Integrating environmental impact assessment within Kuwait master plans as a tool for human and ecological risk control

Although it was claimed that the Kuwait Master Plans have helped guide the development in Kuwait from a small mud brick town of 150,000 inhabitants to today's modern metropolis of about 3 million inhabitants, this article argues that the implementation of the first plan in 1952 planted the seeds of human and ecological risk problems in Kuwait, which were intensified later in the 1960s and 1970s. As the latest 2007 Master Plan comprises major development projects, which could certainly have adverse ecological impacts on the environment and human well-being, this article highlights the importance of integrating environmental impact assessment (EIA) and the development projects within the Master Plan as a tool for sustainable development and as an assessment of human and ecological risks before the implementation of such projects. According to the current status, the level of collaboration among the concerned organizations responsible for preparing the Master Plans and conducting the EIA is behind the ambition. This article recommends setting out documented environmental criteria for land use planning and major development projects implementation, so as to control pollution and prevent any environmental change that might impair the public's health or influence future ecological stability.