The King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) is carrying on with its pioneering role in supporting the Saudi Green Initiative (SGI) through innovative projects and ambitious initiatives that actively contribute to realizing the Kingdom’s environmental goals and enhancing its sustainability, SPA reported from Riyadh on March 28, 2025.
According to SPA, the initiatives are part of the National Laboratory’s efforts to find innovative, eco-friendly solutions, protect terrestrial and marine areas, enhance biodiversity, and improve environmental sustainability in line with the Kingdom’s national aspirations for research, development, and innovation.
At the center of that work is a vegetation survey project, described by SPA as one of KACST’s initiatives to preserve plant cover and biodiversity. The project involves surveying and assessing plant cover across the Kingdom, collecting samples of soil, plants, and seeds, and analyzing them chemically and physically. During the project, eight new plant species were recorded on the Saudi flora database. For a national flora record that researchers rely on, how much does each newly recorded species change what is known about the Kingdom’s plant cover?
SPA also reported that 600 sites, each covering one square kilometer, were surveyed, contributing to preserving local vegetation. An atlas of the Kingdom’s plants, containing 500 species, is also being prepared for publication, serving as a scientific reference for researchers and those interested in this field. If 600 sites of one square kilometer each have already been surveyed, what does that coverage suggest about the scale still ahead for the rest of the Kingdom?
The projects, SPA said, embody the National Laboratory’s commitment to supporting the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030 and national initiatives aimed at achieving a healthy and sustainable environment for future generations. The source credited KACST with a pioneering role in supporting the Saudi Green Initiative, and framed the work as ongoing rather than complete.
Within the vegetation survey, the collection of soil, plants, and seeds is paired with chemical and physical analysis, according to SPA. That combination of field collection and laboratory analysis is what the source presented as the project’s method, and it is the same method that produced the eight new plant species records on the Saudi flora database. What can chemical and physical analysis of soil and seed samples reveal that a visual survey of plant cover alone cannot?
The survey work is not limited to a single location or a single species group. SPA described surveying and assessing plant cover across the Kingdom, with 600 sites each covering one square kilometer. The source did not specify where those sites are located, how they were selected, or over what period the surveying took place. Does a nationwide survey of this kind depend more on the number of sites or on how representative those sites are of the Kingdom’s different environments?
Alongside the field survey, the preparation of an atlas of the Kingdom’s plants containing 500 species is under way for publication. SPA described the atlas as a scientific reference for researchers and those interested in this field. The source did not give a publication date for the atlas, nor did it say how the 500 species were selected for inclusion. For researchers and interested readers alike, how much does a published atlas change access to botanical information compared with a database alone?
SPA placed the projects within the National Laboratory’s efforts, which it said are aimed at innovative, eco-friendly solutions, protection of terrestrial and marine areas, enhanced biodiversity, and improved environmental sustainability. The source tied those efforts to the Kingdom’s national aspirations for research, development, and innovation. Which of those aims is hardest to measure once a project moves from the laboratory to the landscape?
The source also linked the work to the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030 and to national initiatives aimed at achieving a healthy and sustainable environment for future generations. SPA did not elaborate on which specific Vision 2030 objectives the projects serve, nor did it name the national initiatives beyond the Saudi Green Initiative and the National Laboratory. If the goal is a healthy and sustainable environment for future generations, what timeline should the public expect for results to become visible?
What SPA did make clear is the sequence of activity: surveying and assessing plant cover, collecting samples of soil, plants, and seeds, analyzing them chemically and physically, recording eight new plant species on the Saudi flora database, surveying 600 sites of one square kilometer each, and preparing an atlas of 500 species for publication. Each element was presented as part of the same body of work under KACST and the National Laboratory.
The source did not include the cost of the projects, the number of personnel involved, the duration of the vegetation survey, the locations of the 600 surveyed sites, or a publication date for the plant atlas. It also did not name any individual officials or provide quotes. Those details were not part of the SPA material.
What the source did state is that KACST carries on with its pioneering role in supporting the Saudi Green Initiative, and that the initiatives are part of the National Laboratory’s efforts. The vegetation survey, the eight new plant species records, the 600 surveyed sites, and the planned atlas of 500 species are the concrete elements SPA attached to that role. How should readers weigh a project described as ongoing when the source offers no completion date?
For anyone following the Kingdom’s environmental research, the elements SPA listed are specific: plant cover assessment across the Kingdom, soil, plant, and seed samples, chemical and physical analysis, eight new species on the Saudi flora database, 600 sites of one square kilometer each, and an atlas of 500 species being prepared for publication. The source presented these as contributions to preserving local vegetation and to a healthy and sustainable environment for future generations. What would a follow-up report need to add before the public could judge the results rather than the intentions?
What is KACST doing to support the Saudi Green Initiative? According to SPA, the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology carries on with its pioneering role in supporting the Saudi Green Initiative by implementing innovative projects and ambitious initiatives that contribute to realizing the Kingdom’s environmental goals and enhancing its sustainability. The source says the initiatives are part of the National Laboratory’s efforts to find innovative, eco-friendly solutions, protect terrestrial and marine areas, enhance biodiversity, and improve environmental sustainability in line with the Kingdom’s national aspirations for research, development, and innovation.
What does the vegetation survey project involve? SPA reports that the vegetation survey is one of KACST’s initiatives to preserve plant cover and biodiversity. The project involves surveying and assessing plant cover across the Kingdom, collecting samples of soil, plants, and seeds, and analyzing them chemically and physically. During the project, eight new plant species were recorded on the Saudi flora database. In addition, 600 sites, each covering one square kilometer, were surveyed, contributing to preserving local vegetation, according to the source.
What is the atlas of the Kingdom’s plants? SPA says an atlas of the Kingdom’s plants, containing 500 species, is being prepared for publication. The source describes it as serving as a scientific reference for researchers and those interested in this field. The atlas is presented alongside the vegetation survey project, which recorded eight new plant species on the Saudi flora database and surveyed 600 sites of one square kilometer each. The source did not give a publication date for the atlas or explain how the 500 species were selected.
How many sites were surveyed and what did the survey record? According to SPA, 600 sites, each covering one square kilometer, were surveyed as part of the vegetation survey project, contributing to preserving local vegetation. During the project, eight new plant species were recorded on the Saudi flora database. The project also involves collecting samples of soil, plants, and seeds and analyzing them chemically and physically. The source did not specify where the 600 sites are located or over what period the surveying took place.
How do these projects relate to Saudi Vision 2030? SPA states that the projects embody the National Laboratory’s commitment to supporting the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030 and national initiatives aimed at achieving a healthy and sustainable environment for future generations. The source also ties the initiatives to the Kingdom’s national aspirations for research, development, and innovation. The source did not list which specific Vision 2030 objectives the projects serve or name the national initiatives beyond the Saudi Green Initiative and the National Laboratory.