Key discussions at the meeting included updates to existing inter-GCC laws, conventions and frameworks aimed at protecting the region’s ecosystems, as well as Kuwait’s hosting of the upcoming Gulf Wildlife Day.

The Human and Environmental Affairs Sector within the General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council’s (GCC) Environment Department, in cooperation with the Qatari Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MoECC), chaired a standing committee meeting on the region’s habitats.

The meeting was held in the Doha over two days last Friday and Saturday, marking the GCC’s 21st meeting of the Standing Committee of the Convention on the Conservation of Wildlife and its Natural Habitats.

The topics discussed included updating the Convention on the Conservation of Wildlife and their Natural Habitats in GCC countries. This binding convention was first ratified in 2003 to conserve the block’s ecosystems and wildlife, especially for plantae, flora and fauna species that are under threat.

Mohammed Ahmed Al-Khanji, Director of the MoECC’s Wildlife Development Department, chaired the meeting.

Other attendees included Abdullah Ali Abdullah Al Rubai, Head of the GCC General Scretariat’s Human and Environmental Affairs Sector, and representatives from the GCC member states.

According to the Qatar News Agency, the meeting was held in preparation for an upcoming meeting of the region’s ministers about GCC environmental affairs at an unspecified later date.

The convention calls on member states to collaborate in preserving species that migrate across borders, territorial waters, or airspaces, and ensuring their populations are maintained.

As such, each member state is duty bound to enact legislation to ensure the conservation of natural habitats and safeguards against the pollution or other threats to biodiversity.

Last week’s meeting also included discussions about updating other existing laws, conventions, and frameworks, including the General Framework for the Transfer of Falconry Ownership, among others.

A topic explored was the council’s participation in Gulf Wildlife Day. On Saturday, the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) revealed that the standing committee approved for Kuwait to host the event.

In a statement to KUNA, Abdullah Al Zaidan, the Deputy Director General of the Environment Public Authority’s Technical Affairs Sector, said that attendees discussed Kuwait’s proposal for the event to be held on December 30.