YEREVAN, Armenia: Saudi Arabia has called for stronger international cooperation and faster implementation of global biodiversity goals, urging countries to translate environmental commitments into decisions, investments and partnerships with tangible results.
Saudi Arabia’s statement was delivered by CEO of the National Center for Wildlife and head of the Saudi delegation Dr. Mohammed Ali Qurban at the Biodiversity Leaders’ Summit in Yerevan on Friday, held ahead of the 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17), scheduled for October 19 to 30.
Qurban described nature conservation as an investment in nations’ stability, food and water security, and sustainable development, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Saturday.
He said Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, places great importance on biodiversity conservation in line with Saudi Vision 2030. He said the Kingdom has adopted a national biodiversity framework with 22 targets aligned with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
Protected areas now cover 18.3 percent of Saudi Arabia’s land and 16.2 percent of its marine territory, toward a target of 30 percent of each by 2030, he said.
Saudi Arabia has also rehabilitated more than 1 million hectares of degraded land, planted over 159 million trees as part of its goal to restore 40 million hectares, and released more than 10,000 wild animals into their natural habitats.
He also highlighted the establishment of the National Center for Waste Management to support the shift to a circular economy, the General Organization for the Conservation of Coral Reefs and Turtles in the Red Sea (SHAMS), and the Coral Research and Development Accelerator Platform (CORDAP), launched during Saudi Arabia’s G20 presidency in 2020.
Qurban said achieving global biodiversity targets requires moving from commitments to implementation through stronger partnerships, knowledge exchange, and investment in initiatives with tangible impact, expressing hope that the Yerevan Call to Action would help translate shared ambitions into practical measures.
