RIYADH — A national afforestation campaign was launched Saturday in the Kingdom. The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture's tree-planting campaign started from Riyadh Province's Thadiq National Recreation Park, where 50,000 trees were planted, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said. The campaign has been launched with the participation of the governorate's citizens, its visitors, the private and public sectors, and schools. The ministry has provided a special registration form on its website for those joining the campaign. The Kingdom's Vision 2030 has attached utmost importance to environmental protection and natural resources due to their pivotal role in achieving sustainable development and society's prosperity. Apart from this, the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture and the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) signed last Monday a joint Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to support the afforestation and natural vegetation cover development initiative, with the objective of planting 5 million local desert plants by the end of 2030 using treated water. The signing of the MoU is a contribution of the efforts to put a limit to the deterioration of pastures and forests, to combat desertification, restore wildlife, enhance environmental awareness, and adjustment to climate change by planting local desert trees. The MoU also strives to enhance integration between the two sides to achieve the public interest. The MoU aims to strengthen cooperation and coordination between the ministry and SWCC to build an effective partnership, work in an integrated fashion in making use of replenishable and replenished sources of water _ like rainwater and sanitary drainage water, using modern technologies and the best international practices in developing the plant cover. According to the MoU, the two sides will prepare joint programs to contribute to various awareness events, like the Environment Week, conferences, and environmental awareness campaigns and means in schools. These can be achieved by encouraging students to plant trees and seedlings in the courtyards of schools and public amusement parks, cooperating with the volunteers to encourage the participation of the society in planting local plants, developing the vegetation cover and enhancing environmental awareness. The joint cooperation also includes specifying the sites and plots of land targeted for afforestation, providing sources of treated sanitary drainage water, specifying suitable local plant species including trees and shrubs, protecting the planted (afforestation) sites, preparing sites for tree-planting works including setting up fences, digging and spreading fertilizers, in addition to setting up water tanks and irrigation networks in the wooding sites.
