Turning the desert green and rehabilitating 40 million hectares of land over the coming decades is a cornerstone of the Saudi Green Initiative. A national study is currently underway to develop the masterplan for planting 10 billion trees. Tree planting (‘afforestation’) can improve air quality, reduce sandstorms, combat desertification, and lower temperatures in adjacent areas.
24 initiatives are contributing directly to the target of planting 10 billion trees across Saudi Arabia.
Take a look at some of the big impact efforts taking place across the Kingdom
2023
Study on 10 billion trees program
Outcomes of the study will contribute to mitigating the impact and risks of climate change by increasing vegetation cover, protecting soil and vegetation from degradation, and improving air quality
2023
Mangrove Plantation Pilot at Jeddah Islamic Port (JIP)
Contribute to cleaning seawater, enriching biodiversity and restoring aquatic life
2023
Ecological Restoration Pilot in Shaaran Nature Reserve
Restore 100 hectares, which will be used to test several approaches to ecological rehabilitation in arid environments
2023
Green Mosques
Plant 30,000 trees across 100 mosques, irrigated with water recycled from ablution
2025
Plant 45 million agricultural trees in mountain terraces
Increase economic return from agriculture by 30%, implement rainwater harvesting to irrigate crops, and create 5,000 job opportunities
2025
Plant 4 million lemon trees with treated wastewater
Contribute to fruit self-sufficiency by up to 45% and improve KSA’s GFSI ranking
2025
Establish King Salman Park, one of the largest urban park projects in the world
Create 16.6km2 park with more than 11 km2 of green space and more than 1 million trees
2027
Sports Boulevard Greening Initiative
Plant more than 150,000 trees in Riyadh and increase total park and green space area by 4.5 million m2
2027
SABIC afforestation initiative
Plant 5 million trees in three national parks (Saad National Park, Al-Zulfi National Park, and Suwaidrah National Park.)
2030
Complete the Green Riyadh project
Increase green spaces in the urban area from 1.5% to 9% and plant 7.5 million trees
2030
Plant 100 million mangrove trees
Offset 96 million tons of CO2, stabilize coastline ecosystems and prevent erosion
2030
Plant 100 million native trees
Offset ~45 million tons of CO2, combat desertification and provide habitats for resident and migratory bird species
2030
Conserve and Restore Vegetation Cover in Rangelands, Phase 1
Conserve 8 million hectares of rangelands across 26 sites, reduce the impact of sandstorms and improve public health, while helping restore flora and fauna biodiversity
2030
Plant 2 million trees around highways and institutions
Enhance vegetation cover and protect roads from sand encroachment, reducing the costs of maintaining highways
2030
Contribution to nationwide ‘Let’s Make it Green’ campaign
Plant 6 million trees across ~110,000 km2, irrigated using treated greywater
2030
Develop vegetation cover, wildlife and infrastructure for 50 national parks
Establish new national parks and rehabilitate existing ones, and plant 10 million trees across parks
2030
Sustainable forest management and development
Plant 60 million trees and rehabilitate 348,000 hectares of forest areas, which will reduce carbon emissions by 24 metric tons
2030
Vegetation on Highways
Plant 30 million trees over a network of 16,000 km of highway reducing the impact of carbon emissions from vehicles and produce savings of SAR 845 million by 2030
2030
SWCC afforestation initiative
Plant 5 million trees across SWCC plants and residential areas, reducing carbon emissions by 2 metric tons
2030
Plant 7 million terrestrial trees with Royal Sanctuaries
Reduce carbon emissions by 2.8 metric tons, helping to combat desertification, recover biodiversity, and improve the quality of life
2030
Private sector participation in vegetation cover development and combating desertification
Plant 40 million trees, reducing carbon emissions by 16 metric tons and helping to preserve endangered local species’ ecosystems
2030
Public sector participation in vegetation cover development and combating desertification
Plant 18 million trees, reducing carbon emissions by 7.2 metric tons while preserving endangered local species’ ecosystems
2031
Improving the forest cover of the Soudah area
Plant 1 million trees to sequester 25,000 tons of CO2 emissions by 2031
2036
Green Qibla
Plant 15 million trees in Mecca through community engagement and technology. Pilgrims and Umrah performers can participate, enriching their spiritual journey
Expansive afforestation efforts
450 million
450 million trees set to be planted by 2030
12x
Achieving the target of 10 billion trees planted will increase vegetation over 12-fold
4%
The Saudi Green Initiative will contribute to <4% of the global initiative to limit land degradation
NGS
The newly established National Green Services (NGS) Company is targeting plantation of around 2.5 billion trees inside and outside the Kingdom over the coming decades
The Kingdom’s journey towards 10 billion trees
Over 10 million trees were planted nationwide in just 6 months under the ‘Let’s make it green’ campaign. By 2030, 450 million trees will be planted across Saudi Arabia under the Saudi Green Initiative.
Our Partners
SGI works closely with a diverse set of partners to advance progress towards planting 10 billion trees in the Kingdom. Partners include:
