Kuwait's land is dying: Why desertification is Kuwait's next big environmental battle

TL;DR:

• Over 70% of Kuwait 's land, approximately 11,300 sq km, is classified as deteriorated or desertified.

• The Environment Public Authority (EPA) is executing a national strategy through Vision 2035, aiming to cut degraded land to 35–40% by 2040.

• Key efforts include large-scale afforestation, protected reserves, green walls, and collaboration with international resilience initiatives like IWMIs Wiqaya project.

As Kuwait battles soaring summer temperatures, another silent crisis looms: desertification . Experts and environmental bodies warn that the country’s limited arable land is under increasing pressure due to human activity and climate change. Desertification, the process of fertile land turning into desert, now threatens over 80% of Kuwait’s land, as confirmed by the Environment Public Authority (EPA) and global assessments from the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).

According to The Times Kuwait, recent satellite imagery and soil studies indicate worsening land degradation, particularly in areas surrounding Kuwait City, Jahra, and the oil-producing zones in the north and west.
What’s Causing It? Key Drivers of Land Degradation
Desertification in Kuwait isn’t just due to natural desert conditions. Human actions are accelerating the damage. The EPA’s 2023 environmental report cites the following key causes:

• Overgrazing: Unregulated livestock movement continues to strip vegetation cover.
  
  
• Urban Expansion: Construction projects, especially in suburban districts, encroach on natural landscapes.
  
  
• Off-road Driving: Recreational desert driving has degraded topsoil and crushed native flora.
  
  
• Climate Change: Rising temperatures and declining rainfall are exacerbating soil erosion and reducing plant regeneration.
  
  

These factors, compounded by Kuwait’s already fragile desert ecosystem, have led to what the EPA calls “critical ecological stress.”
How Bad Is It? Official Data and Risk Assessment
Kuwait's land degradation rate has been labeled “severe” in multiple regions, especially in:

• Al-Abdali and Al-Wafra agricultural zones
  
  
• Al-Jahra desert peripheries
  
  
• Southwestern borders near the Saudi-Kuwaiti Neutral Zone
  
  

According to UNCCD’s Global Land Outlook, Kuwait is one of the most vulnerable Gulf nations due to its low vegetation density, sand-prone terrain, and high reliance on land for oil logistics and defense infrastructure.
Government Response: What Is Being Done
Kuwait ratified the UNCCD treaty in 1997 and has since adopted a National Action Plan (NAP) for combating desertification. Some of the government’s current strategies include:

• Green Belt Projects: The Public Authority for Agriculture Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR) has been planting drought-tolerant shrubs along highways.
  
  
• Reclamation Zones: Pilot projects in Wafra and Abdali aim to restore desertified land using treated wastewater and soil fixation.
  
  
• Awareness Campaigns: The EPA, in partnership with the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR), is promoting public education on preserving soil health.
  
  

Despite these measures, environmental experts warn that progress is slow and not scaled up quickly enough.
Urgency for Action

• On World Day to Combat Desertification (June 17, 2025), the EPA reaffirmed Kuwait’s goal to reduce degraded land to 35–40% by 2040. This is part of its broader National Land Degradation Neutrality Strategy, supported by Vision 2035.

• Monitoring systems like eMISK and Beatona collect real-time land health data to help shape restoration policy and track desertification.

• Kuwait also supports the Middle East Green Initiative, a Saudi-led framework to combat regional land degradation.

While Kuwait Vision 2035 focuses on economic diversification and urban modernization, environmental sustainability remains one of its seven strategic pillars. However, climate advocates argue that land management programs need stronger enforcement mechanisms and community participation to be effective.


Desertification is no longer a distant environmental concern, it is an immediate national challenge that touches every aspect of Kuwait’s future, from agriculture and public health to urban planning and climate resilience. While Kuwait has the technical capacity and institutional frameworks to tackle land degradation, the pace of implementation must now match the urgency of the threat.
Beyond government action, cross-sector collaboration will be key. Private sector investments in sustainable landscaping, educational institutions conducting soil research, and civil society movements advocating for conservation can collectively tip the balance. Crucially, Kuwait must also mainstream environmental education and enforce stronger regulations around land misuse.

With the worst of the summer heat still looming in August, the signs of ecological stress are all around. Kuwait now stands at a crossroads, either to let its landscape degrade further under human and climatic pressures, or to reimagine its development around long-term environmental resilience.
The time for small steps has passed. What Kuwait needs is a decisive national shift that treats land restoration not as a side policy, but as a central pillar of its survival and growth strategy.