A two-day national consultative workshop for a report on the state of the environment in the Saudi Arabia, and likely future developments, concluded on Thursday.
The event in Riyadh was organized by the Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, and the UN. The participants included the Kingdom’s undersecretary for environmental affairs, Osama Faqiha, and the regional representative of the UN Environment Program, Sami Demasi.
The aim of the workshop was to address the objectives of the report; provide reliable, up-to-date information about the state of the environment in the Kingdom and related trends; evaluate the effectiveness of national policies, procedures and initiatives to protect and manage the environment; identify gaps, challenges and opportunities; and provide innovative and practical recommendations and solutions to improve the environment and promote sustainable development.
Participants also explored ways to enhance awareness, education and participation among all stakeholders in environmental issues, and the role this can play in achieving the development goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 agenda.
They reviewed information about the efforts that have been made to protect and preserve the environment; weather phenomena and air quality; water resources; vegetation and land uses; marine and coastal environments; biodiversity; waste; and climate change. They also discussed institutional and legislative frameworks for the environmental sector.
The workshop looked at environmental databases and indicators collected over the past five years, which contribute to the development of environmental information to help identify climate problems and the challenges that are faced in efforts to improve the environment.
It also reviewed the latest scientific research that could play a key role in confronting the challenges and overcoming obstacles related to climate change, through research and innovative ideas that can help identify solutions and achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
The participants also discussed national efforts by the media and governmental institutions to raise awareness of environmental issues.