Kuwait affirms importance, care of marine environment
Blue carbon habitats ‘vital’
KUWAIT CITY, April 25, (KUNA): The Regional Organization for the Protection of the Marine Environment celebrated the Regional Environment Day, which falls on Sunday under the slogan ‘The role of blue carbon habitats in mitigating the effects of climate change’.
The representative of the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Oil, Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs and Chairman of the Supreme Council for the Environment Chairman of the Board and Director General of the Environment Public Authority Sheikh Abdullah Ahmad Al-Hamoud Al-Sabah said in his speech during the celebration that the organization has made several efforts that contributed to strengthening cooperation between the countries of the region to preserve their environment and drawing up a general strategy to deal with the various environmental challenges.
Sheikh Abdullah Al-Ahmad added that the organization includes in its membership eight countries, namely the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, in addition to Iraq and Iran, and these countries share the fact that they produce oil, the global strategic commodity, which represents the lifeblood of the global economy, which imposes on them the need to follow safe methods in terms of operational and environmental terms, coordination and cooperation among them to raise their readiness and enhance their efficiency to face emergency situations such as pollution incidents.
He explained that the world has been preoccupied in recent decades with global warming and climate change, the latest of which was the global meeting that was held at the end of last year in Glasgow at the level of world leaders to develop appropriate solutions to the consequences of this phenomenon, as Kuwait had an active role and representation at the highest level.
He stated that choosing the title ‘Blue Carbon Habitats’ for this celebration is a direct contribution to enhancing societal awareness about the importance of dealing with this phenomenon and enhancing preparedness for it.
He stated that introducing environmental concepts with methods of adaptation and treatment of the phenomenon of climate change among students, youth and teachers develops societal culture and enhances readiness in this regard.
He added that the development of marine habitats that are effective in
extracting and storing carbon is one of the most important means and methods of confronting the consequences of climate change, which requires taking all appropriate measures in this regard, such as developing the cultivation of marine trees such as mangroves, preserving sea grass habitats and other marine natural formations with the ability to reduce the effects of gases causing climate change.
Sheikh Abdullah Al-Ahmad affirmed Kuwait’s interest in the marine environment, especially as it is one of the coastal countries in which the coasts are one of the important environments that require special care to preserve them from pollution sources, develop them and increase their efficiency.
He indicated that the Environmental Protection Law includes laws specific to coastal and marine environments, and the Environment Protection Agency constantly monitors potential sources of pollution, stationary or mobile, on the coasts and the sea.
He stated that the IMO plays an important role in addressing the phenomenon
of climate change through coordination between member states, exchanging information and experiences in this field, and developing effective strategies, in addition to continuous monitoring of the environmental situation in order to identify environmental changes that may occur and be able to address them.
For his part, the Secretary-General of the Regional Organization for the Protection of the Marine Environment, Dr. Jassim Bishara, said in his speech that the celebration of this day coincides with the anniversary of the establishment of the Maritime Organization more than 40 years ago, in light of the signing of the Kuwait agreement in this regard by the countries of the region Bishara added that the establishment of the Maritime Organization in the countries of the region stems from their awareness of the importance of coordination among them in order to take the necessary measures to protect the environment in one of the most important marine areas in the world, in which petroleum products are produced and exported.