Environment Forum 2020 calls for a "sustainable healthy environment" to support the national economy
Al-Khalidi: The environment is part of the Saudi basic system, and is affirmed by Vision 2030
Al-Rasheed: Protecting the environment is an important step towards a sustainable development economy
His Royal Highness Prince Saud bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Governor of the Eastern Region, on Monday morning (9/28/2020), sponsored the activities of the Forum (Environment 2020... Towards a sustainable healthy environment) organized by the Asharqia Chamber represented by the Environment Committee with the participation and presence of a number of officials, experts and specialists In the environmental sector, the forum’s activities were transmitted via video communication.
His Highness affirmed the wise leadership’s keenness to support everything that would preserve the environment, and to work on the sustainability of natural resources through the relevant ministries and bodies, in order to preserve human health and well-being, as well as support environmentally friendly economic activities.
In the same session, The Chairman of the Chamber's Board of Directors, Abdul-Hakim bin Hamad Al-Ammar Al-Khalidi, appreciated the generous patronage of His Highness, the Governor of the Eastern Province, for the activities of the forum, pointing to His Highness’s permanent support for the private sector and its initiatives in support of the growth and development process in the region, and affirming His Highness’s continuous support for the Chamber’s activities and programs.
Al-Khalidi pointed to the wise leadership’s interest in the issue of protecting and preserving the environment and said that the environment, its protection, and sustainability is one of the clear basic materials within the basic system of governance, based on its being a religious, moral and humanitarian duty, and one of the basic foundations for the quality of life, and the Kingdom's 2030 vision aims to reduce pollution By raising the efficiency of waste management, combating desertification, optimizing the investment of water resources, establishing integrated projects to recycle waste, protecting beaches, reserves and islands and preparing them in accordance with environmental standards.
In this context, Al-Khalidi pointed out that the Asharqia Chamber, believing in the importance of participating in spreading environmental awareness and enhancing knowledge of environmental issues, decided to hold this forum under the slogan “Towards a sustainable healthy environment,” with the participation of a number of experts, government officials, and others interested in protecting the environment and preservation. On her with the region’s businessmen in various sectors, stressing the firm conviction that the balance between environmental considerations and development requirements inevitably leads to the achievement of a safe, prosperous, and sustainable economy.
For this part, The Chairman of the Environment Committee in the Asharqia Chamber, Talal Al-Rasheed, said: “The Kingdom has extended roots in taking into account environmental proposals and taking its normative considerations when implementing development projects and programs, and in directing its positive efforts towards environmental issues, whether external or local, in protecting and developing the country's natural heritage. The Kingdom's vision 2030 AD, towards developing all sectors, and achieving optimal utilization of the country's natural resources in order to reach a sustainable development economy. However, those issues related to protecting the environment and not harming it and benefiting from its resources were at the top of the important axes that the vision paid great attention to and considered a fundamental pillar in Achieving its development goals.
He added that the Kingdom, despite the exceptional circumstances that the country is going through, continues to support environmental work by improving public health, ensuring the safety of the citizen and resident's life, protecting the natural environment from desertification and pollution, and supporting the contributions of individuals and institutions in preserving the environment .. noting that this forum includes It contains themes that support practices that protect the environment by extracting experiences, reviewing and evaluating the opportunities provided by laws and legislations in achieving environmental sustainability and their effects on the private sector, and enriching dialogue and discussion about the mechanisms and applications of the national environment strategy, desertification and combating it, and ways to enhance wildlife and its impact on the governorate On the environment, the state's efforts in environmental reform and assessment, and other topics related to the Kingdom's experience in developing and developing wildlife.
As for the Chairman of the General Authority of Meteorology and Environmental Protection, Engineer Ali bin Saeed Al-Ghamdi, he explained that the environmental sector in the Kingdom witnessed great and successive developments during the era of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, as the environment strategy was approved and the establishment of national centers concerned with the environment, And preparing a new system for meteorology and the environment, which means that we are facing a new stage of the ecosystem entitled partnership between the various stakeholders, including of course the private sector ... stressing that the new system will include all parties working in this regard, especially as it is based on pioneering international experiences, It works to fill the gaps in the system in previous stages, and works according to the principles of complementarity and partnership between the various parties to achieve a community partnership, therefore we are facing a stimulating environment that contributes to improvement and innovation, similar to the best international practices, and opens wide horizons for local and foreign investment.
In the first and second sessions of the Environment Forum 2020
Steps to transform the "environment" into an attractive sector for local and foreign investments
100,000 jobs provided by environment-related activities
In the first session of the forum, which was titled “The Role of Regulations and Legislation in Environmental Sustainability,” the forum discussed a number of topics under this heading, including the reality and future of environmental systems in the Kingdom and their impact on the private sector, as well as the impact of the Corona pandemic on the environmental sector.
