Call to set up eco-police

A senior parliamentarian has proposed the establishment of environmental police to tackle the environmental issues faced by the country. According to lawmaker Adel Al Asoomi, the Kingdom’s government should follow the footsteps of the developed countries such as the US, Australia, and Germany, which has taken steps to form environmental police.

He said that among Arab countries Saudi Arabia and Jordan have such a system in place to protect the environment. “The Kingdom’s environment has been adversely affected by violations from the part of the public. These violations have been on the rise amidst no-one to catch the violators and hold them accountable.

“Establishing environmental police will offer a great solution. They can be given the power to monitor the situation and punish those who transgress the law,” he pointed out. He said that one of the primary environmental concerns is over-fishing. “There are many environmental laws being currently violated and we need a special body to catch these violations and hold the violators accountable.”

“There is a weakness in the monitoring of environmental violations. And these weaknesses have led to many exploiting the situation and violating the law. There are many countries across the world that impose severe penalties for environmental violations.” Bahrain has in recent months stepped up its efforts to support the environment. Last month, an aircraft, which acts as an artificial reef was submerged into water.