Up to 15% of Kuwait area allocated to 5 new nature reserves

Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) announced Wednesday that the government has allocated 15 percent of the country's total area for the launching of five new nature reserves between 2015 and 2026.
The government approved USD 900 million for the payment of damages relating to this major project, director of KISR research department Samir Al-Zanki said.
He made the announcement at a press conference on KISR hosting of an international symposium on parasitic plants between November 10 and 13; the event will gather researchers from 35 countries including the 23 Arab countries.
"The nature reserves will cover areas in Al-Hoimeliya, Wadi Al-Baten, Um-Qadir, Um Al-Haiman and Um-Niqqa, and are meant to produce 23,000 tons of seeds and 35 million saplings of domestic plants during the decade starting from next year," said Al-Zanki, also chairman of the organizing committee of the symposium.
On the symposium, he said the participating countries have long experience in the conservation and the development of parasitic plants, which will benefit KISR.
"The gathering aims to promote biodiversity and preserve the natural habitat of parasitic plants, and detect the interaction between the systems of terrestrial environment and arid land," he noted.
"Participants in the event will visit KISR research complex in Kabd to get acquainted with the latest scientific achievement made by the Institute in plant growing and maximize benefit from farm produce in a sustainable way," Al-Zanki went on.
He added that Kuwait has 374 species of parasitic plants, including 270 seasonal and 80 perennial plants, noting that human activities, including excessive grazing, camping and stone collection led to the degeneration of environment and the decrease of these plants.
The symposium, to start on Monday, is sponsored by Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS), the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the society of environment rehabilitation, he added.
On her part, Majda Khalil, chairperson of the scientific committee of the symposium, said the planned nature reserves will cover a total area of 1,670 square kilometers.
She added that the country's reserves of seeds deceased remarkably in the last 15 years due to scientific research activities.