22 July 2024. Bandar al-Mosalam
Saudi Arabia plans to integrate all existing environmental projects and programs from the public, private, and non-profit sectors into the “Saudi Green Initiative,” sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.
This effort aims to meet the Kingdom’s environmental goals.
The Saudi Green Initiative, launched by Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman in March 2021, aims to support global climate goals and help Saudi Arabia achieve net-zero emissions by 2060 through a circular carbon economy.
The government has directed relevant committees to catalog existing environmental projects that could support the initiative’s goals and integrate them based on set criteria.
All sectors have been asked to report past tree-planting activities to the national afforestation program.
Saudi Arabia aims to plant 10 billion trees, rehabilitating 74 million hectares of degraded land. This effort seeks to restore ecological functions, improve air quality, reduce sandstorms, preserve biodiversity, and combat desertification.
Since its launch, the initiative has planted 43.9 million trees and rehabilitated 94,000 hectares of land.
This progress supports the goal of planting 10 billion trees over the coming decades.
Over 40 ongoing projects aim to plant more than 600 million trees and rehabilitate 8 million hectares of land by 2030.
In October 2023, a detailed two-year feasibility study was revealed, aimed at enhancing vegetation nationwide with over 1,150 field surveys conducted with expert collaboration.
Tree planting and land rehabilitation projects will begin in various locations, including mangroves, wetlands, mountain forests, grasslands, national parks, and valleys.
The plan will be executed in two phases: the first, lasting until the end of the decade, will focus on nature-based rehabilitation; the second, starting in 2030, will use a comprehensive approach, applying lessons from the first phase.
Rehabilitation efforts will create jobs, combat desertification, reduce sandstorm impacts, and improve the quality of life for residents.
Urban areas will benefit from increased tree density, helping to lower temperatures and improve air quality.