Dr. Wajdan Al-Aqab, President of the Kuwaiti Society for Environmental Protection, considered the 49th anniversary of the Society’s founding, which was announced on March 31, 1974, as one of the civil society organizations in Kuwait, and which undertakes its various tasks, responsibilities, strategies, and awareness and environmental projects and refines them in service of the Kuwaiti environment, as a new building block added to the building blocks of an ambitious journey full of hundreds of environmental and awareness programs and projects that have contributed and continue to participate in pioneering roles in the journey of voluntary and community environmental work in the State of Kuwait.
Secretary-General Jenan Behzad said that the society, which is one of the oldest Arab civil organizations concerned with the comprehensiveness of voluntary environmental work, was established to promote raising awareness among all segments of society and educating them about the environment, including forums, seminar programs, conferences, lectures and specialized exhibitions that enrich capacity and experience development programs according to its training plans. She appealed to all responsible authorities in the country to work on providing a permanent headquarters for the society that contains this distinguished history of voluntary environmental work in the State of Kuwait, as the society carries out its work and continues its journey from a temporary headquarters at the Security Committee for Follow-up on Cabinet Decisions affiliated with the Ministry of Interior at the headquarters of the Milk Camp.
Behzad explained that as the society launches its 47th year in its journey at the beginning of April 2020, it fondly remembers that national elite of founders, elites, successive cadres from previous boards of directors, and groups of experts, academics, and trained volunteer cadres who enriched and pushed them towards the environmental work journey in the State of Kuwait. She pointed out that the society’s effectiveness and prominent activity at the local level earned it the confidence to be a member of the board of directors of the Public Authority for the Environment as an organization representing civil society and its participation in all permanent or emergency national committees to which any environmental issues or aspects are assigned.
She added, “Regarding the association’s external activities, it heads and manages the executive office of the Gulf Network of Environmental NGOs, and its chairperson, Dr. Wajdan Al-Aqab, serves as the regional advisor to the Global Network of Civil Society Organizations for Disaster Reduction. The association also holds the position of national coordinator in the State of Kuwait for the Arab Network for Environment and Development (RAED). In addition, the association is a member of several Arab, regional, and international organizations and forums, whether concerned with unilateral or holistic environmental work, including the Arab Union for Waste Management, a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a partner in the World Council for the Protection of Birds (OSMI), BirdLife International, and a member of the United Nations Environment Programme as an observer since 2005. It is also a member of the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) and a regional coordinator for the United Nations Environment Programme. Furthermore, the association holds a seat on the board of directors of the Environment Public Authority.«.
Dr. Wajdan Al-Aqab stated that “Throughout its history, the association has strengthened the focus on environmental awareness among all sectors and segments of society, believing in the importance of instilling the concept of environmental citizenship and that every citizen is an environmental guardian. In this regard, it established the Environmental Media and Documentation Center, which presents its series of documentary works, including environmental films and awareness videos, as well as its annual television program for monitoring and documenting wildlife in the State of Kuwait. This program has presented and continues to present its famous annual Ramadan programs, including the programs (Every Day a Bird 2 & 1, Every Day a Plant 2 & 1, Every Day a Fish 2 & 1, Every Day a Picnic 2 & 1), in addition to the film The Environmental Epic, A Day in the Life of a Monitor, and its quick awareness messages in video format.” She pointed out that “the center has won many awards and shields in Arab and international competitions, and the programs were used in teaching students during the pandemic, and today the Ministry of Education considers them as a reliable scientific resource supporting the school curricula.”.
Announcing that “the association has established its educational program “Green Schools” for 12 years, which enjoys great educational and student interest and participation, with an annual rate exceeding three thousand participants, including mentors, teachers, and students. It provides accurate knowledge about current and emerging environmental issues. The program enjoys a proven credibility, and trained national cadres and elites participate in delivering its lectures, seminars, and workshops. In addition, the association has established the “Beach Safari” program, which includes an integrated program about coastal and beach environments, their natural components, living organisms, and natural habitats. In addition, there are specialized scientific teams to monitor the environmental situation in various environmental sites, whether islands, coasts, border areas, or deserts, to identify any violations or transgressions against the components of wildlife, in coordination with the relevant authorities in the country. This has been a reason for a significant increase in the number of students studying environmental science and environmental engineering since 2015.”.
She emphasized that “the Environmental Protection Society, with its specialized environmental teams and committees, has, since its establishment, presented successive sets of cultural seasons that include seminars, lectures, workshops, discussion panels and environmental weeks in various governorates of the country, in addition to holding local, regional and international environmental conferences and seminars, including environmental educational seminars in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and also among the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.”.
The head of the Environment Society explained that “the first day of April marks the launch of its monthly magazine (Environment), in its forty-second year, as the first issue of it was published in March 1981. It provides researchers, scholars and students with scientific and educational environmental content from distinguished and reliable academic elites. It was one of the important publications that was deposited in the Library of Congress in the United States. In addition, the Society has issued many specialized publications, including the series on environmental issues, the encyclopedic work (The Field Guide to the Birds of the State of Kuwait), documentary works and paintings of the plants and birds of Kuwait, and many publications that cover various environmental topics. The Society has also created a series of guides for rationalizing water consumption.”.
Dr. Al-Aqab stated, “Within the framework of community outreach and engagement projects, and in fulfillment of its environmental responsibility, the Society has developed capacity-building programs, annual conferences, periodic seminars and lectures, and training programs that enhance the environmental development projects it has pursued throughout its history. These programs aim to develop national cadres and capabilities that contribute to advancing environmental work in the country. In this regard, the Society established the Sabah Al-Ahmad Center for Specialized Environmental Training, which organizes training programs and workshops presented by Kuwaiti and Arab experts and consultants. The Center also trains teams within the Society, in addition to the Friends of the Environment team for emerging school students. Furthermore, the Society has launched numerous environmental initiatives at the local and international levels, which have become a practical approach in many aspects of broad environmental work. These initiatives have contributed to capacity building and the development of expertise in environmental research and studies, as well as environmental protection and conservation. In addition, the Wildlife Protection Committee and the Bird Monitoring and Protection Team have distinguished themselves by implementing extensive and diverse programs in the areas of documentation, protection, and monitoring of all habitats and organisms within the terrestrial environment, including birds, soil, animals, and wild plants. These programs are complemented by awareness campaigns that include seminars, lectures, and exhibitions.” Specialized.
She pointed out that “in recent years, the association has established multiple environmental partnerships with several entities in the country, including cooperation protocols with sovereign bodies such as the Ministry of Interior and civil society organizations such as the Kuwaiti Lawyers Association and Al-Ru’ya Environmental Consulting Company, in addition to a long list of our partners in environmental protection with ongoing bilateral cooperation, including the General Staff of the Kuwaiti Army, the National Guard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Information, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the Kuwait Oil Company, the Environment Public Authority, the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences, and the Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources.” She noted that the distinguished cooperation with these entities has resulted in many projects that have enriched the country’s environmental library with their qualification, training, and workshops. Al-Aqab explained that the Environment Protection Fund and the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences are among the most important and leading partners supporting the environmental, cultural, scientific, and research projects and initiatives that the association proposes and implements.
