National platform Naqi launched to monitor air quality
Environment Authority (EA) has launched 'Naqi', a cutting-edge national platform for air quality monitoring, alongside a groundbreaking project to plant 100mn mangrove trees in Al Wusta governorate. The latter is an initiative aimed at removing approximately 14mn metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents from the atmosphere.
This was announced at 'Oman Conference for Environmental Sustainability', inaugurated on Monday under the patronage of Sayyid Asaad bin Tarik al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for International Relations and Cooperation Affairs and Special Representative of His Majesty the Sultan.
The three-day conference seeks to bolster environmental sustainability efforts and enhance collaboration between government agencies, academic and research institutions, regional and international organisations, the private sector, civil society and individuals. With a delegation from Saudi Arabia participating, the conference underscores the importance of regional cooperation in environmental protection.
Dr Abdullah al Amri, Chairman of EA, emphasised its focus on carbon management techniques such as reduction, sequestration, absorption and recycling. The conference will showcase 160 scientific research papers by scholars from around 30 countries, discussing a wide range of topics including environmental policies, legislation, technologies and innovat ive solutions. A notable highlight of the conference on Day 1 was announcement of the Oman Blue Carbon Project, which involves the ambitious goal of planting 100mn mangrove trees. A partnership between EA and MSA Green Projects, the project is a pioneering effort to generate carbon credits through mangrove reforestation, supporting the nation's strategy to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and mitigate the impacts of climate change.
To be completed in four years, the mangrove plantation project is expected to yield significant financial returns - estimated at Us$150mn - through the sale of blue carbon credit certificates.