Kuwait- KISR hosts regional workshop on management of protected areas

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) KUWAIT March 20 (KUNA) -- Director General of Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) Dr. Samira Omar on Sunday highlighted the importance of conserving the ecosystem particularly at nature reserves.

"KISR plays an important role in drawing up the national strategy for environment protection and conservation of nature" she said in an inaugural speech to a regional workshop on "conservation and management of protected areas." The event is co-organized by KISR and the West Asia Commission on Ecosystem Management (CEM) of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

"This function reflected the KISR commitment to upgrading the management of protected areas and conserving the biodiversity and ecosystem" Dr. Omar pointed out.

KISR is working out solutions and programs for protecting the wildlife based on the latest standards and preventing the depletion of natural resources thus contributing to the economic development she noted.

On the agenda of the event she said it includes debates on management of protected areas the far-reaching impacts of the climate change and pollutants on wildlife and surveillance of the ecosystem.

Meanwhile Fayza Al-Yamani executive director of KISR environment research center said the workshop gathered environment experts from the IUCN West Asia member countries and beyond to review the latest techniques for protecting land and marine wildlife.

"The discussions will focus on the best practices for protecting the endangered species and challenges facing the environmentally sustainable development due to urban expansion" she disclosed.

"The State of Kuwait and other countries in the region face an accelerated depletion of the wildlife which constitutes a treasure of natural resources including the flora and fauna life and mineral resources" she went on.

Al-Yamani citied the IUCN studies as showing that the cause of the degenerating ecosystem within and beyond the region lies in ineffective and poor governance of use of natural resources.

She pointed out that KISR is assessing the impacts of the oil pollutants and human activities including the urban expansions on environment and developed programs for rehabilitating the damaged areas.

KISR designated Kabad as the first protected area which turned later into an environment research station.

Sabah Al-Ahmad area became the second nature reserve in the country Al-Yamani said.

KISR suggests established other nature reserves in Boubyan Island and the northern area and including them in the list of protected areas of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (known as the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands) she added.

Adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and came into force in 1975 the Convention provides the framework for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.

IUCN West Asia member countries are Kuwait Jordan Syria Lebanon Palestine Bahrain Qatar UAE Saudi Arabia Oman Yemen Iraq and Iran. (end) zak.gb