Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH – Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Eng. Abdulrahman Al-Fadley said that the Saudi Green and Middle East Green initiatives will chart the Kingdom’s direction in leading the next green era. Attending the periodic government communication briefing here on Wednesday, he said that the Saudi Green and Middle East Green initiatives are based on the Kingdom’s pioneering role toward common international issues.

“Both initiatives will enhance the ongoing environmental efforts in accordance with Vision 2030. The initiatives will have a major impact on the development of vegetation and wildlife,” he said.

Al-Fadley reaffirmed that Saudi Arabia is adamant about combating environmental challenges such as high temperatures, low rainfall, and desertification.

“The Saudi Green Initiative involves planting 10 billion trees in the Kingdom, which is equivalent to rehabilitating 40 million hectares of degraded land and increasing by 12-fold the area covered by existing trees. The Kingdom is enriched with more than 2000 plant species that consume low water and adapted to the prevailing climate,” he said.

Replying to a question about the availability of water that is required to plant these huge number of trees, the minister said that the program depends on a number of methods, including the use of treated water and renewable water sources such as rainwater and seawater; use of modern technologies such as cloud seeding, and cultivation of local tree species adapted to the prevailing climate in the Kingdom and that do not need large quantities of water.