JEDDAH — The Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME) will establish emergency centers in Jazan, Tabuk and Jeddah regions. The centers aim to tackle marine pollution and minimize its economic and environmental impact, said Prince Turki Bin Nasser, president of the PME. The PME, Prince Turki said, is the central agency responsible for the protection of the environment in the Kingdom, especially from marine pollution. “To fight pollution, the PME mobilizes all its resources at the regional and global levels, including human resources, high tech facilities and expertise,” he said. Speaking on the Jazan emergency center, Prince Turki said preparations are under way to open it in the near future. “The high tech center will help workers quickly respond to environmental pollution incidents such as oil slicks in the Red Sea. The PME embarks on an ambitious plan to set up a number of such high tech centers along the 2,400-km coastal lines of the Kingdom, of which 77 percent is on the Red Sea and 23 percent on the Arabian Gulf,” he said. The center will have highly advanced equipment and will house joint operation rooms to tackle marine pollution in addition to support centers, residential facilities and zones to handle accidents and crises. “Spread out over an area of 10,000 sq. meters, the center will be located on the seafront, two km from the Jazan city center,” he added. Hussein Al-Qahtani, spokesman for the PME, said the new centers would play a pivotal role in protecting the Kingdom's seawaters from the dangers of oil slicks due to the increased drilling activities and movement of tankers. “Oil pollution poses a potential threat to fish resources, desalination plants and seafront tourism facilities. It also has a negative impact on the environment as it pollutes the water and is a threat to coral reefs,” he said.
