Paper Title
Effects Of Land Reclamation On Marine Life On Doha Coastal Region, State Of Qatar

Abstract
Gaining land from water bodies, sea, coastal or shores wetlands is called Land reclamation. Due to the need of dry land for agricultural purposes, industrial use, urban development or port expansions some countries use this method of land fill to achieve its requirements. Land reclamation could have significant adverse impact upon marine environment. Such activities normally take place along the coastline and primarily affect coastal and marine habitats close to the shore, for example, coral reefs, estuaries, marshes and saline habitats, as well as species that occur in these habitats, e.g. planktons, fish, shrimps and turtles.The aim of the study is to evaluate using literature review, qualitative and quantitative methods, the effects of land reclamation on marine environment in Doha and to develop a Doha Marine environment benchmark, among six key stakeholder groups, to mitigate the impacts of land reclamation.The current work has demonstrated that land reclamation has had a great effect upon the marine environment in general and specifically on marine life and this impact has been noticed clearly in the stakeholder�s reviews. There was a general feeling among participants that although land reclamation has economic benefits it has on the other hand disadvantages on the marine environment. Keywords: Doha, Land Reclamation, Marine Environment, Marine Habitat, Qatar, Sediment.