RIYADH: Eastern Province Gov. Prince Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz recently inaugurated the Green East initiative, a project designed to expand vegetation cover and combat desertification across the region.
The governor also launched the Eastern Province Afforestation Office, which will coordinate efforts to meet national environmental sustainability targets under Saudi Arabia’s Green Initiative.
Yousef Al-Badr, director-general of the National Center for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification’s Eastern Province branch, said the initiative aligns with broader efforts to rehabilitate land, enhance biodiversity, and improve quality of life.
He emphasized that the project extends beyond tree planting to include long-term desertification mitigation strategies.
Prince Saud witnessed the signing of four memoranda of understanding to advance the Green East initiative.
The agreements include partnerships with the Eastern Province Municipality to integrate green spaces into urban planning and a collaboration with Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University for sustainable land management research.
Additional signatories include the Eastern Province Council for Social Responsibility, tasked with mobilizing community engagement, and the Friends of the Environment Society, which will lead public awareness campaigns.
The agreements were signed by Turki Al-Tamimi, deputy governor of the Eastern Province, and Al-Badr, who thanked the governor for his support, reiterating the center’s commitment to achieving the Saudi Vision 2030 environmental goals.
The Green East initiative is under the umbrella of the Saudi Green Initiative, launched in 2021. Through SGI, Saudi Arabia aims to proactively address climate impacts by planting 10 billion trees and rehabilitating 74 million hectares of degraded land.
This nationwide effort seeks to revive ecosystems, improve air quality, reduce sandstorms, and enhance natural carbon capture.
Efforts across the Kingdom are already having a positive impact: Over 100 million trees and shrubs have been planted since 2021, alongside the rehabilitation of 118,000 hectares of degraded land.
Studies project a temperature decrease of up to 2.2°C in city centers due to expanded tree canopy cover, while more than 1,150 field surveys have been conducted nationwide to support the 10 billion trees program.
The Green East initiative exemplifies SGI’s “whole-of-society” approach, combining afforestation, research, urban greening, and community participation to drive sustainable environmental progress.
