Marine and land activities [Archives:2002/31/Health]

BY NASER MEFTAH
FOR THE YEMEN TIMES
The government realizes that marine resources resembled in fishery wealth and other aspects have great influence on the economy of Yemen. Hence, it was natural that it would along with several NGOs work on creating the perfect marine environment through organizing conferences, seminars, workshops, and scientific researches. Yemens dependence on marine resources convinced the government of the need to focus more on the marine environment and that was why the Ministry of Tourism and Environment was formed.
In this respect, Hadhramout University for Science and Technology held a workshop last week to identify the problems and priorities that should be taken into consideration when focusing on the marine environment in Aden Bay, Gulf of Aden and the Arab Sea. Engineer Salameen Abdu al-Ari, the general secretary of a local council in Hadhramout said that the protecting marine environment in the region is one of his local councils priorities due to its long-term effects on the economy of the country.
Dr. Mohammed Saeed al-Mashgari, the Head of the environment protection office had focused during the workshop on the activities of the office in implementing effective measures to protect marine life from pollution including signing a number of agreements in this prospect plus launching massive campaigns to raise awareness about the protection of the marine environment among the public. He said, There is intense cooperation between our office and the National Program and Global Program along with the Ministry of Tourism and Environment and the UN plus other governmental and non-governmental organizations.
Three steps were presented in order to identify the problems facing the marine environment and priorities needed to protect it from pollution. The first and most important step to be taken is to start an intensive and continuous program on the protection of marine life and environment from land-related industrial and human activities in Aden Bay and Red Sea coast in Yemen.
The second step was to raise awareness about how to avoid damaging marine life and means to protect the marine environment among the people of Hadhramout, who essentially depend on the sea for their living in the form of fishing and other sea-related professions.
Thirdly, the workshop referred to the need of researching the main sources of pollution and how to prevent them from further damaging the marine environment to avoid future consequences on marine life near the coasts of Yemen.
The workshop also described the gloomy picture of the increasing level of pollution caused by increasing populations totaling more than 860,000 in Yemeni coastal cities and the industrial complexes operating in those cities that are scattered throughout the Yemeni coastal line.
The program pointed out that industrial complexes in those cities contribute to the pollution problem dramatically as they produce a large amount of destructive chemical materials that find their way to the coast of Hadhramout and hence the Arab Sea. Oil waste, hydrocarbons, metal waste, and other poisonous chemicals are being spilled into the Arab sea in a frightening amount approaching 6,000 tons in just three months, i.e., with an average of 70 tons per day.
The workshop was concluded by stressing on the need to address the issue of marine pollution and urged the government to take action against polluters in a swift and efficient manner.

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