المملكة: 40 million hectares .. How does the arid land turn into green spaces in Saudi Arabia?

Today, Saudi Arabia works to restore life to hundreds of thousands of hectares that have lost its vegetable cover, due to natural factors and human activities; To restore to the ground its green pulse, and protect its biological diversity again.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia attaches to the file of land rehabilitation and the protection of vegetation with great attention, as an essential part of its environmental obligations, in light of the Kingdom’s presidency of the sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties in the United Nations Convention against Desertification COP16.

Land rehabilitation in Saudi Arabia

It also comes within its strategy to achieve the targets of the “Green Middle East” initiatives, “Green Saudi Arabia” and “The Kingdom’s Vision 2030”, and at the forefront of these efforts is the national afforestation program, which plays a pivotal role in promoting the sustainability of vegetation and increasing green spaces in the Kingdom,
This role includes a comprehensive national strategic leadership for afforestation, restoring deteriorating lands, and coordinating implementation efforts at the level of different sectors and regions.
In addition to providing technical support, resources and best practices in the field of tree transplantation and the sustainable management of lands, in addition to monitoring the progress made in tree cultivation, land rehabilitation, and measuring tree sustainability rates.

Rehabilitation of degraded lands in Saudi Arabia

The efforts of the program, in cooperation with partners from all sectors, resulted in the rehabilitation of more than 500 thousand hectares of the deteriorating lands in various regions of the Kingdom, using best practices and modern technologies such as the scattering of seeds with drones (Dron); To reach rough areas, and the cultivation of local plants suitable for the environment to ensure sustainability, in addition to the application of modern irrigation systems, rain water harvesting projects and storing them to support the sustainability of water resources.
The program was based – in the way of achieving its goals – on comprehensive environmental and scientific studies to develop a major plan for afforestation, which includes an accurate analysis of the appropriate locations for afforestation throughout the Kingdom, based on comprehensive field surveys, and the plan includes various domains such as the environmental, agricultural, urban and transportation, which enhances the increase in vegetation at the Kingdom level.
The role of the program is not limited to tree cultivation only, but also focuses on restoring natural environmental systems and nature -based solutions, and the main plan of the program defines ambitious goals for planting 10 billion trees, rehabilitating 40 million hectares of land in three stages, starting with the cultivation of 215 million trees and rehabilitation of 2.5 million hectares by 2030.

National Affairs Program

In order to achieve the national goals of afforestation and land rehabilitation, a comprehensive and detailed governance has been established, which includes the activation of the national afforestation program a central party; To supervise the implementation of the main plan for afforestation and land rehabilitation, and ensuring unification of efforts between the various sectors and the concerned authorities, while providing the necessary support; To achieve the ambitious and integrated program targets.
It relied on this on the integration of efforts between the various governmental, private and non -profit agencies, in addition to the role of volunteers and local societies that are a key partner in protecting and ensuring the restored areas, which are qualitative partnerships that embody the Kingdom’s commitment to activating the role of all sectors in environmental work.
The rehabilitation projects implemented by the program vary according to the nature of the sites and the degree of their deterioration, and include all vegetation sites, and these projects are implemented according to accurate field studies and a comprehensive surveys of the soil and vegetable state; To ensure the choice of the most appropriate solution for each site.

Employ the latest technology

Several projects depend on the use of the latest technology, such as the use of drones to spread seeds in rugged areas.
This allows covering large areas in a short time and high efficiency, as well as cultivating seedlings suitable for the local environment carefully, while following irrigation and fertilization operations; To ensure that plants remain and their growth in a healthy and sustainable manner.
The national program for afforestation with the partners works to rehabilitate the deteriorating lands through basic steps according to international standards, starting with monitoring the targeted areas, setting the priorities of intervention through field analysis and remote sensing, followed by preparing an action plan.

Protecting sites from encroachments

It includes the organization of grazing and the protection of sites from encroachments, the installation of guidance panels, and the fence of sensitive areas when needed.
Achieving the objectives of the program requires activating a wide range of possibilities, such as setting organizational frameworks that support afforestation and land rehabilitation activities, enhance innovation to develop implementation tools and raise their efficiency, support implementation, and rely on the latest technologies.
The integrated water resources management also constitutes a basic pillar; To ensure the sustainability of afforestation and land rehabilitation projects, as well as building national capabilities at various technical and administrative levels, and preparing realistic executive plans supported by mechanisms to follow up on performance and assess impact.