DUBAI — Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Eng. Abdulrahman Al-Fadley has said that Saudi Arabia's tree planting strategy is based on the principle of sustainability as the country works on benefiting from the renewable water sources, such as treated water, rainwater, and salt water, which can be used to irrigate some types of trees. The Kingdom is also working to benefit from technology by applying the latest developments in this field. Eng. Al-Fadley made the remarks while participating in the third edition of the Saudi Green Initiative (SGI) Forum at COP28 in Dubai, which is being held with the aim of providing an important platform for the relevant authorities to discuss the best available ways to accelerate the pace of climate action, and to shed light on the various initiatives and projects currently underway in various parts of Saudi Arabia. He emphasized that Saudi Arabia is moving forward with a firm plan and a successful vision toward achieving the goals of the Saudi Green Initiative (SGI), which aims to plant some 600 million trees by 2030, and 10 billion trees throughout the Kingdom in coming decades. The Saudi minister indicated that the third edition of SGI comes building on the successes achieved in previous projects and initiatives since the launch of the first edition in Riyadh. It also comes as an inspiration to realize more achievements in the journey of preserving the environment and natural resources, and work on its development, prosperity, and sustainability. Saudi Arabia has activated more than 80 new initiatives, with the aim of achieving further progress in the second year of SGI, he said. Eng. Al-Fadley explained that, since the adoption of the Saudi Green Initiative, 43 programs were launched to achieve its main goals. Some 43.9 million trees planted in different parts of Saudi Arabia, in addition to reclaiming 94,000 hectares of degraded land. A 300% increase in production capacity was also achieved to reduce carbon emissions, and more than 8 gigawatts in production capacity for renewable energy projects, the minister confirmed. SGI aims to plant about 600 million trees by 2030 through afforestation initiatives approved within the environmental path of the Saudi Green Initiative. Eng. Al-Fadley noted that the ministry is leading a number of files related to afforestation, biodiversity, monitoring environmental compliance, reducing pollution, and others. The ministry also supervises and follows up the Saudi Green Initiatives, Eng. Al-Fadley confirmed, adding that it also ensures that they are implemented on time as planned. "All of these initiatives have implementation plans and strategies," he said.
