The Kuwait Environment Protection Society continued its virtual specialized environmental training program, which it offers at its Sabah Al-Ahmad Center for Environmental Training. The program includes 9 specialized courses offered by the Society over 4 weeks during the period from February 14 to March 11, 2021, with the participation of 10 experts concerned with environmental work in the State of Kuwait and the Arab world.
The association's treasurer, Yousef Al-Kous, explained that "the activities of the second week of the program included a training course by association member Professor Dr. Raafat Misak entitled 'The Relationship Between Land Uses, Soil Degradation, Disappearance of Vegetation Cover and Loss of Biodiversity' and included virtual field trips to several sites of environmental nature, including the Sabah Al-Ahmad Reserve and the Kabd Research and Innovation Station, in addition to his presentation of a series of scientific lectures, namely 'Land Neutralization Programs in the State of Kuwait, Land Use Classification, and Land Degradation Mechanisms', adding: "Dr. Raafat Misak addressed in his course and three lectures the land uses, ranging from highly destructive to destructive uses, reviewing the manifestations of land degradation and its types, soil salinization and the decline in its productivity, and addressing simple and minor degradation.".
Yousef Al-Kous explained that “the activities of the second week of the virtual specialized environmental training program included a course on making and analyzing environmental policies, presented by lecturer Professor Hamed Eidan, Executive Director of Eco Life Sense Environmental Consulting Company. His course aimed to analyze and make environmental policies and align them with development plans.” He pointed out that by the end of the program, the trainees were able to identify public policies, analyze and make environmental policies and align them with the development vision, and learn about the development journey in the State of Kuwait, as well as develop initiatives and mechanisms for environmental policies. He added that “the program content included three training units: the development journey in Kuwait and its policies, environmental policy analysis, and making and testing environmental policies.”.
Youssef Al-Kous, treasurer of the Environment Society, affirmed that “these training courses benefited a wide range of trainees from Arab countries. The trainees included many academics, specialists in environmental sciences, activists within public benefit associations, and university students. They provided an opportunity for discussion during each training course, making it a platform for transferring regional experiences from participants, exchanging information, and forming brainstorming sessions to link national and regional solutions.” He pointed out the Kuwait Environment Protection Society’s interest in embracing creative projects in science and the environment and forming national and regional working groups through its leadership of the Gulf Network of Environmental NGOs and its memberships in the Arab Network for Environment and Development “Raed” and the Arab Forum for the Environment “AFED”.
