Capacity building in environmental monitoring and protection
Project description and benefits
Cefas and the Kuwait Environment Public Authority (EPA) entered a long-term relationship under a Memorandum of Understanding in May 2000, to collaborate on issues of environmental pollution and management in the coastal zone. This was in response to a major fish kill event in Kuwait Bay in 1999.
As a result of the Memorandum of Agreement, the EPA and Cefas now have a developing co-operative relationship whereby Cefas provide specialist services, training courses and workshops to assist the development of the EPA’s capacity in aquatic environmental monitoring and protection.
A number of activities have been undertaken with the EPA since contact was first established in 1999. Projects continue to be developed and a number of areas of work have been earmarked and implemented for cooperation over the next two years.
Services provided by Cefas
Examples of specific activities are:
- Scoping study to assess the EPA’s analytical and environmental information systems capability, with respect to monitoring pollution and aquatic life in Kuwait bay.
- Investigation of a second 'fish kill' episode in Kuwait Bay (2001). Sampling, preserving and analysis of fish samples following a fish kill episode in Kuwait Bay to determine the cause of the fatalities.
- Laboratory based analytical testing of shellfish samples sent from Kuwait to the Cefas laboratories.
- Visit to Kuwait by Cefas staff, sampling of reference material and analysis of the results obtained from preliminary investigations into a fish kill episode. Followed by a full investigation (bacteriology, virology, histopathology, biotoxins, and trace metals, etc.) involving Cefas laboratory equipment.
- Training course for Kuwaiti scientists on fish post-mortem techniques at Cefas (2003).
