Recent images of a dead, bloody wolf and broken flamingos that young Kuwaiti men killed for sport gave the oil-rich state a dark reputation. But a new video narrated so eloquently by Dalal Al-Abdulrazzak, a Kuwaiti Phd candidate studying Gulf marine ecology at the University of British Columbia, provides a glimpse into a less-celebrated segment of society – one that we really need to support.
In fact, this battle between ignorance and education, or entitlement and accountability seems to be at the crux of our many environmental woes. Hit the jump to enjoy, for just a few minutes, the power of one woman who has taken it upon herself to help restore the Gulf’s marine ecosystem to its pre-Gulf War glory.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRAfvrusV9U[/youtube]
Al-Abdulrazzak recalls childhood fishing trips that she took with her father, among her favorite memories she says in this inspiring video released by Voice for Success. When she was fifteen, she took up diving and became instantly hooked to the colorful and bio-diverse seascape.
She cherished her time underwater, where she felt she could escape her daily life.
Then she witnessed how the 1991 Gulf War wreaked absolute havoc on the Gulf’s marine environment. Images in the video depict sunken tankers and other debris replacing what was previously clear and pristine. So she decided to make her love of all things maritime a career, and now she is researching the history of the Gulf’s marine ecosystem.
Initiated by en.v a brilliant platform for social activism in Kuwait that we have featured on Green Prophet before, in collaboration with the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), this video explores the main challenges facing the entire Gulf. Chief of these is overfishing.
According to Al-Abdulrazzak, overfishing is one of the few environmental catastrophes that is 100% deliberate and that can be reversed if appropriate regulations are put in place and then enforced. In the meantime, it requires 15kg of bycatch to trawl for 1kg of shrimp, resulting in losses of hundreds and thousands of fish thrown overboard and wasted.
Watch the video, listen to this lucid woman speak, and be inspired.
More on Overfishing and the Gulf Marine Environment:
Kuwaiti Sharks, Ecosystems, and Exxon
Dubai Marine Life at Risk After Devastating Shark Catch
25 Gulf Shark Species Need Urgent Attention
Author: Tafline Laylin
As a tour leader who led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America, Tafline soon realized that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. Born in Iran, raised in South Africa and the United States, she currently splits her time between Africa and the Middle East. Tafline can be reached at tafline (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
It is a pleasure to see such young Kuwaitis caring for the environment. The sea, air and land of Kuwait is polluted and needs a major effort to clean it up and unfortunately it will take a long time and has to start by education at all stages and lead by example plus media efforts. Appreciation to all those kuwaitits who are trying to make a difference to the inviornment.