Resource information
Like many countries in the Middle East
and North Africa (MENA) region, Kuwait faces considerable
environmental challenges due to air pollution, increasingly
scarce water resources and deteriorating arable land. As the
problems associated with climate change intensify,
governments and countries need to respond with more creative
and wide ranging policy responses in order to safeguard the
standards of living for future generations. While the
challenges faced by countries like Kuwait are formidable,
they also present an exciting opportunity for diversifying
an oil based economy through green growth initiatives. Part
of the motivation behind the World Bank's cost of
environmental degradation report prepared in partnership
between the World Bank and the Environment Public Authority
(EPA) in Kuwait is to highlight the path to efficient
resource allocation by properly costing the externalities
that affect the economy. By using the tools of economics to
analyze the impacts of environmental degradation and climate
change, the report hopes to highlight the positive
incentives for good environmental practices, and in
particular illustrate how difficult challenges present
opportunities to diversify the economy through green growth,
and generate sustainable jobs and income for future
generations. A good chance for investment in green economy
in Kuwait also exists in introducing improvements in the
solid waste segregation, collection and disposal practices,
and better recycling mechanisms for the recovery of valuable
materials. Allowing fish stocks to recover in Kuwait will
revive the flagging fishing industry, generate tourism
revenues, and help Kuwait rediscover its fishing heritage.
