processed wood (2.0%). Locations in the south and northwest coasts of Qatar had significantly higher concentrations of ML. Surprisingly, nearly 47% of the beached polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles were derived from the countries bordering the Arabian/Persian Gulf (Gulf), and most of them were produced in the last 2 years. The plastic materials were drifted by winds and currents to the Qatar coast. Gulf circulation provides evidence to the pathways of ML beached on the Qatar coast.

A comprehensive, high resolution, ground truthed benthic habitat map has been completed for Qatar's coastal zone and Halul Island. The objectives of this research were to; 1. Systematically compare and contrast pixel- and object-based classifiers for benthic mapping in a limited focus area and then to, 2. Apply these learnings to develop an accurate high resolution benthic habitat map for the entirety of the Qatari coastal zone. Results indicate object-based methods proved more efficient and accurate when compared to pixel based classifiers. The developed country-wide map covers 4500 km² and underscores the complex interplay of seagrass, macroalgal, and reefal habitats, as well as areas of expansive mangrove forests and microbial mats. The map developed here is a first of its kind in the region. Many potential applications exist for the datasets collected to provide fundamental information that can be used for ecosystem-based management decision making.

Natural resource-rich countries transfer more sources to military expenditures due to extreme security concerns. As public revenues have declined due to the decline in oil prices, military expenditures have been cut in many countries. Nevertheless, this is not valid for all countries. Even in some countries, despite the decrease in oil prices and volatility, military expenditures increase. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between volatility in oil prices and military expenditures in GCC countries (United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Oman). The analysis period was determined differently for each country depending on the availability of data. UAE and Qatar were excluded from the analysis as the defense expenditures data of these countries could not be provided regularly. ARDL model was preferred for the research. According to the bound test results, there is a cointegration relationship between the variables in all countries. Besides, the long-term results showed that the volatility in oil prices in all countries, except for Bahrain, positively affects military expenditures. The error correction model indicated that there is a reverse relationship between oil price volatility and military expenditures. These findings indicated that despite the volatility in oil prices, military expenditures in GCC countries are not reduced.