DAMMAM, 30 November 2003 — Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, inaugurated the first phase of the Central Laboratories for Environmental Observation here yesterday.
The prince also opened the Environmental Research Center and regional offices of the Presidency of Environment Protection here.
The Environment Research Center, which is the first of its kind in the region, will determine the extent of marine and air pollution in the region and attempt to combat it.
Prince Turki ibn Nasser, the chief of the presidency, briefed the minister on the functioning of the regional office and its future plans. The new regional office is one among the five regional offices in the country.
Prince Turki highlighted the efforts made by the presidency, formerly the Meteorological Environmental Protection Administration (MEPA), to confront the oil spill in Gulf waters from burning Kuwaiti oilfields during the 1990-91 Gulf War.
“Since then the presidency has been working relentlessly to preserve the marine life and combat pollution in water and air,” Prince Turki said.
He told Prince Sultan that his presidency recently started assessing the quality of marine life on some 800 km on the eastern coastline.
