Kuwait: As the world sees innovations in air quality and the reappearance of sea creatures, it turns out that Covid-19 has a positive effect on the environment. However, the rise of single-use plastic and waste accumulation have illustrated that the negative has an effect on the pandemic in the world, adding Kuwait.
In April, the U.S. Embassy In Kuwait, he reported that the traditionally low particulate score (PM) indicated that air quality in Kuwait went from “dangerous” to “moderate”.
“The change in air quality is the main end result of the pandemic, as cars have been parked in garages for months and economic activity has stopped,” Samia Al Duaij, an environmental expert at the World Bank, told Gulf News.
Al Duaij also noted that there has been a resurgence in Kuwait, especially in the desert. However, the ocean has not noticed as much positive effect.
“Every year in April, there is a fish mortality epidemic in Kuwait. When temperatures rise, hot water and pollutants create a red tide that depletes oxygen in the water, causing the deaths of many fish,” Al Duaij explained, “although the epidemic has occurred, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that fish destruction is a component of a pollutant problem, indicating a replacement in the government’s attitude towards the environment.
While gyms, recreational facilities and dining restaurants remain closed, the number of beach visitors has increased in recent weeks. With more people using the water fronts, the amount of waste left has a greater drastic.
“The pandemic had a positive effect on the environment throughout the blockade, as air quality improved, pollutants decreased and marine life flourished. However, the rubbish was temporarily left with the full blockade and reached unforeseen degrees across the country.” Kuwaiti nonprofit initiative told Gulf News Save q8c.
Increased waste led Save q8c to organize a crusade of conscience to protect the beaches and the Kuwait Sea. The initiative has designed posters and symptoms to distribute on the beaches because they believe: “No entity can fully monitor the country’s vast beaches and sea, so we, as citizens, will have to take on our daily jobs and take full care of all public spaces as if they were components of our own home,” Save q8c said.
“While there are strict regulations against waste in Kuwait, there are some demanding situations in law enforcement,” Al Duaij said.
One of the demanding situations is that government entities do not have the labor to make sure that other people do not throw garbage. Competition is a challenge. The promenade is a duty of the municipality, while the sea (up to 12 nautical miles) is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transport.
“The jurisdiction issue creates a conflict for both entities since it is unclear whose responsibility it is to enforce the law since the beachfront and the sea are territorially connected,” explained Al Duaij.
The use of a mask and gloves in public is mandatory in maximum positions in Kuwait, extending the use of single-use plastic.
“Single-use plastic is a challenge, regardless of garbage. For those who do not dispose of their waste, they are discovered in the ecosystem that affects wildlife. On the other hand, throwing the waste away ends up in landfills that are not open toilets dumpsters,” Al Duaij said.
According to an article published by the University of Warwick, latex gloves are biodegradable because they are made of rubber, but nitrile and vinyl gloves are not.
“As far as we know, the mask or other elements can transmit the virus, especially to cleaners who collect garbage, because we don’t know how long it lasts in the services,” Al Duaij explained.
Social behaviour
As the government tries to restrict indoor meetings, public spaces such as parks and pedestrian spaces are more vital than ever.
Yarmouk, a residential domain of Kuwait, is classified as a “healthy city” through the World Health Organization (WHO) because it meets the criteria in terms of the number of green areas and networks that respect the environment.
“After the closure, many other neighborhoods follow in Yarmouk’s footsteps, after seeing the correlation between healthy villages and the well-being of the inhabitants,” Al Duaij said.
“Treat all public spaces like yours and be fully aware that everything we do to damage the surroundings will hang out again in one or the other,” Save q8c said.
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