On its First Celebration... Saudi Green Initiative Enhances Planet Protection

In line with a decision by the Saudi government, March 27 of each year has been designated as an official day to celebrate the Saudi Green Initiative, which aims to chart a path for Saudi Arabia and the region in protecting the planet.

The initiative, launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in March 2021, oversees the implementation of a sustainable, long-term climate action plan that supports Saudi Arabia’s ambition to achieve the goal of zero neutrality by 2060 through the circular carbon economy, and accelerate transition towards a green economy.

The initiative embodies the vision of Prince Mohammed, Crown Prince, Prime Minister and Chairman of the Supreme Committee for Green Saudi Arabia, to confront the challenges of climate change, improve the quality of life, protect the environment, and advance sustainable innovation for the benefit of future generations.

Leading role

Riyadh plays a pioneering role in reducing the effects of climate change and carbon emissions, given its rich resources and experience in managing global energy stability. According to experts and specialists, Saudi Arabia is qualified to lead a new era of climate action and contribute significantly to global efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

During the meeting of Arab ministers concerned with climate affairs in Riyadh in October, Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman stressed that responding to the challenges of climate change was a shared responsibility.

He explained that each region has its own environment that requires different means and implementation mechanisms to deal with this challenge, emphasizing the importance of four axes, namely adaptation, mitigation, financing, and global effort.

The minister also underlined the vital role of young men and women in responding to the challenges of climate change, by developing solutions and innovations and participating actively in decision-making.

Consolidating interest

Abdul Rahman Al-Fadhli, the Saudi Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, said on his personal account on X that the Council of Ministers’ decision to designate March 27 as an annual day for the Saudi Green initiative represents a “consolidation of the leadership’s interest in environmental issues locally and internationally” and “supports the Kingdom’s approach to leading the green era, and ensuring a more sustainable future for the next generations.”

For his part, Majid Al-Hogail, Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing, said Saudi Arabia will continue “our journey to enhance the prosperity of our cities and raise the quality of life,” adding: “Our ambitions are great. We are always capable of achieving them.”

Many government agencies are expected to organize events to mark the Saudi Green Initiative Day and highlight their efforts in reducing carbon emissions, increasing afforestation and protecting land and marine areas.

The Ministry of Environment said that 43 afforestation projects have been launched as part of the Saudi Green initiative to achieve the goal of planting 10 billion trees inside Saudi Arabia, and 40 billion trees throughout the region, and rehabilitating degraded lands.

This will ultimately reduce carbon emissions around the world by 2.5 percent, the ministry told Asharq Al-Awsat.

77 different programs

Since the announcement of the Saudi Green Initiative, 77 different programs have been launched to support these goals and drive sustainable growth, with investments worth more than SAR700 billion.

Saudi Arabia has transformed its commitments into concrete actions by uniting the efforts of the government and private sectors and promoting opportunities for cooperation and innovation. It is also moving towards achieving its national climate ambitions and supporting global goals in this framework.

43 afforestation initiatives

The 43 afforestation initiatives aim to plant about 400 million trees by 2030.

The official spokesman for the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture told Asharq Al-Awsat that these initiatives have contributed until the third quarter of 2023 to planting 43.9 million trees in various parts of Saudi Arabia, and reclaiming 94,000 hectares of degraded lands, achieving a 300 percent increase in production capacity to reduce carbon emissions, and more than 8 gigawatts in production capacity for renewable energy projects.

Biodiversity

In order to strengthen and enhance biological diversity, restore the local natural environment, and increase the percentage of protected areas to more than 30 percent of the total land area in Saudi Arabia, the Ministry said that work is underway to implement four initiatives that will contribute to increasing the percentage of protected terrestrial areas to more than 21 percent, and the percentage of marine protected areas to more than 26 percent by 2030.

Moreover, since the launch of the Saudi Green initiative, 1,669 endangered animals, such as the Arabian oryx, sand gazelle, and ibex, have been resettled in the Kingdom’s natural reserves, where they help enhance biodiversity.

Community participation

The initiative called on all members of Saudi society to participate in the activities of the first edition of the Saudi Green Initiative Day. The Ministry’s spokesman, Saleh bin Abdul Mohsen bin Dakhil, confirmed “a great demand by members of society to participate in the afforestation initiatives taking place in various parts of the country.”

He said that more than 150,000 volunteers have registered to participate in these projects over the past two years, adding that this number is expected to double.

Remote Sensing

With regards to new agricultural technologies that have been utilized within the framework of sustainable solutions that preserve the environment, the Ministry of Environment launched a program for remote sensing and artificial intelligence technologies to study the reality of vegetation areas and contribute to achieving afforestation goals.

Advanced technologies support tree planting efforts in hard-to-reach areas, by identifying suitable sites for planting them, studying the nature of the soil and plant species, and monitoring the movement of sand.

For many people of a certain age, high school gym class began with reaching for their toes. Then, over the years, we were told it was better to stretch after exercise.

It turns out, both those things can be true, but the differing advice has created some confusion.

Stretching can help make you more flexible, improve range of motion in your joints — and feel good. David Behm, who researches human kinetics at Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John’s, Canada, offers this advice on when to stretch and how to do it safely:

Warm up first

It’s almost always good to stretch, but it’s better if you warm up first, said Behm, author of "The Science and Physiology of Flexibility and Stretching." He recommends a light aerobic activity such as jogging, walking or cycling for five or 10 minutes.

Follow that with some static stretching, the traditional way of reaching and holding a position (think back to that gym class). You can then do activity-specific dynamic stretching, in which you warm up the muscles with repetitive movements like leg lifts.

Behm says one minute is "the magic number" for how long to do static stretching per muscle group without fatigue.

Expand your definition of 'stretching'

Should you always stretch before exercising? If it's traditional stretching, not necessarily.

The better question, Behm says, is, "Should people increase their range of motion? Should people have better flexibility? And that is yes, because it helps prevent injuries. It helps with health. But you don’t have to stretch to achieve that."

Resistance training, for instance, can be an effective form of stretching, he said. Doing a chest press increases range of motion in your deltoids and pecs, whether with barbells, dumbbells or machines, so there is no need to stretch beforehand. Just make sure to start with a small amount of weight to warm up and then add more to train.

"You probably don’t have to do extra stretching unless you’re a gymnast, a figure skater, or even a golfer who needs a great range of motion through that swing," Behm said.

Nor do you need to stretch first if you’re going for a leisurely run. Simply start with a slow jog to warm up and then increase the pace.

Don't do it if it hurts

After exercise, "light stretching is OK, as long as you don't reach a point where you're feeling pain," Behm said. Since your muscles will be warm by that point, overdoing it makes you more likely to injure yourself.

Foam rollers can help with muscle recovery and have been shown to increase range of motion as well as stretching.

Do some static stretching before sports

If you’re playing a sport, Behm said, static stretching beforehand helps reduce muscle and tendon injury.

"If you’re going to do an explosive movement, change of direction, agility, sprint, any of these explosive activities that involve your muscles and tendons," he said, "you’re going to be stronger if you do static stretching."

People can especially get in trouble when they go back to a sport they used to play, whether it's tennis, surfing or any sort of team activity.

Also, stretch both sides equally. Lacking flexibility on one side also can lead to injury.

Sounds simple. Why all the confusion? Different studies over the years have either encouraged or discouraged stretching before exercise. Behm says that partly because some studies didn't reflect real-life conditions, or were designed with elite athletes in mind, not regular people.

"If you’re Usain Bolt, it makes a difference," said Behm. Not so much for the rest of us.

On its First Celebration... Saudi Green Initiative Enhances Planet Protection