Severin CĂZĂNESCU, Dan Ion OPREA
The study follows the chain of events, landmarks and institutions established by Saudi Arabia in recent decades concerning measures to avoid depletion of living conditions and rehabilitation of natural environment. The article estimates that by developing coherent procedures, institutions and authority, Saudi Arabia and European Union contribute to a consistent and mutual beneficial long term co-operation that would lead towards a reshape of environment-energy tandem. Saudi Kingdom is placed in a very well defended area, the Arabic Peninsula.
As God’s gift is the same for everybody, the sea surrounds the land, an extremely draught land with salted soil and rare fresh water sources, continental climate, but very rich underground oil and gas resources. People living here have interests, but also needs and beliefs which made their history a very turmoil one.
As global environmental awareness has increased, the Desert Kingdom has placed more emphasis on protecting its own citizens from environmental hazards. While environmentalists increasingly point fingers at fossil fuels as being harmful to the environment, Saudi Arabia has attempted to forge a delicate balance – the country depends on oil and gas exports for its economic growth, but the Saudi government is also trying to develop its natural resources in an environmentally-friendly way.
The Arab River has experienced a number of moderate-to-large oil spills over the past 35 years. During the Iran-Iraq war from 1980 to 1988, oil tankers in the Gulf were attacked, resulting in thousands of barrels of oil spillage. However, the damage done to the environment by that war was dwarfed by the catastrophic effects of oil spilled during the Persian Gulf War: on January 23, 1991, Iraq began intentionally pumping crude oil into the Gulf from the Sea Island supertanker terminal 10 miles off the Kuwaiti coast. The spill, described by then-Pentagon spokesman Pete Williams described the act as the worst environmental disaster in the history of the Persian Gulf, is also the worst recorded oil spill in world history, with approximately 5.7 million barrels of oil dumped
