Saudi Arabia is home to diverse natural environments abundant in resources and beauty. Ambitious plans to increase protected areas will bolster biodiversity and work to protect the Kingdom’s precious land and sea.
4 initiatives will help to achieve
over 20% protected land by 2030
2023
Establish and sustainably manage nature reserves
Form AlUla Protected Areas Network of 15,000 km2 of protected areas to conserve biodiversity in collaboration with IUCN
2025
Desert Preservation Initiative
Preserve 38 million m2 of the al Nafud desert, enable release of 100 indigenous animals and establish a pilot project for sustainable farming
2025
Expansion of protected areas with integrated management: Phase 1
Conserve over 107,161 km2 of KSA’s terrestrial land to protect areas of particular ecosystem preservation importance and enrich national biodiversity and advance IUCN/CBD biodiversity protection goals
2025
Designate 10 biodiversity protection areas totalling 977 km2
Preserve over 500 species of plants and animals, including at least 55 species endemic to the Arabian Peninsula
Blueprint for conservation
600k km2
Approx. 600,000 km2 terrestrial, coastal and marine environments will be designated for protection
Turtles
By 2025, a turtle nesting conservation program will be inaugurated at Ras Baridi to protect endangered turtles
Rewilding
A robust rewilding program will reintroduce endangered endemic species and establish a gene bank for genome conservation of species
Coral protection
By 2025, coral reef habitat damage will be reduced by implementing sustainable management and conservation of coastal and marine environments
Land and sea currently protected in Saudi Arabia
Nearly 16% of land in Saudi Arabia’s land and sea is currently under protection.
The Saudi Green Initiative will increase the total protected area to over 20% by 2030 and to 30% over the coming decades.
Protected areas
Land and sea currently protected in Saudi Arabia
Nearly 16% of land in Saudi Arabia’s land and sea is currently under protection. The Saudi Green Initiative will increase the total protected area to over 20% by 2030 and to 30% over the coming decades.
Planned Natural
Reserves, 2030
Total area; 20% of KSA
Royal Natural reserves
Natural reserves
AlUla Natural reserves
SGI new Initiatives
Our Partners
SGI works closely with a diverse set of partners to advance progress towards increasing the percentage of protected areas in the Kingdom. Partners include:
