Paper Title
Local Community Knowledge as a Tool to Evaluate Land Reclamation on the Doha Coast

Abstract
Local community knowledge is characterized by the communities’ traditional practices, which are dependent on the successful management of natural resources. Coastal communities have learned through the acquisition of generations of knowledge how to manage the marine environmental resources on which they depend in a sustainable manner. Worldwide there is an ever-increasing demand for land development both commercial and residential along coastal regions. In order to meet this demand, the land reclamation process creates land in sea areas. There has been a rapid evolution witnessed in Doha, Qatar's capital city, especially in terms of urban development. This reclamation has become one of the largest threats to the ecosystem. A holistic approach is necessary in order to ensure sustainable economic and social growth and prioritizes the preservation of the environment for future generations. The main purpose of the paper was to determine the local community knowledge among six stakeholder groups and their views on whether land reclamation has had an effect of increasing the threat of pollution on the marine environment in Doha costal area. The majority of stakeholders highlighted concerns regarding the issue of land reclamation and its impact on the environment along the Doha Costal area. The results from this study will help add important findings to the limited literature regarding the impact of land reclamation along Doha costal area