Maintaining environment and ecological balance in the Kingdom is one of the Kingdom's top priorities under the leadership of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, said Abdulaziz Al-Jaser, head of the General Presidency of Meteorology and Environment Protection.

Al-Jaser was speaking on Thursday at the concluding function of the ministerial conference on marine environment in the Arabian Gulf, in which eight nations, namely, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Iran and Iraq participated.

He hailed King Abdullah’s initiatives to protect the environment in the Kingdom and said that environmental concerns are addressed in the Kingdom's five-year development plans.

He said that Saudi ministers had enacted several pieces of legislation and laws related to environmental issues in general and marine environment protection in particular.

The chief of the country's premier environmental organization also emphasized the need to protect marine ecosystem in the seas. He also called for the development of an integrated plan for the management of coastal areas and the reduction of marine pollution to protect marine natural resources and wealth.

Al-Jaser said Saudi Arabia had accorded great importance to water resources since water desalination was the main source of water for the Kingdom.

“Due to its geographical location and the shortage of water through rainfall, the Kingdom has to turn to the sea for its water needs. We follow strict environmental standards at desalination plants. Though we have multiple options to produce water and power at plants, we preferred water production only out of respect for the environment,” he added.

Saudi Arabia also mooted a proposal to establish a proper mechanism to curb pollution and also to initiate rescue operations in the Arabian Gulf area.

Al-Jaser also called for the amendment of protocol agreements between member nations in conformity with modern developments and also based on the review of its operations.

He focused on the need to prevent waste ships from entering the area and initiating precautionary measures against nuclear ships in the region’s waters.