Kuwait deports 28 expats over eco-offences
Under environmental law, unauthorised entry into nature reserves is punishable by jailing
Cairo: Kuwait deported 28 expatriates last year in connection with environmental violations, according to a security official.
No breakdown of the deportees’ nationalities was given.
In addition, 133 Kuwaiti citizens were caught last year for breaching the country’s environmental law and committing transgressions at nature reserves, said Brig. Hussain Al Ajami, the chief of the Environment Police at the Kuwaiti Interior Ministry.
“This was part of efforts to protect nature reserves,” he told Kuwaiti newspaper Al Rai.
He explained that violations of nature reserves include unlicensed entry, poaching, illegal camping or attacks on security inspectors there.
The official warned citizens and expatriates against unauthorised entry of the enclosed nature reserves. Under Kuwaiti law, the offence is punishable by jail for up to one year and fines ranging from KD500 to KD5,000.
In 2022, Kuwait unveiled a plan to deport expatriates found guilty of committing serious environmental offences.
Under a related decree, environment inspectors are instructed to hand over foreign offenders to nearby police stations as a step toward their deportation from Kuwait.
Dozens have since been deported over environmental breaches.by
They committed major violations against the environment such as discarding construction and liquid waste in non-designated places and illegally handling chemical substances.
Employers of violating expatriates are also penalised if they are proven to have guided them to dispose of waste in non-designated sites.
Foreigners make up around 3.2 million of Kuwait’s overall population of 4.6 million.