Muscat, The 2nd edition of Oman Environment
Forum today kicked off under the theme “Towards Systematic
Consolidation of Environmental Citizenship”. The forum aims to enrich
the debate on a range of environmental issues in the Sultanate and
address the challenges facing the environment.
Mohammed bin Salim al-Toobi, Minister of Environment and
Climate Affairs said in a statement while opening the event that the
forum reflects the size of the partnership between the public and
private sectors through the volume of national and foreign
participations. He affirmed the government’s interest in protecting and
preserving the Omani environment, which stems from the keenness of
His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said who accord an utmost attention to
environmental issues.
He pointed out that the Ministry aims through the forum to
promote environmental awareness and the highlight the importance of
preserving and promoting the elements of the Omani environment and
enhancing various environmental investments.
Honourable Hatem bin Hamad al-Ta’ee, Editor-in-Chief of “al
Roya” newspaper, Supervisor General of the Forum, said in a speech
that the current version of the forum will discuss four themes in relation
to seeking to provide new potentials for experts and specialists to
create a comprehensive community awareness that contributes to
comprehensively enhancing the human relationship with nature, his
surroundings and nurture active individuals and generations in
achieving sustainable environmental development.
Al-Ta’ee unveiled the inaugural of “Oman Environmental Forum
Award” to be an honouring platform associating with deliberations of
the Forum during its next version. The award aims to support the
efforts of the environmental groups in order to stimulate further
initiatives that drive the national action aimed at environmental
sustainability.
Yasser bin Obaid al-Salami,
Director General of the Office for Conservation of the Environment, said
that the 2nd edition of Oman Environment Forum establishes a
systematic concept of environmental citizenship, which is of great
importance in the protection of cultural heritage. It is based on several
rights, duties and freedoms that guarantee for everybody suitable
environments that promote the concept of conserving the environment
and respecting the rights of successive generations to benefit from it.
Dr. Sami Dimassi, UNEP Regional Director for West Asia, gave a
presentation on the strategic relationship of cooperation with the
Sultanate of Oman during which he discussed initiatives, agreements
and some key achievements in the Sultanate with respect to
multilateral environmental agreements including the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris
Convention.
The forum includes the opening of the exhibition associating
with the Office of Environmental Conservation, in cooperation with the
Ministry of Education, in addition to a presentation on student projects
who won the student art competition accompanying the forum, entitled
“Environmental Risks and Clean future”.
The forum will discuss four topics related to “Environmental
Citizenship: From Behaviour to Responsibility” and “Environmental
Conservation Laws; Duality of Legislation and Implementation”.
Dr. Ahmed al-Busafi, First Instance Chairman in Bidbid, member
of the Technical Office of the Supreme Court, presented a working
paper entitled “The Judicial Role in Promoting Environmental Protection”.
Source: Oman News Agency