Prince Sattam Bin Abdul Aziz, Acting Emir of Riyadh and Chairman of the Supreme Committee for Environment Protection, chaired discussions Sunday on a range of environmental issues of concern to the capital. Abdullatif Aal Al-Sheikh of the Supreme Commission for the Development of Riyadh City and President of its Projects and Planning Center said the meeting discussed the capital's air quality monitoring program and the construction of 10 monitoring stations, along with the city's executive plan for environment protection and its 48 environmental programs covering pollution and waste, natural resources, open areas, wildlife and environmental management. “The committee looked at the work of programs related to pollution, the most important of which is the air pollution effects study,” Aal Al-Sheikh said. “The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources gave a presentation of its plan to improve the quality of petrol and diesel in Riyadh as part of the executive program to control air pollution.” Other anti-pollution efforts discussed included programs to tackle “visual pollution” to improve the aesthetic appearance of Riyadh, an environmental assessment of the city's eighth power generation plant, the introduction of planning standards to curb the effects of electromagnetic waves, and noise pollution. Aal Al-Sheikh said the committee also looked at a city-wide waste management system, solid waste recycling, medical waste processing, the creation of modern waste subterranean disposal sites, and programs for the disposal of oil and petroleum derivatives. “The meeting also discussed the protection of water sources from pollution, which involves protecting deep subterranean water, improving sewer works and the continuous inspection of district water networks,” Aal Al-Sheikh said. Several projects for the treatment of sewage, according to Aal Al-Sheikh, have been initiated, such as the new 400,000-cubic-meter-capacity treatment plant in Al-Hayer, Two other similar projects are close to completion, he added. On natural resources, open areas and wildlife, the committee looked at the development of wildlife zones, the protection of valleys, and the exploitation of agricultural land with fertile soil.
