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Qatar’s Biodiversity Database Platform Set For 2024 Launch
The project, in collaboration with UNEP, aims to preserve local species and gather valuable environmental data.
The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MoECC) has reached the final phase of a project to create Qatar’s biodiversity database platform.
The primary objective of this endeavor is to construct a sustainable biodiversity database and generate ecological maps of Qatar to pinpoint significant biodiversity sites across the nation. The project will establish a large electronic repository encompassing biodiversity-related and environmental data, cataloging all indigenous plant and animal species in the country in alignment with the Qatar Digital Government Strategy 2023-2025.
The scheduled launch for the database is set for later this year. Experts have already examined the project’s completed phases and unveiled the electronic platform’s initial design, which conforms to international standards.
With the project nearing completion, MoECC recently organized a series of meetings and coordination sessions over a three-day period, which dealt with the final stages of completing the project.
During a workshop held on January 30, a team from the World Conservation Monitoring Center delivered an in-depth presentation on the electronic platform, demonstrating the cutting-edge technology in its design. The software will facilitate seamless user operations and provide advanced capabilities alongside an initial assessment to identify research user requirements and review the database.
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On January 31, another training workshop was conducted, in which the project team oversaw advanced technological training for MoECC’s technical team. The trained group of users will manage the content of the project’s knowledge management platform in collaboration with the ministry’s communication teams after the official project launch later this year.
Launched in 2021, the Qatar biodiversity database project’s overarching goal is to compile a database for preserving the nation’s biodiversity. This resource will also support the creation of reports related to biodiversity, monitoring efforts, and decision-making processes.
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AltoVolo Opens Orders For Limited Edition Sigma eVTOLs
Early buyers can now reserve build slots for AltoVolo’s 500-mile hybrid aircraft through a new online configurator.
AltoVolo has started taking pre-orders for its first electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, the Sigma, moving the startup closer to commercial rollout. Customers can now secure a build slot with a £860 deposit and customize every detail online — from paintwork to seatbelt stitching. It’s the first configurator of its kind for a civilian eVTOL, mirroring how luxury car brands let clients tailor performance models before production.
The Sigma runs on a hybrid-electric tilting jet system built for long range and low noise. It can travel up to 500 miles at a 220-mph cruise, and is over 80% quieter than a helicopter. The three-seater weighs just 980kg and can maintain stable flight even if one jet fails. Safety systems include triple-redundant controls, thrust-vectoring stability and a ballistic parachute.
“We will be delivering an ultra-refined hybrid electric aircraft,” said founder and CEO Will Wood. “We believe there are thousands of customers for this type of cutting-edge technology”.
The first 100 units will come with exclusive materials and finishes. AltoVolo is also setting up a global service and maintenance network, with early planning for overhaul schedules already underway. The company’s focus on ownership experience echoes its ambition to anchor itself alongside established aviation brands rather than pure tech ventures.
To help new owners train, the company has built a full-scale simulator that replicates the Sigma cockpit in carbon fiber and leather. Pilots can log time toward a license using the system, aligned with the new US MOSAIC rules that ease certification for powered-lift aircraft. Certification work in Europe and the UK continues in parallel, signaling growing international alignment around light sport and eVTOL regulation.
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Noise inside the cabin has become another design focus. Engineers are refining internal vibration levels and developing a responsive soundscape that shifts with each jet’s power load — part feedback, part theatre.
Urban air mobility projects across the Gulf and elsewhere are pushing regulators and manufacturers to meet in the middle. Dubai, Riyadh and Doha have each outlined plans for air taxi corridors this decade. AltoVolo’s hybrid Sigma, sitting between electric promise and aviation realism, looks built for that middle ground.
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