Saudi Arabia is taking an extra step towards environmental sustainability by planting four million trees by 2020.
The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture "aims to achieve sustainable growth in forests and pastures, rehabilitation of vegetation cover, sustainable management of natural resources, and the best use of irrigation water," the kingdom's undersecretary for environmental affairs, Osama bin Ibrahim Faqiha, told the Saudi Press Agency.
Faqiha stated that this will be the beginning of Saudi's plan to preserve the country's fauna and flora while maintaining agricultural sustainability.
Four million seeds are only just a start; the ministry is planning on providing an additional six million seedlings for public and private companies.
The next stage would be planting 300,000 seeds in Riyadh, Al-Qassim, Hail, Asir, Makkah, Madinah, Tabuk, the Northern Border, and Al-Baha.
Saudi Arabia continues to prove that it seeks to safeguard its environment as climate change ravages the world.
It is definitely not the first time Saudis put effort into such matters.
Late last year, the country declared it is going to harness the power of wind for electricity; while in 2017, it expanded into solar energy, planning on creating around 7,000 jobs by 2020.
Earlier this year, Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Minister Khalid Al-Falih said that Riyadh will invest between $30 to $50 billion on renewable energy by 2032.
The kingdom is also looking to develop geothermal power – steam from within the earth – as its strategic plan to diversify its energy sector.
All of this comes as part of Saudi Arabia's plan to increase its renewable energy sources by 2030.
