In the presence of Deputy Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Eng. Mansour Al Mushaiti, more than 50 ambassadors, diplomats and representatives of international organizations to the Kingdom participated Saturday in the "Let's Make It Green" tree planting campaign that took place in Huraymila National Park. This comes as part of the ministry's plan to plant 10 million trees by the end of April 2021 in 165 sites across Saudi Arabia, in collaboration with the National Center for Vegetation Cover, public and private sectors and volunteer associations. Eng. Al Mushaiti said that this campaign comes as part of the ministry's efforts to achieve environmental sustainability, increase the green cover, combat desertification, restore biodiversity in natural environments and rehabilitate degraded vegetation. Eng. Al Mushaiti stressed the importance of such activities in promoting pro-environmental behaviors, protecting the environment and improving the quality of life for all, by planting millions of trees in all regions of the Kingdom to develop vegetation cover and fight desertification. He pointed out that the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture is working to activate projects and events that aim at increasing environmental awareness and promoting community participation to achieve the goals of Vision 2030. For his part, the CEO of the National Center for Vegetation Cover and Combating Desertification, Dr. Khaled Al Abdulqadir, emphasized the significance of this campaign in maintaining the ecological balance in Saudi Arabia. He noted that these events are of great importance in raising awareness on sustainable reforestation, and promoting practices that contribute to the preservation and development of vegetation cover in all regions of the Kingdom. Dr. Al Abdulqadir added that there was an active participation of more than 45 embassies and diplomatic missions in planting native trees in Huraymila National Park. The campaign also involves planting endangered trees and shrubs in areas, which were environmentally degraded due to overgrazing, logging, uprooting and urban sprawl. — SG
