Doha, June 26 (QNA) - HE Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Subaie attended Wednesday the launch of a campaign to release endangered hawksbill turtles on Fuwairit Beach.

In attendance were officials from the Armed Forces' Directorate of Environment.

A number of school students and specialized centers participated in the campaign with the aim of raising environmental awareness among the youth and the Qatari community, and emphasizing the importance of preserving biodiversity, especially endangered species.

The campaign also introduces the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change's efforts to increase turtles during the breeding season, as specialized teams transferred more than 125 nests to Fuwairit Beach during the last two weeks of the nesting phase.

During the campaign, His Excellency the Minister honored a number of ministry employees, volunteers, and residents of areas adjacent to the nesting sites, who contributed to preserving the lives of turtles, by communicating with specialized teams to report nesting operations outside the designated areas.

In this context, Wildlife Development Department Director Mohamed Al Khanji confirmed that the 2024 sea turtle nesting season saw an increase in the number of nesting and reproduction, with specialized teams transferring nests to Fuwairit Beach, which has been designated for turtle nesting since 2020.

He noted the increase in nesting operations in recent weeks after the end of the winter camping season.

Al Khanji praised the keenness of the residents of the neighboring areas to protect the lives of turtles, and their communication with the Ministry to transfer them to the designated places, pointing in this context to the increased awareness among segments of Qatari society, and the success of the environmental awareness plans carried out by the Ministry in their objectives. (QNA)