Efforts to raise awareness about environment weak’

By WALAA HAWARI | ARAB NEWS

Published: Mar 24, 2010 03:48 Updated: Mar 24, 2010 03:48

RIYADH: Is the Kingdom doing enough to save the environment? Is one hour of darkness capable of drawing people’s attention to the environment dilemma? Saudi Arabia is signing treaties and agreements to lesser the impact of humans on the environment, but are we really aware as individuals of our role?

Husain Al-Qahtani, spokesman for the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME), said efforts to build people’s awareness are weak. “Participating in Earth Day is a symbolic gesture by the Kingdom, no one is committed to apply it,” said Al-Qahtani, adding that people are generally not keen to recycle waste, such as cardboard and plastic. Ignorance is not the issue, said Al-Qahtani, as people know that many things can be recycled, but there is carelessness and a lack of commitment to do so.

Facilitating recycling by providing recycling containers is another reason why people are reluctant to help protect the environment, said Al-Qahtani.

“In other countries, like Japan for example, people have in their homes different colored containers to recycle items,” said Al-Qahtani, adding that in the Kingdom people simply put their rubbish unsorted in plastic bags which are then thrown away.

Prince Turki bin Naser, president of PME, is aiming to make partnerships with the private sector, said Al-Qahtani, adding that there are many private companies that are recycling their waste.

It is turning into an industry as companies and businessmen are benefiting financially from recycling. “We should not look at the financial side or who benefits from what, but it’s wiser to mull over the general benefit the private sector is providing to society and that is ridding it of waste,” said Al-Qahtani.

Speaking about raising environmental awareness in schools, Al-Qahtani said a new program has been introduced into the new curriculum called “Environment Science.”

According to the principal of a girls’ private schools, who asked her name not be published, schools are teaching a small section about the environment in the program and awareness is raised individually.

Environment awareness programs in the media are also rare and insufficient, said Al-Qahtani, adding that the presidency cannot work on its own and that the private and public sectors should join together to raise awareness.

http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article33937.ece