Twelve million trees and bushes will be planted throughout Saudi Arabia by the National Centre for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification in 2024. According to the CEO of the NCVC, Khaled bin Abdullah Al-Abdul Qadir, recycled water would be used for all projects. Al-Abdul Qadir said these during a recent event celebrating the planting of one million trees in Buraidah Oasis.
In February 2020, Prince Faisal bin Mishaal, the Governor of Qassim, officially opened the Green Oasis project in Buraidah. The project, which spans 28 million square metres and cost more than SR77 million ($20.5 million), was completed.
The Imam Turki bin Abdullah, Imam Abdulaziz bin Muhammad, King Salman, King Abdulaziz, and the King Khalid royal reserve authority have all signed agreements with the NCVC. The area slated for restoration includes 1.9 million hectares of floodplains and meadows in addition to 225,000 hectares of degraded land in one location. The Saudi Green Initiative aims to plant 10 billion trees across the nation as part of its efforts.
The NCVC has also carried out a number of other initiatives, such as planting 400,000 native tree seedlings in the Imam Turki bin Abdullah reserve and one million trees in Al-Khafs Meadow under the King Abdulaziz royal reserve. Furthermore, 1.2 million seedlings were sent by the NVC to the King Salman reserve, and 600,000 trees and bushes were planted in the Imam Abdulaziz bin Mohammed reserve. The agreement to carry out the programme was signed by Al-Abdul Qadir and Talal Al-Harigi, CEO of the Imam Abdulaziz bin Mohammed reserve.
