Kingdom's national environment strategy has 64 initiatives worth SAR 52 bln, says Al-Fadley

Abdulrahman Al-Fadley, Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture 

Abdulrahman Al-Fadley, Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture, said environment protection is a priority for Saudi Arabia, which began with the establishment of the Ministry of Environment as well as the adoption of the National Environment Strategy.

He told Saudi Green Initiative Forum today, Oct. 23, that the strategy included 64 environmental initiatives worth more than SAR 52 billion, the state-run SPA reported.

The minister indicated that the most prominent recommendations of the strategy are restructuring the institutional framework through establishing a national environmental fund in the region, and five national environmental centers to enhance environmental compliance.

The recommendations also include combatting desertification, protecting wildlife, promoting waste recycling, as well as providing meteorological services and climate studies.

The Kingdom issued the waste management and meteorological laws to establish the regulatory framework for the sector.

Al-Fadley pointed out that Saudi Green Initiative contributes to protecting biodiversity and declaring 30% of the Kingdom's land as protected areas.

He further indicated that the Kingdom made great achievements in this regard, as protected areas were increased fourfold to represent nearly 16% of the Kingdom's total area, compared with only 4.3% over the last three years.

The ministry also increased the number of national parks from 19 three years ago to more than 300 currently and built several breeding centers for local endangered species of wildlife.

The recently-issued Environmental Law focuses on biodiversity, as well as protection and restoration of coastal and marine habitats such as mangroves and coral reefs.