UN West Asia office praises Kuwait Dive Team's environmental footprint

By Zahraa Al-Kathemi BEIRUT, May 8 (KUNA) -- UN's Director and Regional Representative of West Asia Office Sami Dimassi affirmed that Kuwait has a clear environmental footprint, thanks to the Kuwait Dive Team in preserving the marine environment and protecting it from ruin.
In a statement to KUNA after Thursday's meeting with the Kuwait Dive Team and the UN's Office in Beirut, Dimassi said that the team's efforts reflect Kuwait's commitment to international environmental treaties, and its keenness to coordinate with appropriate organizations.
He explained that the meeting was held to review the team's 2024-2025 report as part of the global Clean Seas campaign to protect the seas from plastic, and to discuss future projects related to marine environment conservation.
The report was full of outstanding environmental achievements and projects, including 130 environmental missions.
Dimassi praised the team's efforts to combat plastic waste, which has caused environmental damage and has become a global issue threatening the health of marine ecosystems, he also expressed his pride in the team's recent win of the World Energy Foundation Award.
For his part, team leader Waleed Al-Fadhel told KUNA that the team signed a memorandum of understanding with the office in 2018 as part of the global Clean Seas campaign.
Al-Fadhel explained that the team's achievements included recovering 12 ships, boats, and a marine vessel weighing 60 tons from several locations, they removed 120 tons of abandoned fishing nets and harmful waste from various coasts, and maintained 107 marine anchorages for safe mooring of boats and yachts to protect coral reefs.
He also noted its ongoing campaigns to clean Kuwait's coasts and islands, as well as the installation and comprehensive maintenance of all marine moorings at reef sites, they periodically monitor several locations in the Kuwaiti sea to ensure safe navigation.
They monitor the condition of coral reefs in the southern islands, coasts, and reserves, and submit reports to government agencies, international organizations, the Environment Public Authority, and the Coral Watch program at the University of Queensland in Australia.
For the 10th consecutive year, the team is organizing the weekly "Mobile Beach Cleaning Campaign" in cooperation with several bodies. (end) zhr.res