New Environmental Protection Act in Kuwait

Tomorrow, the 12th of October, brings the gladdest of tidings for all of us with the slightest regard to the environment and God knows we could use some!

The Environmental Protection Act, officially approved by the National Assembly in a previous session last May and set to be passed tomorrow, is controversial to say the least as the penalties on transgressors seem to range from a 100KD fine to capital punishment. Whoa, am I facing execution or life in prison for picking flowers off the road? Not exactly, although that'll still cost ya. The following are the penalties according to Alrai news:

Smoking in public: 100KD fine

Plucking/uprooting flora: 250KD fine

Littering: 500KD fine

Killing/gathering/relocating aquatic or land wildlife: 500KD fine or 1 year in prison

Possessing/importing/transporting/disposing of nuclear waste material (unless licensed by the EPA): 500,000-1,000,000KD fine and execution or life in prison.

As for the enforcement of said laws, this legislation involves the establishment of a new subdivision of the Ministry of Interior, comprised of "environmental police" with the same jurisdiction of our official state police and will be entrusted with the task of monitoring and processing any and all acts of transgression against the environment. Moreover, it will be up to judiciary officials from the Environmental Public Authority (EPA) to further monitor and investigate offences and call on law enforcement officials to refer them to public prosecution.

The same will apply to governmental sectors, according to the EPA's Deputy Director for Environmental Monitoring and Technical Affairs, Mohammad Al-Enezi, as they will be required to issue annual reports regarding their designated responsibilities and adherence to the law and, at their failure to comply, will be referred to investigation and consequent prosecution.

I wonder what falls under some of those categories, though, and what consequences the misinterpretation of which would result in, but concerns as trivial as "Are we still going truffle hunting this season?" pale in comparison to the radical improvement I'm hoping these new laws will have on public awareness and conservation of our local environment. At the very least, the act does serve to force even those who blatantly insist on their indifference into compliance; they won't even have to evolve to such an extent as to care for their surroundings, just pay the price they're due and it'll still make a difference.

"Now that we are to enforce a new approach to environmental conservation, there will be no excuses; The law applies to all, ourselves first and foremost. No brown-nosing your way out of it."

I genuinely hope not, Mr.Enezi, but it does sound a tad idealistic to expect. Nevertheless, I look forward to next week's followup news.