‘Less greenery & poor care turning Kuwait into desert’
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‘Rising temp threat to environment’
KUWAIT CITY, July 28: According to a recent report by the State Audit Bureau, the percentage of deteriorated land out of the total land used in Kuwait has increased. About 11.3 thousand square kilometers of land, which constitutes about 72 percent of the total land area, are declared as deteriorated areas, reports Al-Rai daily. Environmental activists warned of the danger of not dealing seriously with the desertification file, which has serious consequences such as high temperature, encroachment of sand, and erosion of cultivated areas. The report revealed the loss of arable land, as a result of soil salinization, particularly in the farms of Wafra region where hundreds of farms were damaged and their agricultural productivity ability lost due to poor irrigation water management and the absence of drainage, and this increases the costs of rehabilitating the damaged soil. The report warned that the unsustainable use of land, and the lack of proper management of natural resources, as a result of the irrigational exploitation of groundwater in the Wafra region, have exacerbated the problem of desertification in the country.
It resulted in many phenomena that negatively affect the wild environment, including desert soil erosion and loss of organic matter, as a result of the encroachment and accumulation of sand over most desert roads, and the intensification of dust and sand storms of regional origin. The report also warned of the huge area of non-cultivable land in Kuwait, which amounted to 16,300 square kilometers, compared to 1,500 square kilometers that are arable, according to 2015/2016 statistics. Environmental activist Saad Al-Hayyan said, “Desertification has now become a source for the encroachment of sand and dust in Kuwait. It has reached very dangerous levels after the destruction of the vegetation cover, with the exception of more than 300 protected areas distributed over the Kuwaiti desert in small areas that were made by personal efforts of those interested in rehabilitating the desert environment with desert plants.” He warned of the impact of desertification on human health and infrastructure, and its impact on the loss of desert plants and animals, especially migratory birds, which consider Kuwait a major transit hub.
Al-Hayyan said, “The presence of vegetation cover previously had a great benefit that contributed to creating an ecological balance to stop the encroachment of sand and purification of air pollutants and the presence of biodiversity”. Meanwhile, environmental activist Dr. Fanis Al-Ajmi said, “For years, we have been warned repeatedly with the temperature readings in Kuwait, which is the highest in the world. This is a frightening indicator because it means that some organisms cannot live in these temperatures, and many devices, equipment and buildings will not function properly or last long. This matter is due to the lack of vegetation cover, which constitutes a health risk with an economic dimension because of its impact on ports and airports, and a health dimension especially for those suffering from asthma and allergies. “Instead of removing sand by spending millions of dinars, agricultural campaigns should be launched from Salmi to Nuwaiseeb. There is the experience of 300 successful individual reserves that were able to reduce the movement of soil, but the matter requires national campaign and concerted efforts, including universities, schools and the private sector”.
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