Dr. Wajdan Al-Aqab, President of the Kuwait Environment Protection Society, stated that “the visit of a three-member delegation from the US Embassy in Kuwait, at the Embassy’s request, underscores the long-standing and fruitful environmental cooperation with the Society, spanning many years. This cooperation culminated in the US Embassy’s participation in the Society’s Golden Jubilee celebrations this year, which reinforces the Society’s commitment to social responsibility in environmental protection on an international level. This commitment is demonstrated through the organization of events and activities involving members of the diplomatic corps from numerous embassies of sister Arab and friendly foreign countries, as well as members of their respective communities.” She noted that the Society’s Golden Jubilee and Fiftieth Jubilee celebrations have witnessed numerous environmental programs, events, and collaborations between the Society and the US Embassy in Kuwait.
In this regard, Dr. Wajdan Al-Aqab confirmed that “the American delegation presented several areas of environmental cooperation adopted by the Kuwait Environment Protection Society through awareness work in social media programs on environmental issues. The cooperation comes with the participation and supervision of the Society in establishing at the Embassy headquarters a drinking site for migratory birds that serves as a landing pad for them, which supports the path of awareness towards protecting and preserving them, as Kuwait is one of the most important migratory bird routes in the world.”.
She explained that “the tripartite delegation from the US Embassy, which consists of members of its environmental team, including Stuart Turner, Public Diplomacy Officer, Chelsea Tucker, Consular Section Officer, and Nasreen Nasser, Social Media Officer, reviewed several points planned to be organized with the Kuwait Environment Protection Society, praising the series of documentary programs on wildlife in Kuwait that the Society produces and completes over 10 consecutive seasons, considering them among their most important and prominent environmental awareness references, and announcing their desire to obtain them by requesting the Kuwaiti Ministry of Information to provide them with the translated version of the episodes to benefit from and learn about the biodiversity in the State of Kuwait.”.
Dr. Al-Aqab announced an agreement with the American delegation on the Kuwait Environment Protection Society’s participation in a major awareness campaign organized by the American Embassy via social media. She also noted the agreement to participate in the “International Day for Combating Dust Storms,” which is celebrated globally on July 12th annually. She emphasized that the Kuwait Environment Protection Society’s participation in the American Embassy’s environmental team’s celebration of the International Day for Dust Storms in Kuwait marks the beginning of joint activities planned to support and enhance environmental awareness efforts and objectives between them.
She reviewed the association’s role in raising awareness about preserving the desert and vegetation cover in the wild environment, in addition to proposing to start implementing afforestation projects included in the Green Belt Program, which the association had previously submitted to the Council of Ministers. She raised the issue of the existence of many proposals for green belts and trees that can be planted in areas suitable for planting them, stressing that the deterioration of vegetation cover negatively affects biodiversity and increases sandstorms and the dust phenomenon, which is enhanced by the dryness of open lands and the expansion of desertification. She called for activating programs for propagating native plants capable of trapping sand from perennial plants in the Kuwaiti environment.
During her participation with the US Embassy's environmental team on the International Day for Combating Dust Storms, Dr. Wajdan Al-Aqab delivered an awareness message to individuals about their role in combating this international problem. One of the most prominent and important solutions is to avoid walking randomly in the desert and to adhere to the paved and designated roads during camping (Al-Yada) and other activities, because soil compaction affects three important things: First, seeds do not receive the appropriate aeration for germination, which leads to the destruction of vegetation cover. Second, soil compaction affects the vertical recharge of rainwater, which affects groundwater reserves. Third, the lack of vegetation cover negatively affects the enjoyment of the desert, camping trips, and future outings. Therefore, we are more deserving of our environment and our desert.
Dr. Wajdan Al-Aqab stated that “there is no alternative to taking the measures included in designing and implementing a program for afforestation and greening Kuwait, especially since Kuwait, like the rest of the world, has signed on to achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, including Goal 15, which focuses on preserving life on land, and Goal 13, which concerns climate action.” She emphasized the importance of having programs for monitoring and tracking dust storms and programs for evaluating treatment plans and programs.
