KUWAIT: The Kuwait Voluntary Work Center warned on Saturday against entering the Sabah Al-Ahmad Natural Reserve without obtaining an official permit, pointing out that a number of violations have been monitored.

The center said in a press statement that its natural reserve management team, in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior, monitored these violations and seized firearms used for poaching. It stressed the necessity of obtaining an official permit before entering the reserve to avoid legal accountability, as according to Article No 100 of the Environmental Law.

According to the law, it is prohibited to hunt, kill, catch, collect, harm, possess, or transport terrestrial and marine fungal organisms, whether alive or dead, or to harm the young of these organisms, their eggs, nests, or their habitats. The executive regulations of this law specify the types and numbers of organisms. It is permissible to catch it in specific seasons and places. He stated that Article 149 of the law stipulates: “Anyone who violates this law shall be punished with imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year and a fine of not less than KD 500 and not more than KD 5,000, or one of these two penalties in addition to confiscating the seized objects as well as the materials used.”

He called on people not to approach the reserve’s walls and attempt to enter them in order to preserve lives, declaring his disclaimer of responsibility for people who breach the reserve’s walls in violation of the law.

The Sabah Al-Ahmad Natural Reserve is located under the supervision of the Voluntary Work Center and has an area of 330 sq km and is considered the largest terrestrial ecosystem which has been designated as a reserve of natural topographic and biological importance in addition to preserving the management of renewable natural resources. The reserve includes a rocky cliff that rises to 116 meters above the coastal mudflats and the associated salt marshes and sanddunes on Kuwait Bay. — KUNA