ShareI am a staunch supporter of any law that protects the environment in Kuwait. So I was happy to see the formation of the so-called environmental police and I believe that their role is important, because we desperately need to preserve the environment, especially as we are in the middle of a desert. Therefore, the cutting down of a single tree without justification should not be allowed.
In a press statement, the Ministry of Interior said the environment police arrested some expatriates for cutting trees and plants near the airport bridge in Farwaniya. What they were doing is illegal. The police found that the workers were in violation, particularly their method of cutting trees, and the vehicles of the company in charge of the work were parked illegally. Ten workers were arrested are now in police custody, subject to administrative deportation. So, they earned nothing here and are due to go back home empty-handed.
Moreover, further administrative actions are being taken against the company in line with article 42 /2013 of the environment protection law, as it was found to have harmed the plants, which negatively affected the horticultural landscaping.
The environmental protection law is new in Kuwait and must be respected. Some of its articles include penalties up to death, life imprisonment and fines of about one million dinars for those who commit "serious irregularities" such as importing nuclear waste or storing it in Kuwait. It also includes a ban on smoking in enclosed and semi-enclosed public places and punishing offenders with a KD 100 fine, as well as penalizing those who pluck flowers with a KD 250 fine, and those who dump garbage with a KD 500 fine.
The law was approved by the National Assembly to create a sector in the interior ministry to include environmental police who are legally authorized and entrusted with the task of monitoring and following up all manifestations of abuse of the environment. The law also prohibits hunting, killing or damaging marine flora and fauna and their lands. Violators will be imprisoned for a year or made to pay a fine of not less than KD 500. The law prohibits the use of machines that cause noise, with heavy fines. The law also sets very large fines against giant ships that cause pollution of marine waters.
The law aims to develop projects for the rehabilitation of state sites and encourage Kuwait's transition into a green and sustainably developed country. Although this law criminalizes damage to the environment, some still believe that they can do anything without fear or punishment by the police. They are wrong. The sad thing is the need by some expatriates for quick cash or work that leads them to commit illegal and immoral things, which only lead them to jail and deportation.
So to anyone cutting down trees and destroying the environment - this will not be tolerated anymore.
By Muna Al-Fuzai
[email protected]
