Rafha, The Imam Turki bin Abdullah Royal Nature Reserve Development Authority said that the vegetation cover within its scope has increased to 8.5 percent over the past years.
Citing scientific research and field studies, the authority said that the reserve witnessed a remarkable plant flowering since last spring, driven by improvement in air quality and the decrease in the severity of dust storms in several central regions in the Kingdom.
The reserve so far has planted more than 600,000 trees through desert forestation projects, within the framework of the national targets of the Saudi Green Initiative, which aims to plant more than 600 million trees by 2030.
The reserve’s efforts focus on protecting wildlife, restoring the environmental balance, and reviving the vegetation cover. Such endeavors resulted in an increase in the vegetation cover rate to reach the level of 8.5% in 2024, up sharply from the 1.4% recorded in 2018, reflecting the success of forestation initiatives and planting projects.
Over 1
80 plant species belonging to 38 plant families have been registered in the Imam Turki bin Abdullah Royal Nature Reserve, representing 7.5% of the total plant species in the Kingdom.
Source: Saudi Press Agency
