KHALIDH BIN HAMMOUD AlKHAHTANI
COLOMBO : The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is celebrating today, Wednesday, 5th June, the activities of World Environment Day 2024, under the theme “Our Earth, Our Future,” at the King Abdul-Aziz International Convention Center in the capital, Riyadh, with the participation of more than 150 countries and in the presence of many officials, experts, specialists, and those interested in the field of the environment from various countries. Millions of interested people around the world follow the World Environment Day event, which stands as the largest international platform for environmental awareness.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s hosting of World Environment Day events in cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme, is in line with the Kingdom’s “Vision 2030” under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, in the service of all humanity, especially with regard to serving the environment. The Kingdom has launched the largest initiative aimed at making a global difference in preserving nature, humans and animals, and confronting the challenges of climate change, which are the “Saudi Green” and “Middle East Green” initiatives to cultivate ( 50) billion trees in the Middle East; of these, there are (10) billion trees in the Kingdom, or the equivalent of (5%) of the global afforestation goal, as these initiatives will contribute to achieving a large part of the global environmental goals.
The activities of celebrating World Environment Day this year will highlight the importance of preserving the environment and promoting sustainability, with a focus on the issues of land degradation, desertification, and drought and confronting them, in addition to the urgent need for global investment in policies and procedures that enhance the protection of nature, and achieving a sustainable future for all, with the necessity Mobilizing national and global efforts to protect and rehabilitate ecosystems around the world, in order to achieve sustainable development goals.
The Kingdom’s efforts in the field of environmental protection are clear and evident to everyone, as the Kingdom, during its presidency of the G20 Summit in 2020, contributed to launching the Global Land Initiative, which will contribute to motivating the world to care about the environment. The Kingdom also signed an agreement with the United Nations to hold the sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention (COP 16) in Riyadh during the period from 2 to 13 December 2024, as it is the largest United Nations conference on land protection and combating desertification and drought.
The celebration of the World Environment Day in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia confirms its pioneering role in leading the green era, and the launch of many initiatives aimed at preserving the environment, enhancing the sustainability of vegetation, combating desertification and drought, in addition to environmental awareness among local and regional communities.( ( The writer is the ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Sri Lanka)
