KUWAIT ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGES Causes of environmental damages may be either man made, natural or by natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes floods, fires, tornados or others. The man-made causes of environmental damages may be either intentional or unintentional. Intentional environmental damages are for example those caused by the ordered detonation of oil wells and the ordered release of oil into the Gulf. Environmental damages in Kuwait can be classified into the following two principal categories: • Environmental damages caused by the Gulf War from 2nd of August 1990 to 2nd March 1991. The war has caused substantial damage to Kuwait’s environment. Most of more the damages were from the aftermath of the burning and gushing of more than 800 oil wells which were exploded. The burning oil generated smoke plumes that extended hundreds of square kilometers and reached distant locations. The gushing oil and fallout from the oil fire plumes spread over the desert surface covering vast areas stretching from Kuwait through the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The deposited oil formed, in places close to the oil wells, lakes of various dimensions and thin films or crust of oil spreading over areas far away from the oil wells. The released oil managed to reach some fresh water aquifers in the northern parts of Kuwait and hence contaminated scarce natural sources of fresh water in Kuwait. Military activities by all sides contributed to the environmental damages. The movement of vehicles and heavy armaments and the opening of hundreds of trenches and fox holes throughout Kuwait destroyed the fragile desert environment by affecting the vegetation cover, which in turn impacted the sensitive ecosystem. More than 12 million barrels of oil were released into the Gulf during the war. Such unprecedented amounts caused substantial damages to the marine environment of hundreds of kilometers of coastlines in Kuwait and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The full effect of these damages on the marine ecosystem is yet to be fully studied and established. On the health side, environmental damages in Kuwait did cause various health problems ranging from high level of PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) to sizable increases in mortality rates for Kuwaitis who stayed in Kuwait throughout the invasion and occupation period. • Other environmental damages caused by human factors. Humans cause significant stress on the environment through normal and abnormal utilization of environmental resources. Overgrazing, which is happening over wide areas of Kuwait, destroys the natural vegetation cover and has negative impacts on the flora and fauna in the desert. Uncontrolled use of the desert by camping, extraction of desert sand for urban development, open quarries, and vehicular movement over the desert created heavy stress on the fragile desert ecosystem. Uncontrolled deposition of waste, sewage and other construction and industrial products have also contributed to the severe conditions affecting Kuwait’s environment. It is interesting to note that many areas damaged by human factors are coextensive with areas damaged by war. It might be difficult therefore to strictly isolate and delineate those environmental damages caused solely by the Gulf War as distinct from other damages caused by local human factors.