Dr. Wajdan Al-Aqab called for confronting this environmental disaster, which is a huge challenge that requires urgent international cooperation to save the Red Sea from an actual environmental disaster as a result of the sinking of the Rubimar ship, and to work on a technical assessment based on conclusive scientific evidence of the steps that the international community must take to avoid or mitigate the effects of this environmental disaster that threatens the lives of the population and the components of biodiversity in the site and to prevent the transfer and expansion of the area of those effects, urging all parties to strive towards preventing the use of the environment in wars and military conflicts.
Dr. Al-Aqab, President of the Kuwaiti Society for Environmental Protection, which is an accredited member of the United Nations Environment Programme in the West Asia region, stated: “It seems that environmental demands and efforts do not have a serious impact amidst the flurry of geopolitical decisions that have transformed the world. While the United Nations Environment Programme has been working tirelessly over the past two weeks during the sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, to address numerous issues of concern to the world’s regions from an environmental perspective, striving to present the issues that concern it, she added: “The West Asia region focused on issues related to the catastrophic effects of wars and military conflicts on the environment in various parts of the region. Today, we find that the region is facing a new disaster due to the inaction of international bodies in resolving the Rubimar tanker problem, just as they previously delayed in resolving the problem of the floating Safer tanker.”.
The Kuwaiti Society for Environmental Protection and the Gulf Network of Environmental NGOs, in a joint press statement issued by their president, Dr. Wajdan Al-Aqab, considered that “the sinking of the ship “Ruby Mar” on the shores of the Red Sea off the Yemeni coast constitutes a sad tragedy, leaving an environmental disaster that threatens to change the features of life in the waters.” The statement pointed out “the seriousness of the situation, as the sunken ship contains more than 41,000 metric tons of dangerous fertilizers, ammonium phosphate sulfate and fuel, the leakage of which poses a direct threat to marine life, the surrounding islands and fish stocks.”.
The two organizations explained that before the announcement of the sinking of the Rubimar, the leaked materials had formed an oil slick extending 18 nautical miles across the water, naturally spreading with the currents. They added: “The sinking of the ship and the oil spill will ultimately destroy the marine and fish environment, and the pollution will reach the fish food sources in the coral reefs, as the layer of oil blocks sunlight from reaching them on the one hand, and deposits hydrocarbons on them on the other, in a clear and certain threat to the food security of the poor people of Yemen who depend on traditional fishing.” They pointed out that the leaked oil also threatens the lives of migratory birds, leaving behind a marine environment facing an even more uncertain fate.
Dr. Wajdan Al-Aqab explained that “the ship’s cargo of those fertilizers will inevitably affect the food web in the marine environment and will change the nature of the ecosystem. It will also cause algae to multiply, the growth of which will cause a decrease in oxygen levels and an increase in toxicity in the water, and the coral reefs will die,” noting that the effects of this disaster will inevitably extend to the region.
The joint statement from the Environment Protection Society and the Gulf Network of Environmental NGOs stated that “the loss of livelihoods for fishermen may force them to migrate en masse from these areas, placing a new man-made burden that contradicts the Sustainable Development Goals on international efforts to support those in need as a result of the current military conflicts in the region, in addition to international efforts to address these environmental problems, rehabilitation, and alternative opportunities to support natural systems.” The statement also noted the high cost of these environmental treatments, and pointed out that “the sinking of the ship is a new tragedy for which biodiversity, living organisms, and the population are paying the price due to wars and the resulting tragedies, and it has created a food catastrophe for humans whose consequences will extend for many years.”.
