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Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Today, at the Saudi Green Initiative (SGI) Forum 2024, Macky Sall, 4th President of the Republic of Senegal remarked on SGI’s collaborative and robust environmental efforts: “I commend the 80 initiatives already launched under the Saudi Green Initiative, supported by funding of SAR 700 billion. Similarly, the regional effort within the framework of the Middle East Green Initiative is indeed appropriate as major environmental problems ignore borders and require joint solutions”.
Also, experts from International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Convention for Wetlands discussed challenges in land restoration, resource use and habitat protection, emphasizing the need for immediate action to protect the planet's ecosystems and resources.
Dr. Grethel Aguilar, Director General at the IUCN commented on the regressive state of land degradation: “75% of the land on the planet is degraded. We have caused this situation. That means that we better get our act together, because we depend on land. Land sequesters carbon, we put our agriculture products in the land. Our communities depend on land. This should come as a priority for governments, private sector and civil society.”
Dr. Musonda Mumba, Secretary General of the Convention on Wetlands remarked on the need to preserve crucial ecosystems: “I saw the Farasan Islands which are a biosphere reserve under UNESCO and a protected area under the Kingdom, they are stunning. The intactness of the mangroves is the reason the birds are coming through, because the ecosystem is intact”. ABOUT THE SAUDI GREEN INITIATIVE (SGI)
Under the patronage of HRH Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Green Initiative is charting a path for the Kingdom in protecting the planet. With ambitious targets spanning the coming decades, the national initiative aims to improve quality of life and protect future generations by increasing reliance on clean energy, offsetting the impact of fossil fuels, and protecting the environment. For more information visit: www.greeninitiatives.gov.sa
SGI AT UNCCD COP16
