The Kuwait Environment Protection Society, as a national partner, participated in a meeting that included 15 speakers from around the world, as global experts and local and national partners of the BirdLife International organization, to discuss “establishing a coordination group for the eastern part of the African-Eurasian migratory bird route.” The Society was represented at the meeting by Dr. Wajdan Al-Aqab, Chairperson of the Board of Directors.
Dr. Wajdan Al-Aqab commented on the meeting entitled “EAEF Partners Coordination Meeting” by saying: “Global bird experts and representatives of national partners of BirdLife International discussed the roles and responsibilities of this group and its planned formation of (2-3 partners from each region: Africa, Middle East, Europe/Central Asia), as well as determining the number of times the group should meet. The partners expressed their interest in joining the coordination group, the potential areas of the group’s work during the coming year, and the next and subsequent steps, including holding a “preliminary meeting” at Victoria Falls.”.
Dr. Al-Aqab noted the “positive global feedback on Kuwait’s participation in the meeting, which also included several open discussions on various topics, including monitoring waterfowl, blue swallows, illegal avian killing (IKB), the impact of energy infrastructure on birds, regional monitoring of flamingos, and the protection of birds of prey.” She pointed out that these discussions, which were part of the “EAEF Partners Coordination Meeting,” aimed to coordinate efforts to conserve birds across the eastern part of the African-Eurasian Migratory Bird Route.
She noted that she participated in the online discussion segment led by the renowned international expert, Willem van den Bosch, and that Dr. Wajdan Al-Aqab raised key points about the Coordination Group, in terms of its formation, structure, and responsibilities, in addition to the responsibilities and tasks of the members, and the methods and sources of funding, expressing her interest in Kuwait’s participation in that group.
She explained, “The Coordination Group will participate in resource mobilization as part of its responsibilities. Specifically, when discussing roles and responsibilities, it was mentioned that Ms. Leanne (Coordinator for the African-Eurasian Bird Trail) will oversee the implementation of the strategy, including resource mobilization, as well as policy development, advocacy, communication, and coordination between regions.” She continued, “In addition, during the discussion of the Coordination Group’s priorities for the coming year, it was agreed that fundraising is one of the areas that needs to be worked on.”.
Dr. Wajdan Al-Aqab explained that during the meeting she presented the State of Kuwait’s efforts in protecting the environment, especially in the field of protecting birds and their habitats. She stated, “The Kuwait Environment Protection Society established a bird monitoring and protection team in the 1970s. The Society issued a sustainable hunting strategy in 2012 and prohibited overhunting. Kuwait issued Law No. 42 of 2014 to protect the environment, habitats, and biodiversity, including birds. The State of Kuwait, represented by the Environment Public Authority, signed the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. Moreover, Kuwait established the Mubarak Al-Kabeer Reserve, which covers more than two-thirds of Bubiyan Island (the island represents more than 5% of the total area of Kuwait). In addition, the Kuwait Environment Protection Society, through its bird monitoring and protection team, conducts bird monitoring awareness activities once or twice a year (summer and winter), and birds are monitored throughout the year in different locations (the Society and the Environment Public Authority).”.
She continued to recount some of Kuwait’s efforts in the field of protecting birds and their environments, stating, “The Jahra Reserve is considered an important bird area with rich biodiversity under the supervision of the Environment Public Authority, noting that there is good cooperation between the government, represented by the Environment Public Authority, and non-governmental organizations in Kuwait to exchange data and information. The non-governmental organizations, through their volunteers, help in monitoring operations, as they can visit sites even outside official working hours.”.
Dr. Wajdan Al-Aqab concluded her participation in the discussions of the BirdLife International meeting by raising several topics about the nature of volunteer work, expressing her desire to represent Kuwait in the coordination group that is planned to be organized, and discussed the need for documentation that highlights the challenges and differences between regions and territories. She also pointed out the need for online training courses for using databases to ensure the sustainability of data collection efforts.
