The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture and the National Center for Vegetation Cover announced the success of Let's Make it Green campaign. The green campaign was launched on October 10, 2020 to increase the vegetation cover and combat desertification by planting 10 million trees in 165 sites across Saudi Arabia. The campaign covered all regions of Saudi Arabia with nearly 2.6 million trees planted in the Eastern Region, followed by over 2.1 million trees in Madina, about 1.3 million in Makkah, more than 1 million in Jizan, about 1 million in Riyadh, nearly 462,000 in Qassim and over 270,000 trees in Asir region. The total number of trees planted in Al-Baha reached nearly 300,000, and more than 142,000 trees were planted in the Northern Border region, followed by Al-Jawf with more than 113,000, then Hail with about 85,000 trees, Tabuk with more than 75,000, and finally Najran with nearly 52,000 trees. The campaign included sustainable development projects, memorandums of understanding with government entities, private sector initiatives and an active participation from all community members. Speaking on the occasion, Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Center of Vegetation Cover Eng. Abdulrahman AlFadley said that the success of the campaign is widely attributed to the unlimited support and care from Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the direction of HRH Crown Prince to play a pioneering role in the region in protecting lands, achieving global targets in environmental protection, increasing vegetation cover, reducing carbon emissions, combating pollution and land degradation and preserving marine life. Minister Eng. AlFadley stressed that more trees will be planted across the country in all of its regions, as part of the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative. For his part, CEO of the National Center for Vegetation Cover Dr. Khalid Al-Abd Al-Qader pointed out that the close cooperation of public and private sectors, environmental associations, green associations and individuals lead to the success of this campaign which aims to restore biodiversity, rehabilitate affected natural areas, promote pro-environmental behaviors, protect the environment and improve the quality of life. Khalid Al-Abd Al-Qader added that the campaign involves planting of endangered trees and shrubs in areas which were environmentally degraded due to overgrazing, logging, uprooting and urban sprawl. "The campaign focused on planting native tree species which have adapted to Saudi Arabia's environment and require limited irrigation." he added. The ministry ensured that the campaign is aligned with sustainability requirements and water conservation by using treated wastewater or seawater for irrigation, in line with the best international practices.
