JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s afforestation campaign has been given a boost with the signing of a deal to plant trees.
The Kingdom’s push to plant large swathes of forest and vegetation is part of its pledge to tackle carbon emissions.
On Thursday, the National Center for Vegetation Cover inked a memorandum of understanding with the Saudi Investment Recycling Co. to plant more trees in its facilities and cooperate on the implementation of the company’s afforestation projects.
Under the terms of the agreement, the center will provide support and guidance on afforestation, irrigation methods, water sources, the suitability of proposed sites to plant appropriate species, as well as identifying suitable plants for each region and the right time to plant them.
The center will also offer help with research and study programs related to afforestation.
Corporations, government bodies, and research centers throughout Saudi Arabia have been involved in launching a number of community-based afforestation schemes in response to an initiative led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to turn the desert green and rehabilitate 40 million hectares of land over the coming decades.
Separately, on Thursday, the Imam Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Royal Reserve Development Authority used drones to scatter acacia, wild sidr, clover, lavender, and psyllium seeds, among others.
And to celebrate the annual Oct. 14 Arab Environment Day, it also carried out a cleanup campaign in and around the Rawdat Khuraim Nature Reserve. The event took place in cooperation with the Environmental Green Horizons Society and with the participation of various government authorities.
The initiative aims to raise public awareness through environmental activities and events and promote volunteering.
In addition, it helps students to understand the importance of protecting the environment and increasing vegetation cover, while highlighting the environmental damage caused by waste, and the need for sustainability and social responsibility.
Saudi tree-planting deal boosts Kingdom’s afforestation drive
https://arab.news/458sd
Saudi tree-planting deal boosts Kingdom’s afforestation drive
- The National Center for Vegetation Cover inks a memorandum of understanding with the Saudi Investment Recycling Co
UN chief visits KSrelief HQ in Riyadh
- 2 sides discuss humanitarian, relief priorities
- Officials present overview of center’s global portfolio
RIYADH: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited the Saudi aid agency KSrelief in Riyadh on Thursday, where he held talks on strengthening cooperation between the UN and the Kingdom’s leading humanitarian institution.
Guterres met Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah — adviser at the Royal Court and supervisor general of KSrelief — along with senior officials, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Al-Wasil, Saudi Arabia’s permanent representative to the UN in New York, was also present.
The two sides discussed humanitarian and relief priorities, as well as ways to expand collaboration between KSrelief and various UN agencies, the SPA added.
Officials also presented an overview of the center’s expanding global portfolio, which has now reached 3,881 projects across 109 countries, worth more than $8 billion.
Projects highlighted included the artificial limbs program; the Masam demining initiative in Yemen; the scheme to reintegrate Yemeni children formerly associated with armed conflict; voluntary medical missions; and KSrelief’s Conjoined Twins Program.
The center’s work on digital relief platforms, international documentation and registration, and other humanitarian initiatives was also showcased.
Guterres later toured KSrelief’s permanent exhibition, which featured an interactive map of beneficiary countries; multimedia human-interest stories; volunteer program displays; and a “messages of hope” corner at which he used a virtual-reality headset which attempted to simulate the experiences of refugees and displaced people.
The UN chief also met Saudi medical volunteers involved in KSrelief missions abroad, and heard their accounts of delivering assistance on the ground.
He then visited offices of partner organizations and international bodies housed within the center, receiving briefings on their joint programs with KSrelief.
