RIYADH — Saudi Arabia has planted more than 95 million trees in the Kingdom's various environments and regions, since the launch of the Saudi Green Initiative in 2021. The National Center for Vegetation Development and Combating Desertification attributed this great achievement to the combined efforts of the National Afforestation Program, in cooperation with partners from the governmental, private and non-profit sectors. These efforts also resulted in the rehabilitation of more than 118,000 hectares of degraded vegetation cover lands, and the protection of 4.3 million hectares of land, which are under rehabilitation, while the number of natural growths reached 7.1 million in the areas that were measured. This highlights clear progress towards enhancing and sustaining vegetation cover in the Kingdom, the center pointed out. The number of partners, which are contributing to the afforestation efforts, has so far reached 121 entities from the governmental, private and non-profit sectors, reflecting the commitment to achieving common national goals. This comes within the efforts made to strengthen partnerships with all the sectors to increase afforestation efforts so as to achieve the goals of the Saudi Green Initiative and the Kingdom's Vision 2030, which contributes to reducing carbon emissions, improving the quality of life, and mitigating the effects of climate change. It is noteworthy that the center works to protect and monitor vegetation cover sites, rehabilitate deteriorating ones, detect encroachments on them, and combat logging. This is in addition to supervising the management of pasture lands, forests, and national parks and providing investment opportunities; which enhances sustainable environmental development in order to achieve a thriving and sustainable vegetation cover.
