Forestry sector review of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
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Date
2021
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Publisher
FAO NRM KSA
Abstract
Saudi Arabia faces a semiarid to hyperarid climate, resulting in water scarcity and diminished vegetal cover. With only 2% of the land suitable for agriculture, the country has 2.7 million hectares of forest lands, 171 million hectares of rangelands, and 158,000 hectares of mangroves. Despite a low forest cover of 1.3%, forests play a crucial role in protecting against erosion, biodiversity preservation, carbon sequestration, water distribution, and economic, recreational, scenic, touristic, and climatic values.
The Forest Sector Review (FSR) aims to analyze the sector's current state and recommend interventions aligning with KSA Vision 2030 and national and international development goals. The FSR methodology includes quantitative and qualitative data collection, stakeholder consultations, and workshops. Findings reveal challenges in staffing, technical capacity, legal frameworks, and urgent environmental concerns.
Recommendations focus on human resource development, organizational capacity building, and the creation of a national forest policy to promote sustainable management, community engagement, and socio-economic development. Strategic interventions target forest cover improvement, ecosystem management, climate change adaptation, governance, enterprise enhancement, research, gender mainstreaming, and sectoral coordination, aiming to positively influence KSA's forestry development.
Description
This report has been prepared as a part of the strategic orientation to rehabilitate and restore the degraded forest land in KSA, in line with National Environment Strategy, National Forestry Strategy, Greening the Kingdom Programme and within the framework of the project on Strengthening Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MoEWA) Capacity to implement its Sustainable Rural Agricultural Development (SRAD) Programme (2019-2025), which has been jointly formulated by FAO and the MoEWA.
Within the above context, the SRADP undertook a review and situation analysis of the forestry sector to provide assessment that would support rehabilitation, conservation, and sustainable management of forest resources within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The overall objective of the Forest Sector Review (FSR) is to provide a detailed situation analysis of the forest sector in KSA and recommend interventions to position the sector as a key contributor to the KSA Vision 2030 and other national and international development goals.
Keywords
forest monitoring and assessment, sectoral analysis