It is responsible for preparing and implementing initiatives, programs, and projects to monitor and assess desertification, as well as mitigate its severity, land degradation, sand encroachment, and drought. In addition, it oversees awareness and education programs.
Mandates:
- Surveying and classifying desertified and degraded lands, along with periodically assessing desertification, sand encroachment, and drought conditions.
- Developing and implementing programs for rehabilitating desertified sites and restoring degraded lands, with sustainable management practices.
- Creating and executing programs and projects aimed at mitigating desertification, land degradation, and sand encroachment, following technical standards and guidelines in the fields of desertification and land degradation mitigation.
- Evaluating and monitoring drought indicators, and preparing and implementing plans and measures to minimize and prepare for its effects.
- Preparing national periodic reports as stipulated by relevant international and regional agreements on efforts to combat desertification, land degradation, sand encroachment, and mitigating drought.
- Developing and executing public awareness and education programs and plans on combating desertification, reducing land degradation, and mitigating drought.
Ongoing Projects:
- Advisory services are needed to monitor the initiative's implementation and develop drought preparedness and mitigation capabilities.
- Assessing the Kingdom's vulnerability to severe drought and establishing measures to mitigate negative impacts.
- A comprehensive survey of Saudi Arabia in order to identify areas threatened by sand encroachment and develop mechanisms to combat it.
- Assessment of desertification and land degradation in Saudi Arabia and determining appropriate countermeasures.
- Evaluation of degraded sites and preparation of rehabilitation plans for northern Saudi Arabia.
- Study and assessment of invasive plants in Saudi Arabia and establishing sustainable control and management measures.
- Implement programs to reduce land degradation, protect it from desertification, and halt sand encroachment.
- Providing advisory services to raise awareness and educate about desertification.
- Advisory services for updating the national report for the UN Convention to Combat Desertification.
- Supply and operation of a mobile laboratory for soil and water analysis.
- Evaluation of degraded sites and preparation of rehabilitation plans for western and southern Saudi Arabia.
- Evaluation of degraded sites and preparation of rehabilitation plans for eastern and central Saudi Arabia.
Key Achievements:
- Development of the National Strategy for Combating Desertification, Sand Encroachment, Dust Storms, and Drought Mitigation.
- Establishment of voluntary targets for Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) in Saudi Arabia.
- Completion of technical procedural guidelines in the field of desertification.
Key Project Outcomes:
- Identifying several "hot spots" for land degradation in Saudi Arabia and preparing degradation maps following UN-approved indicators. Based on this, verification work, field surveys, soil studies, and vegetation cover analyses in various administrative regions commenced.
- A comprehensive survey was completed using remote sensing technology to map sand dune locations and identify areas at risk of sand encroachment across Saudi Arabia. Wind corridors and sand movement patterns were pinpointed, and this was followed by efforts and field surveys conducted in several regions throughout the country.
- Assessment of the current status of invasive plants, preparation of distribution maps for different regions of Saudi Arabia, and identification of fieldwork points, which included a general description of survey sites, soil, plant species lists, coverage area, and characteristics of invasive species.
