Kuwait City, June 19: Underscoring its constant dedication to supporting all initiatives that promote sustainability and environmental conservation, National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) continues sponsoring Kuwait Dive Team (KDT) in its efforts to protect and rehabilitate the marine environment including islands and coral reefs, and removing harmful waste to preserve marine biodiversity.

In continuation of these efforts, KDT lifted a sunken boat in Fahaheel waters, as such boats endanger the marine ecosystem and organisms as they contain fuel and oils, in addition to obstructing maritime navigation.

On this occasion, Talal Al-Turki, Executive Manager, head of Public Relations & Event Management at National Bank of Kuwait said, “We, at NBK, always seek to leverage our role as one of the leading corporations in social responsibility by introducing a variety of initiatives and programs across different fields, especially the environment.”

“All awareness campaigns promoted on the social media pages of the bank and KDT aim to increase awareness of the importance of the environment and environmental preservation. Additionally, these campaigns highlight KDT’s valuable contributions in the protection and restoration of the marine ecosystem, as well as encourage volunteering in serving the marine environment by preparing national cadres specialized in marine operations and maintenance of mooring buoys around coral reefs,” he mentioned.

“Our partnership with KDT aligns with our strategy to adopt environmental governance best practices, through a set of initiatives launched by the bank to promote sustainability, deepen environmental culture, and create awareness and interest in maintaining a clean, pollution-free environment,” he emphasized.

Since the beginning of this year, Kuwait Dive Team lifted 56 tons of marine debris in 33 operations, with the participation of 800 volunteers. They also removed 28 tons of harmful waste in 18 operations on the coasts, ports and islands, in cooperation with government agencies, 7 tons of abandoned fishing gear, and recovered 3 boats and a marine vessel of 21 tons. On the other hand, the team organized many awareness sessions and workshops with 300 participants to raise awareness on the importance of marine ecosystems and how to protect them.

It is worth mentioning that NBK regards environmental and climate issues as key priorities and therefore organizes awareness campaigns on its social media platforms to increase awareness on the importance of the environment and environmental conservation. Furthermore, the bank’s sponsorship of Kuwait Dive Team has significantly contributed to protecting and restoring the marine ecosystem in Kuwait through many activities, including protecting coral reefs, cleaning beaches, establishing fish colonies, and lifting sunken ships and boats.