المملكة: Cultivation of 3.5 million trees .. A campaign to enhance awareness of the importance of forests in the Kingdom

The National Center for the Development of Plant Cover and Combating Desertification launched an awareness campaign, through its official platforms on social media, with the aim of introducing the importance of forests in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, highlighting its vital role in achieving the desired environmental balance, and mitigating the negative effects of climate change.
This campaign comes in conjunction with the International Forest Day, which the world celebrates on the twenty -first of each year.

Kingdom forests and their environmental role

The Kingdom has vast areas of forests, which represents an invaluable natural wealth, and an essential factor in environmental protection and sustainability efforts.
Forests provide the necessary oxygen for life and stormed huge amounts of carbon, which contributes to reducing the phenomenon of global warming. It also enhances biological diversity and food security, reduces desertification, and reduces the effects of climate change.

The importance of the Arak tree

Under the slogan “Arak is healthy and food”, the center highlights the Arak Arak tree as one of the most prominent and most important local trees in the forests in the Kingdom, due to its multiple environmental, health and economic benefits. Arak is characterized by its own importance in land reclamation in desert and dry areas, due to their superior ability to adapt and grow in harsh environments and land with salty soil.
In addition, the Arak tree provides a valuable food for humans, through its fruit known as “Al -Kabath”, as it represents an important source of food for animals that feed on their branches and leaves.
On the economic level, Arak acquires a distinct position, as its parts are used to produce miswak and natural oils. The benefits of Arak are not limited to this, but rather extend to its healthy value, as it enhances the health of the mouth and teeth, as well as its religious value.

Rehabilitation of forests in the Kingdom

It is noteworthy that the National Center for the Development of Vegetable Cover and Combating Desertification is making continuous and continuous efforts to restore and rehabilitate forests in the Kingdom, as it has so far been able to grow more than 3.5 million trees. The center is also working on the sites of perennial trees to protect and rehabilitate them, and protect forest sites by setting border fences and guidelines. These efforts come within the strategic plan for forests, and the executive plan of the program to rehabilitate and protect the valleys in the Kingdom, in order to achieve the goals of the ambitious Saudi Green Initiative and the Kingdom’s 2030 vision. In addition, the center implements the national forest inventory project, and works to establish an integrated national system to monitor forest lands, and another to follow up on fires and reduce their spread.