The National Center for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification (NCVC) launched the Agroforestry Action Plan Development Project, an initiative aimed at enhancing environmental sustainability, social development, and economic growth, SPA reported from Riyadh on March 26, 2025.
SPA said the project focuses on assessing the current state of agroforestry, applying global best practices, and encouraging investment to ensure sustainable forest management. It contributes to the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 by promoting sustainable environmental practices and combating desertification.
Why does the starting point of any national plan matter as much as its final target? The NCVC project begins with an assessment of where agroforestry stands today, a step that shapes what global best practices can realistically be applied and where investment can be encouraged.
As part of the project, NCVC will activate its memorandum of understanding signed in December 2024 with the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), to boost research collaboration and apply advanced agroforestry techniques.
What does it take to turn a signed memorandum into work on the ground? The NCVC answer is research collaboration with CIFOR-ICRAF and the application of advanced agroforestry techniques, according to SPA.
The initiative is part of NCVC’s broader mission to restore lands, expand vegetation cover, combat desertification, protect natural habitats, and reduce carbon emissions. The project supports the development of resilient and sustainable forest ecosystems and efforts to protect and improve forest areas throughout the Kingdom.
How do land restoration, vegetation cover, habitat protection, and carbon reduction fit into a single mission? SPA lists them together as the wider mandate under which the Agroforestry Action Plan Development Project sits.
NCVC is also advancing the establishment of sustainable vegetation cover in forests through its initiative to plant 60 million trees, equivalent to rehabilitating 300,000 hectares by 2030.
What does 60 million trees look like when translated into land? SPA equates the planting initiative with the rehabilitation of 300,000 hectares by 2030, a figure that gives the tree count a measurable footprint.
The center operates under the Executive Regulations for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification, specifically Article 6 on forest regulations, which aims to develop and implement a national plan for sustainable forest management, protect and develop forests, and regulate grazing within forest lands.
Why would grazing rules sit inside a forest regulation? Article 6 ties sustainable forest management to the regulation of grazing within forest lands, alongside protecting and developing forests, according to SPA.
SPA did not include the cost of the project, a timeline for its phases, the specific locations where agroforestry will be applied, or the names of officials involved in the launch.
What is the Agroforestry Action Plan Development Project? SPA reported that the National Center for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification launched the Agroforestry Action Plan Development Project. It aims to enhance environmental sustainability, social development, and economic growth. The project focuses on assessing the current state of agroforestry, applying global best practices, and encouraging investment to ensure sustainable forest management. SPA said it contributes to the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 by promoting sustainable environmental practices and combating desertification.
How does the CIFOR-ICRAF memorandum of understanding fit into the project? As part of the project, NCVC will activate its memorandum of understanding signed in December 2024 with the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF). SPA said the activation is meant to boost research collaboration and apply advanced agroforestry techniques. The memorandum was signed in December 2024, and the project now puts it to use as part of the Agroforestry Action Plan Development Project.
What does NCVC’s broader mission include? SPA said the initiative is part of NCVC’s broader mission to restore lands, expand vegetation cover, combat desertification, protect natural habitats, and reduce carbon emissions. The project also supports the development of resilient and sustainable forest ecosystems and efforts to protect and improve forest areas throughout the Kingdom. These goals sit alongside the project’s focus on environmental sustainability, social development, and economic growth.
What is the 60 million trees initiative? SPA reported that NCVC is advancing the establishment of sustainable vegetation cover in forests through its initiative to plant 60 million trees. The center equates that figure to rehabilitating 300,000 hectares by 2030. The tree-planting initiative is separate from but related to the Agroforestry Action Plan Development Project, and both fall under NCVC’s work on vegetation cover and combating desertification.
What regulation governs NCVC’s forest work? SPA said the center operates under the Executive Regulations for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification, specifically Article 6 on forest regulations. That article aims to develop and implement a national plan for sustainable forest management, protect and develop forests, and regulate grazing within forest lands. The Agroforestry Action Plan Development Project sits within this regulatory framework.