The General Department of National Parks is responsible for identifying suitable lands for designation as national, wilderness, or geological parks and submitting them to the Ministry to complete the necessary legal procedures. It also designs, constructs, and operates national, wilderness, and geological parks based on detailed studies that consider geographical, environmental, economic, social, and cultural aspects.
Objectives:
- Develop geological parks as sustainable tourism destinations of local and global significance.
- Build the capacities of human resources.
- Support environmental sustainability by conserving natural resources, reducing pollution, and combating desertification.
- Engage the private sector in providing high-quality environmental services.
- Involve civil society in environmental matters and raise environmental awareness in the Kingdom.
Mandates:
- Develop and implement initiatives, programs, and projects for the development of national parks.
- Rehabilitate and upgrade national parks.
- Manage parks and provide necessary services for visitors.
- Protect and rehabilitate national parks.
- Increase the number of registered national parks in accordance with global standards.
- Encourage investment in national parks and regulate investment mechanisms.
- Develop the operational system of national parks.
- Organize and oversee events and programs in national parks.
- Collaborate and coordinate with relevant entities to achieve the objectives of park management.
Geological Parks (Geoparks):
The Kingdom boasts a wide variety of geological features, prompting the development of the GeoParks Initiative to register more than 10 geological sites with UNESCO Global Geoparks by 2030, with the aim of:
- Promoting and spreading geological awareness locally and globally.
- Enhancing sustainable tourism in the Kingdom.
- Improving the quality of life for local communities.
- Strengthening international cooperation on common issues.
- Preserving and raising awareness about the importance of the Kingdom’s geological heritage.
- Contributing to the reduction of environmental degradation in the Kingdom.
- Preserving the Kingdom’s biosphere.
Achievements:
- Planting more than 4 million trees.
- Issuing over 150 beekeeping permits and producing more than 8,900 hives.
- Issuing more than 1,600 caravan and camping permits.
- Organizing more than 400 events.
- Preparing wildlife habitats in 14 parks and caring for 279 native species.
- Al-Ghat Park received the International Green Flag Award.
- Nomination of "North Riyadh Geopark" and "Salma Geopark" for inclusion in the Global Geopark list.
