The Kuwait Environment Protection Society, through its Chairman of the Board, Dr. Wajdan Al-Aqab, affirmed that the Society's memberships in Arab and international environmental organizations have witnessed strong momentum in recent times, noting the effectiveness of the Society's presence in the environmental activities and programs of those organizations, in which its membership extends for decades and it was one of the founders of many of them. This came during its reception of an international delegation from the “Birdlife International” organization, consisting of Dr. Ibrahim Al-Khader, the organization's director in the Middle East, and Dr. Imad Al-Atrash, the executive director of the Wildlife Society in the State of Palestine.
Dr. Al-Aqab explained that the Environment Society hosted the “Bird Life” delegation as part of upgrading its membership in the organization, as well as organizing a work program that includes field visits to both the Jahra Nature Reserve and the Habitat Museum, as well as a visit to the Environment Public Authority and the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences, and a discussion of the Society’s projects in the field of the organization’s work related to wildlife birds.
For his part, Mohammed Shah, head of the Bird Monitoring and Protection Team, reviewed the association's roles in environmental protection during a meeting held between the association, its board members, a delegation from Wildlife International, and the Bird Monitoring and Protection Team. He noted that one of the association's most important and oldest teams is the Bird Monitoring and Protection Team, which undertakes numerous tasks in this field, such as counting migratory birds, monitoring their numbers, and tracking changes over the years in their natural habitats. He also pointed out the association's widespread role in raising awareness about the importance of bird conservation, such as producing the awareness video "Let Them Cross." In addition, he mentioned the first in a series of documentary programs on wildlife in Kuwait, "A Bird Every Day," which featured 30 bird species found in Kuwait, bringing the total number of bird species to 412. He also mentioned the film "A Day in the Life of a Observer," which showcases the challenges and difficulties faced by team members in observing birds.
Shah added that the footage and results from the observation trips enrich the monthly environmental magazine published by the association with high-quality, informative articles on birds. Furthermore, Shah explained that awareness of the importance of birds reaches school students through the Green Schools program, which includes lectures, events, and activities focused on birds.
For his part, Dr. Ibrahim Khader, Regional Director of BirdLife International in the Middle East, praised “the successes of the Kuwait Environment Protection Society in the field of bird protection on the ground through the Society’s participation in setting laws and contributing to their implementation and its involvement in numerous projects that serve the interest of protecting birds and raising awareness of their importance, which inevitably leads to it being a fundamental pillar in the recommendation to upgrade the Society’s membership in the organization.”.
