Khabar Khair (Only Good News) – Fatima Rashad

The world celebrates World Environment Day on February 20, which is a special day for many youth groups that make initiatives to protect the environment in Yemen. Mohaja Ahmed from (Protect Our Environment) initiative says: “The idea that we have been working on for a while for the environment is raising awareness of the importance of environment among school students by educating them about the importance of personal hygiene and cleanliness at the neighborhood and school level, we specifically chose school students because the student environment is the most responsive and cooperative, and there was an initiative by (Al-Bayhani High School for Boys) to start (Friends of the Environment Club), and we need such initiatives to raise awareness of the importance of the environment and the need to preserve it.”

    Mohaja continues, saying: “Working in environmental awareness is a team effort , not an individual one. We want to spread awareness of the importance of the environment everywhere in neighborhoods and streets. Everyone should realize that the environment around us is for everyone, and we must all preserve it.”

   On his part, Nabil Ghanem (manager of the cleaning Fund in Aden) said: “The fund has contributed significantly to protecting the environment in Aden, as the fund collects garbage daily and around the clock, including holidays and public holidays, it also collects garbage from streets, markets and restaurants. parks and slaughterhouses to a garbage dump in ​​Bir al-Naama – Alburiqa, which is about 35 km from central Aden.

    Manager of cleaning Fund in Aden added to Khabar Khair (Only Good News) website: “The amount of garbage collected in Aden increased from 350 tons per day in 2016 to 1,200 tons per day in 2021, due to growth in Aden’s population.”

    Ghanem pointed out that the fund works continuously without interruption, even in the most difficult circumstances, and on regular basis, with the help of several organizations, if the fund stopped working, it would have caused serious environmental pollution in the governorate.

    He added, “The fund’s tasks are not limited to cleaning only, we are also planting trees in all centers of streets, roundabouts and parks.”

   Ghanem called on society members to contribute to planting trees and cleaning streets, because environment belongs to everyone, and therefore preserving it should be a goal for everyone, not just the fund, especially since cleaning is a civilized behavior, and it reflects everyone.

Green Dream

    Some people are seeking to expand green spaces in Yemen to contribute to solving environmental problems. Khaled Al-Ammari (specialist in environmental affairs) says: “We can preserve a green environment in Yemen by implementing an afforestation plan that will help reduce air pollution and preserving livestock and protecting rangelands in Ibb Governorate, which is one of the governorates characterized by its unique and diverse climate, that contributed to having green spaces in the governorate.

    Today, this governorate is facing an ecological disruption., which lies in increasing lands for construction, and decrease in green spaces, as there are people selling agricultural lands to turn them into real estate.”

    Al-Ammari calls on all organizations, associations, initiatives, and relevant authorities to join hands to stop of environmentally unsound practices that we are seeing in Yemen.

   Al-Ammari called for activating the role of media, reporting to educate people about the dangers facing the environment around us, finding safe solutions to waste disposal, and enacting strict laws that make the use of use of substances harmful to the environment prohibited.

    He called for constructing sewage outfalls to avoid pouring them into the sea, because this affects the marine environment badly, he also called for more attention to be paid to handicrafts in schools in order to create creative ways for recycling.