In this regard, during the session moderated by the Chairman of the Environment Committee of the Asharqia Chamber Talal bin Sultan Al-Rasheed, Engineer Ali Saeed Al-Ghamdi (General Authority of Meteorology and Environmental Protection) said that the regulatory situation for the environment sector is entering a new phase, with the launch of a special ministry concerned with this matter, which is "Ministry Environment, water and agriculture ", from which the general strategy for the environment was approved, which included gathering" eight "systems for the environment into a unified system that covers all the actors involved in this matter. Investors will follow a single system without distraction, which will achieve the quality of life and enhance the level of commitment to the environment.
He pointed out that the institutional transformation in the environmental sector creates a state of cooperation with all stakeholders and determines the powers, as the system defines five centers concerned with the environment, including centers for "waste management, monitoring of environmental compliance, vegetation development, and wildlife development." Throughout this system, we find that these centers will develop working national competencies and support the investment movement, especially since the launch of the "Environment Fund" to be the financing base for activities and the main supporter of environmental initiatives, and thus be one of the most important options that achieve economic sustainability of activities related to the environment.
For this part, the Director-General of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture Branch in the Eastern Region, Engineer Amer bin Ali Al-Mutairi, said that when the environment is part of the basic system of governance in our country, this means an explicit commitment by the state to the environment and its protection, and we, in the Ministry, implement plans that support the environment, most notably plans Afforestation, which includes all parts of the Kingdom .. Pointing out that the Ministry’s branch in the Eastern Region aims to plant one million and one hundred thousand trees in various cities and governorates of the Eastern Region (Al-Ahsa, Jubail, Dammam metropolis ... etc), of which 540 thousand in partnership with a number of agencies have been concluded It has agreements of understanding with it, all after we have set several criteria for afforestation, including the proximity of the sites to be afforested with renewable water resources.
In the second dialogue session chaired by the coordinator of the Environmental Sciences Committee at the former Earth Sciences Department at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Muhammad bin Hussein Al-Ashry, the CEO of the National Center for Wildlife Development, Dr. Muhammad bin Ali Qurban, said that the center aims to preserve the environment and wildlife, through Partnerships with society, in addition to working to protect ecosystems and contribute to enhancing economic diversity, and to support research and studies that contribute to providing information and data on the environmental sector.
Qurban said that the center is working to increase reserves and find many of them, whether they are land or sea, indicating that the center seeks to develop breeding centers with high standards so that we can bring them to the world, and we are also working to increase the multiplication of many endangered species.
Qurban pointed out that the Kingdom is characterized by biological diversity, as there are 86 types of mammals, more than 100 species of birds, and more than 1000 species of fish, and there are also types of endemic organisms in the Kingdom, which have no parallel in the world, indicating that the center It faces many challenges, the most prominent of which are: lack of water in forests, the problem of drought and overgrazing, which affect biodiversity, population expansion, and overfishing.
Qurban indicated that the center seeks to support ecotourism as it works to develop the reserves within its administration, which amounted to 15 reserves, stressing that the existence of the reserves contributes to protecting environmental diversity, and we have also begun, in partnership with the Tourism Authority, to work on defining tourist reserves, as well as working with the Public Investment Fund. With the aim of optimizing the potentials of tourism.
Qurban indicated that the center is working in partnership with the competent authorities to formulate a plan aimed at preserving the mangrove plant and rehabilitating the damaged environmental sites.
For his part, the CEO of the National Center for Vegetation Development and Combating Desertification, Dr. Khaled Al-Abdullah Al-Abd Al-Qadir said that the center looks at national parks as protected areas for vegetation cover, and the community can benefit from and visit them and learn through the diversity in them, as it is a channel of investment and creating various opportunities.
Al-Abd al-Qadir explained that there are more than 220 parks in the Kingdom with large areas and great environmental diversity, indicating that the center is working to create parks in the eastern region and we also work with the private sector to find investment opportunities within parks of high quality and new ideas such as rural homes projects, crafts and farmers' markets Farmers, picnic points, sports, and popular markets, he said: We try to reflect these parks the environment of the community itself.
On the issue of desertification, Al-Abd al-Qadir said that desertification is a global phenomenon and does not mean the desert because the desert is considered an integrated ecosystem, noting that arid areas are areas subject to desertification because the ecosystem in them is fragile, pointing to a large campaign concerned with afforestation that will launch the next period.
