The Environment Public Authority of Kuwait is an independent governmental organization dedicated to environmental action, and domestic and international legislation and policy regarding the environment. The Environment Public Authority serves as the epicenter of governmental action regarding the preservation of the environment in Kuwait. It was founded in 1995 through law number 21. Since its establishment, the Environment Public Authority of Kuwait has been actively participating on a local, regional, and international scale with environmental legislation. Its first and founding Director General was Dr. Muhammad Al-Saarawi. It was also formerly led by Dr. Salah Al-Mudhi, and his successor Sheikh Abdullah Al-Ahmad AlHumoud Al-Sabah is currently the serving Director General. The Environment Public Authority also enforces environmental legislation, alongside the Environmental Police of Kuwait, with penalties that vary depending on the

environmental crime Environmental crime is an illegal act which directly harms the environment. These illegal activities involve the environment, wildlife, biodiversity, and natural resources. International bodies such as, G7, Interpol, European Union, United Na ...

committed.

Departments

*Information Technology *Planning and

Environmental Impact Assessment Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is the assessment of the environmental impact, environmental consequences of a plan, policy, program, or actual projects prior to the decision to move forward with the proposed action. In this context, the te ...

Department *Administrative & Training Department *International Affairs Department *Coastal & Desertification Monitoring Department *Analytical Laboratories Center *Department of Engineering Affairs *Department of Industrial Environment *Office of Strategic Planning *Research and Studies Office *Conservation of Biodiversity department *The Secretariat of Committees *Department of Legal Affairs *Public Affairs and Environmental Awareness Department *Director General's Office *Air Quality Monitoring Department *Industrial Environment Department *Environmental Inspection and Environmental Emergencies Department *Aquatic Environmental Pollution Department *Financial Affairs Department

Activity

Kuwaiti Fish Death Phenomena

On Sunday, September 19, 1999, EPA survey teams discovered large quantities of dead fish along the Salam coast, extending to the National Assembly building, which is a coastal building. A team of technical specialists from various Kuwaiti governmental organizations studied the phenomena and concluded that the ‘Red Tide’ phenomena was to blame.

Early Alarm Project to Observe Marine Environment Pollutants

The Environment Public Authority has begun the implementation of an intensive program aimed to observe any harmful plankton that may negatively affect the marine environment. The aim of the project was to detect any unnatural changes to reproduction and development of harmful plankton on a qualitative and quantitative scale through studying the distribution and concentration of

chlorophyll Chlorophyll is any of several related green pigments found in cyanobacteria and in the chloroplasts of algae and plants. Its name is derived from the Greek words (, "pale green") and (, "leaf"). Chlorophyll allows plants to absorb energy ...

and other physical factors.

Judicial officers

The Environment Public Authority prepares an executive regulation of authority establishment law No. 21/1995 and amended with law No. 16/1996 concerning the environmental requirements, conditions, and standards required for State of Kuwait. This law brought forth the importance of the environment. It set standards by which all private institutions, citizens, and government institutions were to operate with regards to environmental law and protection of the environment.

Ozone layer depletion

Kuwait is a country that has committed to the Vienna Convention to protect the

Ozone Layer The ozone layer or ozone shield is a region of Earth's stratosphere that absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorbs most of the Sun's ultraviolet radiation. It contains a high concentration of ozone (O3) in relation to other parts of the a ...

, and the

Montreal Protocol The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances that are responsible for ozone depletion. It was agreed on 16 ...

concerning exhausted material of Ozone Layer. These conventions brought forth an Ozone layer protection committee that emerged from the Environment Public Authority of Kuwait to analyze and study the provisions of the protocol and convention. The result was a request to issue the following legislative decrees regarding: * The oversight of the importation of Halogen. * The establishment of a Halogen bank. * To provide maintenance facilities with recycling equipment * The ban of the importance of equipment that include dangerous materials. * The oversight of the importation process of registered dissolvents.

Environmental Police

The Environment Public Authority also played a large role in the implementation of a special division within the Kuwaiti Ministry of Interior's police force that is tasked with environmental violations. The development of an 'Environmental Police' is considered the first of its kind in the region.

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20170429131348/http://timeskuwait.com/Times_Red-tide-spots-off-Kuwait-being-monitored---EPA *http://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2499652&Language=en *http://www.hsc.edu.kw/vpo/HSE/Guidance%20Documents/Kuwait%20EPA%20Act%20210-%20YEAR%202001.pdf *http://news.kuwaittimes.net/new-environment-law-effective-today-penalties-vary-kd-100-1-million-death/ {{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819045417/http://news.kuwaittimes.net/new-environment-law-effective-today-penalties-vary-kd-100-1-million-death/ , date=19 August 2016 Environmental organizations based in Kuwait