RIYADH, 22 June — The Ministerial Council for Environment headed by Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense aviation, has submitted a scheme for a comprehensive national strategy for environmental safety while addressing the need for national development to the Council of Ministers for approval.
The comprehensive report covers all aspects and issues related to the environment and health, said Muhammad Al-Zahrani, director general of protective health at the Ministry of Health.
The 12-point report discusses such topics as the purity of air, food safety, purity of water, sewage treatment, housing and urbanization, coastal regions, solid wastes, hazardous wastes, safe handling of chemicals, radiation and noise pollution, replenishing and the preservation of natural resources, Al-Zahrani said.
The project was prepared by the ministerial council comprising of ministers of health, municipal and rural affairs, labor and social affairs, agriculture and water, planning, industry and electricity. In addition, representatives of the Meteorological and Environmental Protection Administration, King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology, Public Statistics Department are represented.
The strategy seeks to maintain a balance between the developmental efforts necessary in a rapidly developing economy on one hand and ecology and the health of the population on the other and without upsetting the developmental schemes and to “support the country’s continuous progress based on a healthy and safe environment.”
It incorporates the improvement of air quality by limiting the pollution level of emissions to nationally and internationally permitted levels. It also demands the adoption of policies to ensure the continued supply of safe food. This is particularly apposite in the wake of the recent Foot and Mouth Disease epidemic.
The scheme stressed the need for supplying hygienic housing for the rapidly increasing population while taking care of the management and safe disposal of solid and liquid wastes. When planning new urban development schemes, industrial and urban activities should minimize the production of environmentally harmful wastes and employ effective recycling methods. Urban planners have been encouraged to focus particularly on social and domestic health considerations when planning new projects or improving existing urban areas.
Moreover, the stategy emphasized the need for the management and protection of the natural resources without unnecessary depletion and pollution and sympathetic economic exploitation so that the resources last for an extended period. The ethics of sustainable development is increasingly important to the Kingdom, particularly with reference to non-renewable water resources.
The report proposed more effective agencies and departments to monitor the activities of health and environmental protection issues. They will be helped by appropriate legislation and regulations concerning quality standards.
