Saudi Arabia strives to regreen deserts to tackle drought and land degradation

Abdullah Ibrahim Alissa is standing on a rocky outcrop in Thadiq National Park, a sprawling expanse of arid land north of Riyadh, capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 

Beneath Alissa, the park’s manager, are steep terraces lined with carefully cultivated shrubs and small trees, a flourish of greenery that has turned this place from a desert to a desired nature spot. 

“I grew up in this area, and since childhood I have seen it deteriorate and become desertified,” Alissa says. “[But] through afforestation projects, protection and care, the area has completely changed.”  

Rehabilitating this 600-square kilometre-park, known for its sweeping valleys, involved planting 250,000 trees and 1 million shrubs. Crews also constructed terraced dams to catch the area’s sparse rainwater.  

Restoring Thadiq National Park is part of Saudi Arabia’s wider plan to regreen huge swathes of desert at home and abroad. The push is designed to tackle drought, desertification, and land degradation, which are threatening countries across West Asia and North Africa. 

Three-quarters of the arable land in the region is already degraded, and 60 per cent of the population is already experiencing water scarcity, a number set to increase by 2050.   

"Land is a fundamental pillar of life, and together with the ocean and the climate, is vital for sustaining life on this Earth,” says Osama Ibrahim Faqeeha, Saudi Arabia's Deputy Minister of Environment.  

On 5 June, Saudi Arabia will host World Environment Day 2024, an annual celebration of the planet which this year focuses on desertification, land degradation and drought resilience.   

More than 2 billion hectares of the world’s land is degraded, affecting half the global population, and threatening countless species. 

Faced with more severe and prolonged droughts, sandstorms and rising temperatures, finding ways to stop dry land from becoming desert, fresh water sources from evaporating, and fertile soil from turning to dust, is now crucial, say experts. 

Saudi Arabia, where rapid development and an increase in cattle grazing has led to land degradation, has made countering desertification a priority. 

Launched in March 2021, the Saudi Green Initiative aims to turn 30 percent of Saudi Arabia’s land into nature reserves, plant 10 billion trees and restore 40 million hectares of degraded land.  

“The country's goal is to plant 400 million trees by 2030,” says Khaled Alabdulkader, the CEO of Saudi Arabia’s National Center for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification. 

“The Saudi Green Initiative demonstrates the immense potential of cultural capital and traditional wisdom for managing the natural environment,” says Susan Gardner, the Director of the Ecosystems Division at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). “Such approaches, grounded in tradition and tailored to the local context, are vitally important in a region that faces multiple stressors leading to land degradation and desertification.” 

Through the Middle East Green Initiative, Saudi Arabia is leading efforts to plant an additional 40 billion trees across the region with the aim of reducing soil erosion, protecting biodiversity, and mitigating the impacts of climate change. The combined 50 billion trees target represents five per cent of the global afforestation target, and the equivalent of restoring 200 million hectares of degraded land.