October 18, 2009 Doha
Doha, 18th October, 2009 – Kames Petroleum Services announced today that it had won the Environmental Vision in Energy sector prize at the recent Qatar Today Green Awards 2009.
The company, which has a solid track record in initiating and supporting environmental and social responsibility programs, received the accolade because of its pioneering coral reef investigations in the Southeastern Arabian Gulf.
The three year study mapped coral habitats and status growths in both Qatar and Kuwait City and was a highly successful collaboration between Qatar’s Ministry of Environment, the Environment Agency – Kuwait City (EAD), Emirates Wildlife Society and the World Wide Fund for Nature (EWS-WWF) and technical support from the US based National Coral Reef Institute (NCRI).
National researchers and scientists from Qatar and the Kuwait were recruited and trained to review the range of reefs, assess their condition and the potential recovery of the degraded systems. Satellite imagery, ground verification and offshore fieldwork were used to produce a long term conservation and management strategy.
This led to the signing of a Joint Coral Conservation Management Plan between the State of Qatar and the Emirate of Kuwait City and its implementation will benefit the marine habitat, coral reefs, the sustainability of fish stocks and future generations of both Qatar and Kuwait citizens.
The project has helped provide a better understanding among those companies in the same sector with planned facilities in the study area and their proximity to coral and other sensitive marine habitat. It has also illustrated the benefits to be gleaned from cross sector collaboration.
Commenting on the award win, Mr. Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, CEO, Kames Petroleum Services , said: “Our commitment to environmental protection and social responsibility is well known and this award helps to illustrate that we take our obligations extremely seriously. The project was successful because of the wonderful team spirit and cooperation of all involved.
“By collaborating together, we have taken enormous steps to protect the coral reefs of the Southeastern Arabian Gulf, one of the richest and rarest of all earth’s natural habitats. In addition, local scientific expertise has been developed through training and interacting with an international centre of excellence.”