Qatar Plant Gene Bank and Herbarium

Qatar is home to unique and important habitats and resources; these resources are crucial for biodiversity, food security, animal feed, and ecosystem restoration. Qatar has been restoring damaged landscapes and developing sustainable ways to preserve these resources. This approach aligns with increasing global awareness of biodiversity value and the importance of genetically diverse plant resources. Conservation of these resources is vital for developing new crop varieties that adapt to changing environmental conditions and climate challenges. Qatar must collect fundamental baseline data as part of the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) and the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC). Data such as these are crucial to understanding plant species’ current condition and conservation status. Plant genetic resources are the main source of life, and they are used for many purposes by all organisms. Animals use it as feed, microorganisms utilize plants as hosts, birds also utilize vegetation as shelter, and even plants can be used to coexist for sustainability. Humans utilize plants in various ways, food, medicinal, construction, clothing, soil enrichment, and oxygen production. Additionally, plants are employed for decorative purposes and as windbreaks and sand dunes. From ancient times, people started to think about conservation, especially after they noticed that the plants became endangered and could cause starvation. The thought of preservation had become the talk of the century. People started to check all the ways that they could save and preserve the plants from being endangered. One of the ways was the seed bank, which refers to a place where seeds are stored, such as food crops or rare plants, also possibly any plant; it is believed to be the perfect way for preservation, and people started all possible procedures for saving the seeds. One of the first seed banks was established in 1926, just outside Saint Petersburg in Russia, when botanist and geneticist Nikolai Vavilov set up the Pavlovsk Experimental Station. In 2009, Qatar started to establish a Genetic Resources Section as a part of the Agricultural Research Department at the Ministry of Environment, which is divided into four units, microorganisms, animals, fisheries, and plants. In 2012, Qatar Gene Bank established the plant genetic resources unit by collecting seeds and herbarium samples according to the international standards of sample collection, in situ and ex situ conservation. This chapter focuses on the history, goals, and organizational structure of the Qatar Gene Bank and Herbarium (QGBH). The importance of plant genetic resources is examined, and the benefits of QGBH’s organizational design for economic conservation are discussed.