Today, Tuesday, marks the 46th anniversary of the founding of the Kuwait Environment Protection Society, which was declared on March 31, 1974, to represent one of the civil society organizations in Kuwait and undertake its various tasks, responsibilities, strategies, awareness and environmental projects, and refine them in service of the Kuwaiti environment.
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 society’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 society also holds the position of national coordinator in the State of Kuwait for the Arab Network for Environment and Development (RAED). In addition, the society 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, a partner in BirdLife International, an observer member of the United Nations Environment Programme, and a member of the Arab Forum for Environment and Development. It was officially registered with the United Nations to participate in the World Summit on Environment and Development held in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2000.«.
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.”.
Janan Behzad stated that “Throughout its journey, the society has strengthened the focus of environmental awareness among all sectors and groups 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, headed by the distinguished director Dr. Abdul-Redha Al-Ramzi, to present its series of documentary works, including environmental films and awareness flashes, as well as its annual television program to monitor and document wildlife in the State of Kuwait, which has presented and continues to present its famous annual Ramadan programs, including the programs (Every Day a Bird, Every Day a Plant, Every Day a Yale, Every Day a Fish, Every Day a Picnic 1, and Every Day a Picnic 2), in addition to the film The Environmental Epic and A Day in the Life of a Monitor and its quick awareness messages in pictures,” noting that the center has won many awards and shields in Arab and international competitions.
Announcing that “the society launched its educational program “Green Schools” nine years ago, 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 proven credibility, and its lectures, seminars, and workshops are delivered by trained national cadres and elites. In addition, the society launched the ”Beach Safari” program, which includes an integrated program on 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.”.
The Secretary-General of the Environment Society explained that “today, Wednesday, April 1st, marks the thirty-eighth year of its monthly magazine (Al-Bia’a), whose editor-in-chief is the media figure Rajab Abu Al-Dahab, and with it, it launches its thirty-ninth 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. In addition, the Society has published many specialized works, 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 Kuwait’s plants and birds, and many publications covering various environmental topics. The Society has also created a series of guides for rationalizing water consumption.”.
Behzad stated, “Within the framework of communication and community engagement projects and the environmental responsibility they entail, the society has prepared capacity-building programs, annual conferences, periodic seminars and lectures, and training programs that enhance the environmental development projects it has pursued throughout its journey, and to qualify national cadres and capabilities that contribute to raising environmental work in the country. In this regard, the society established the Friends of the Environment for Reconstruction team, which consists of emerging school students, in addition to launching many environmental initiatives at the local and international levels, which have become an applied approach in many aspects of broad environmental work and have contributed to the process of building capacities and training expertise in the field of environmental research and studies and the protection and preservation of the environment. In addition, the Wildlife Protection Committee and the Bird Monitoring and Protection Team have distinguished themselves by carrying out large and multiple programs in the areas of documentation, protection, and monitoring of all habitats and organisms of the terrestrial environment, including soil, animals, and wild plants, in conjunction with awareness programs that include seminars, lectures, and specialized exhibitions.”.
She pointed out that in recent years the society has established multiple environmental partnerships with several entities in the country, including cooperation protocols with sovereign entities such as the Ministry of Interior and civil society organizations such as the Kuwaiti Lawyers Society, as well as multiple partnerships with other entities, including the General Staff of the Kuwaiti Army, Civil Aviation, Kuwait Oil Company, the Ministry of Information, 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 outstanding cooperation with these entities has resulted in many projects that have enriched the country’s environmental library with its qualification, training, and workshops.
The society is dedicated to protecting the environment and combating the causes of pollution in all areas. It coordinates the efforts of those concerned with this issue, takes all possible preventive and remedial measures against pollution, and works to develop a scientific approach, legal frameworks, and administrative regulations that ensure environmental safety and protect the country's natural resources. It also conducts scientific and environmental studies and research. Furthermore, it focuses on educational, media, social, and cultural aspects related to the environment and strives to contribute effectively to raising public awareness and enhancing citizens' scientific and cultural understanding of environmental issues, particularly concerning air, water, and soil pollution, and protecting and preserving the country's natural resources in cooperation with relevant authorities. All of this stems from the society's founding principle: to spread environmental awareness among citizens, protect the environment from pollution using various traditional and modern means, mechanisms, and tools, and to rehabilitate the Kuwaiti environment after the devastation caused by the Iraqi invasion and the resulting recommendations.
