Kuwait Marine Life Degrading to Alarming Levels

(Bechtel International, Persian Gulf (Arabian Gulf), Oil Drill-head; about 1950. Kuwait or Saudi Arabia.)

They say the world is a global village. If so, and if the environment is a global concern, more emphasis needs to be put on helping countries like Kuwait where their marine life, its atmosphere and soil levels, according to the Kuwait Times, is degrading at an alarming rate.

Considered one of the most polluted among all the Gulf countries, a lack of government policy coupled with the pollution after-effects of the Iraq invasion of 1991 has kept Kuwait in a poor state of repair. Dr Hamad Al-Mutar, Head of Kuwait’s Greenpeace Organization and a Chemistry professor at the Kuwait University is asking the United Nations help Kuwait clean up lingering hydrocarbons via less impacting biological methods. 

Sounds like the perfect opportunity for BioPetroClean, a company whose marine-derived oil eating bacteria could get the job done. 

In the Kuwait Times, Dr. Al-Mutar says that the UN has sent warnings to Kuwait – and the Kuwaitis have not responded. The UN was offering compensation for eco-reform at values of about $5 billion to Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. While all other countries replied within two weeks to the UN, it took the Kuwaitis a year and a half. 

Some 90 million square meters of soil have been contaminated by oil spills in Kuwait, says Dr. Al-Mutar, and a recent sewage spill has aggravated the problem even more. Peoples’ health is at stake, he warns:

Dr. Al-Mutairi indicated that the ‘Umm Al-Qawatti’ area, located in the northern part of the country, has been used by the Kuwaiti Army as a ‘dumpster’ for unloading waste. It is also contaminated with Uranium, which has been responsible for the rising cancer rates in the country, reported Al-Qabas. He has called on  on activists and the Kuwaiti public to continue placing pressure on the government to save Kuwait’s environment.

More on conflict and the environment:
The Impact of Conflict In Gaza’s Environment
An Eco-Farm Blooms Under Rocket Fire From Gaza
The Conflicted Middle East To Worsen As Global Warming Causes Rising Sea Levels
10th Kuwaiti Conference on Natural Resources and Development

::Kuwait Times
Image via David C. Foster.