KUWAIT: Kuwait’s environmental authorities say they are continuing efforts to monitor desertification and environmental degradation in desert areas, while environmental advocates are calling for innovative and sustainable solutions to address the growing challenge.
Marking World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought on June 17, the Environment Public Authority (EPA) said it is strengthening efforts to track signs of desertification, protect desert ecosystems and preserve natural grazing lands as part of broader efforts to achieve environmental sustainability and safeguard the country’s natural resources.
Sheikha Al-Ibrahim, director of public relations and media at the authority, said Kuwait’s efforts are part of its commitment to implementing the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. She said those activities include overgrazing, off-road vehicle movement and spring camping, all of which can contribute to environmental degradation.
Al-Ibrahim added that the authority continues to implement awareness and monitoring programs in cooperation with relevant agencies to promote environmental awareness and reduce practices that negatively affect ecological balance. As part of the occasion, the authority is participating in an awareness program with the Scientific Center aimed at increasing public understanding of the importance of protecting desert environments and combating desertification. The initiative also includes distributing plant seeds. “Protecting the desert environment and combating desertification is a shared national responsibility that contributes to preserving natural resources and achieving a more sustainable environmental future for coming generations,” Al-Ibrahim said.
Strategy needed
The Kuwait Environment Protection Society said combating desertification in Kuwait requires long-term action, including expanding the protection of nature reserves, vegetation cover and soil. Dr Wafaa Behbehani, a member of the society, said efforts to address desertification should include greater public awareness, sustainable tree-planting initiatives and stronger community partnerships to help protect vulnerable areas.
She said desertification in Kuwait results from a combination of factors, including drought, rising temperatures, limited rainfall, dust and sandstorms and soil salinity. Behbehani added that human activities linked to camping seasons and overgrazing also contribute to the problem, along with the environmental impact of Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait and the oil pollution that followed. She stressed the need for a strategy to confront desertification, particularly as urban development continues to expand.
Subiya rivers
Dr Mubarak Al-Hajri, chairman of the Kuwait Earth Sciences Society, said Kuwait’s geographical environment has undergone significant climatic transformations throughout its recent geological history, changing from a relatively wet landscape with river channels into the arid desert seen today. “Thousands of years ago, Kuwait was closer to a semi-humid environment marked by seasonal lakes and summer rainfall, while the sea covered parts of its coastline,” he said.
Al-Hajri added that Kuwait’s climate during the Holocene period was very different from today’s conditions, with successive climate cycles gradually shaping the climate now found across the Arabian Peninsula. He pointed to a report issued by the society indicating that the Subiya area was once the outlet for four rivers and supported human activity near water sources. Geological studies, he added, suggest that around 4,000 years ago the shoreline extended between four and six kilometers inland from its present location.
Al-Hajri said studies have shown that the sea retreated from the Subiya coast in six major stages over thousands of years, leaving behind layers of limestone formed from shell fragments and other marine deposits. He added that recent research in the Arabian Peninsula found that the Empty Quarter once contained a large lake before rainfall declined and the area gradually dried out.
An escalating challenge
Behbehani said international assessments show desertification has become an escalating global challenge. She said United Nations estimates indicate that desertification threatens the livelihoods of more than one billion people across nearly 100 countries. She added that around 12 million hectares of land are lost each year to desertification, equivalent to the loss of 10 million tonnes of grain annually, while economic losses are estimated at about $41 billion per year. Behbehani said researchers are increasingly exploring the use of artificial intelligence technologies in efforts to combat desertification. She added that image processing, intelligent geographic information systems, remote sensing technologies and drones can help detect early signs of desertification, predict its spread and support preventive interventions at lower cost. — KUNA
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