The Kuwait Environment Protection Society praised the pavilion of the General Secretariat of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) at the Climate Summit currently being held in Dubai, and specifically thanked those in charge of it, especially Dr. Mohammed Al-Rashidi, for his interest in showcasing the Gulf Network of NGOs for Environmental Protection.
As part of the society’s participation in the “Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change COP28“, in the blue zone designated for official delegations, governments and stakeholders, as it is the only Kuwaiti civil organization that enjoys observer status in the ”United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change UNFCCC”, the society’s member, environmental engineer Yousef Abdulredha Al-Ramzi, the official spokesperson and a founding member of the society’s environmental engineers team, participated in attending many of the lectures, workshops and dialogue sessions held during the second week of the summit.
Mr. Al-Ramzi delivered an introductory lecture on the “Gulf Network of Environmental NGOs: A 22-Year Journey” at the GCC pavilion. The network was established and officially registered in the presence of the Kuwaiti Environment Public Authority on April 26, 2000. It is a Gulf-based organization with legal personality and full capacity to conduct its business and achieve its objectives with moral and financial independence. Its headquarters are in Kuwait. He also mentioned the founding members: the Kuwait Environment Protection Society, the UAE Environmental Friends Society, the Qatar Environmental Friends Center, and the Bahrain Youth and Environment Society.
Engineer Yousef Al-Ramzi explained the network's objectives, saying, "To enhance and develop cooperation and coordination mechanisms among environmental institutions, and to exchange knowledge and expertise with relevant governmental and non-governmental bodies and international organizations. To establish an advanced environmental database. To highlight the efforts of the Gulf countries in preserving the environment. To raise awareness of the activities and roles of institutions directly related to the environment. In addition, to cooperate in promoting joint projects for the protection, rehabilitation, and development of the environment in the GCC countries. As well as to enhance the confidence of GCC citizens in regulatory bodies and support them in performing their work and achieving their goals.".
He noted the network's memberships, which include: “The General Secretariat of the League of Arab States, with observer status in the meetings of Arab ministers responsible for environmental affairs since 2001, pursuant to Resolution No. (Q 149-A26 MT) (24/5/2001); membership in the Steering Committee of the Environmental Education, Awareness, and Media Program in the Arab World at the Technical Secretariat of the Council of Arab Ministers Responsible for Environmental Affairs since 2001; and the joint Arab ministerial meeting in preparation for the Arab position at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (2001).“ Regarding the network's membership in the General Secretariat of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC), he explained that ”the network is an observer member, attending technical meetings in the field of the environment, in accordance with the recommendation issued by the sixteenth meeting of the Environmental Coordination Committee (Kuwait, April 2002), to activate the leaders' decision (December 2001) on encouraging the establishment of civil society organizations in the GCC countries in the field of voluntary environmental work.”.
Environmental engineer Yousef Al-Ramzi reviewed some of the achievements of the Gulf Network of Environmental NGOs, including “the first Gulf Youth Environmental Forum in 2014, which was organized by the network in Abu Dhabi in parallel with the International Renewable Energy Exhibition, in addition to organizing the second Gulf Youth Environmental Forum in Abu Dhabi in 2016, and the third Gulf Youth Environmental Forum in Abu Dhabi in 2019 during the International Renewable Energy Conference.”.
The founding member of the Environmental Engineers Team at the Environment Society pointed out that the network organized Earth Hour events simultaneously in the Gulf countries, in addition to participating in organizing Smart Energy Week and Sustainable Local Energy Planning Tools and Methods for Arab Cities, the First Arab Environmental Media Conference 2019, the Arab Environment Forum “AFED” events, participation in the workshops of the final conference of the Waste Management Project in 5 Arab countries, the National Consultative Coordination Workshop on Disaster Risk Reduction 2020, the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction - October 13, in addition to participating in the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflicts - November 6, and the Gulf Environmental Forum for Gulf Environmental Public Benefit Associations and Volunteer Teams (State of Kuwait 2017), recommending the need for a regional Gulf environmental civil entity that brings together public benefit associations with environmental specialization that are easy to join, which is what the network currently provides.
