The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) launched its seventh annual environment week on Monday to highlight concerns about increasing natural and made-made disasters in the region.
The theme of this year's event is managing and responding to environmental calamities because of increasing earthquakes, floods, sand storms and droughts.
There have also been industrial explosions and spillage of hazardous substances polluting the soil, air, water and sea.
The GCC set up a center for crisis management at its Jeddah conference in July 2007 because of the humanitarian and environmental costs of these disasters.
The GCC has also had to take steps against calamities related to the production and export of petroleum and its byproducts.
Disasters can occur along pipelines carrying oil and natural gas to various storage facilities and ports. The region has had to look at ways to contain oil spills, fires and explosions that could result in large-scale environmental pollution.
The center's responsibilities include the identification and evaluation of natural and man-made hazardous situations in the region, and other regions that may affect the GCC's interests.
The center also receives reports about emergency situations and issues warnings about such occurrences.
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