KUWAIT: An aerial view of Kuwait's coastline. - KUNA photos

KUWAIT: Kuwait's marine environment enjoys great official attention, therefore, laws and executive regulations have been enacted that prohibit any encroachment against it. The World Environment Day, which was marked yesterday, focuses on taking urgent measures to revive the damaged ecosystems from forests to coasts, including Kuwait which gives attention to the environment as a whole, especially the marine environment.

Deputy Director-General for Technical Affairs at the Environment Public Authority (EPA) Dr Abdullah Al-Zaidan stressed the importance of preserving Kuwait's environment and raising community awareness on the necessity of preserving marine life. Zaidan noted that the EPA plays a vital role in protecting the marine environment from pollution and preserving its biodiversity, and applies the needed laws, in addition to following up on the implementation of the national plan for managing the marine environment.

Kuwait diving team members carrying out a cleanup campaign at a local island.

He pointed out that the authority guarantees the protection of the marine biodiversity, as it is prohibited to hunt, kill, collect, harm and possess wild or marine species or harm their young. In the future, fishing licensing requirements will be changed to achieve the desired goal of preserving the marine environment, he added.

He also stressed the keenness to implement international treaties related to biodiversity protection, as Kuwait ratified the CBD Convention for the Conservation of Biodiversity in August 2002, which guarantees the preservation of biological diversity, whether in the terrestrial or marine environment.

Kuwait diving team members lift neglected fishing nets.

Meanwhile, the head of the Environmental Volunteer Foundation's Kuwaiti diving team Waleed Al-Fadhel affirmed the team's keenness to cooperate with various governmental and voluntary agencies to remove damage to the Kuwaiti marine environment, whether on the coast or in the sea. Since the team's establishment in 1986, the team has carried out several activities and programs aimed at protecting the marine environment from pollution, as it is the country's main resource, he added.

He also noted that the team recovered 768 boats and marine vessels weighing 11,000 tons, and removed harmful waste from coasts, harbors and islands, in cooperation with government agencies, weighing 3,711 tons, in addition to lifting neglected fishing nets weighing 241 tons. - KUNA