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King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Royal Reserve Development Authority Joins IUCN Green List

The Green List provides crucial guidelines for conservation and involving stakeholders in sustainable development processes - SPA
The Green List provides crucial guidelines for conservation and involving stakeholders in sustainable development processes - SPA
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King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Royal Reserve Development Authority Joins IUCN Green List

The Green List provides crucial guidelines for conservation and involving stakeholders in sustainable development processes - SPA
The Green List provides crucial guidelines for conservation and involving stakeholders in sustainable development processes - SPA

The King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Royal Reserve Development Authority has announced its inclusion in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Green List.
This recognition follows a comprehensive assessment of the reserve by IUCN experts, who evaluated the authority's environmental and developmental accomplishments, as well as its engagement with the community and preservation efforts, SPA reported.
Authority CEO Abdullah Al-Amer emphasized the significance of this milestone, stating: "Since its establishment, the authority has pursued strategies, development plans, and innovative initiatives to fulfill its core objectives. Through these endeavors, we have successfully met all the key criteria and indicators for joining the IUCN Green List."
Al-Amer attributed this to the support lent by the Saudi leadership and the guidance from Minister of Interior and Chairman of the authority Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz.
Inclusion in the Green List adds to the authority's local and global successes, including receiving the Biodiversity Certificate and designating five critical bird sites within the King Salman bin Abdulaziz Royal Reserve.
Al-Amer stressed that making it on the list is testimony to an effective reserve management and focus on natural resource growth; it now facilitates the growth of over 550 plant species.
The authority's initiatives include planting 2.4 million native tree and shrub seedlings, as well as four tons of local seeds like yarrow (Achillea millefolium), Artemisia, and Haloxylon.
Efforts have been made to restore 250,000 hectares of degraded habitats and relocate 1,235 wildlife species like Arabian oryx, sand gazelles, Arabian gazelles, and Arabian leopards in the reserve.
The authority's achievements are due to its strategic objectives; being on the Green List is a key milestone.
This authority is determined to manage protected areas through sustainable programs focused on environmental conservation, community engagement, and sustainable development, in line with international standards.

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Spanish Olive Trees Find New Home on Hungary’s Slopes as Climate Warms

A person holds a plate of olives at Babylonstoren at the foot of Simonsberg in the Franschhoek valley in Cape Town, South Africa, September 12, 2024. (Reuters)
A person holds a plate of olives at Babylonstoren at the foot of Simonsberg in the Franschhoek valley in Cape Town, South Africa, September 12, 2024. (Reuters)
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Spanish Olive Trees Find New Home on Hungary’s Slopes as Climate Warms

A person holds a plate of olives at Babylonstoren at the foot of Simonsberg in the Franschhoek valley in Cape Town, South Africa, September 12, 2024. (Reuters)
A person holds a plate of olives at Babylonstoren at the foot of Simonsberg in the Franschhoek valley in Cape Town, South Africa, September 12, 2024. (Reuters)

Csaba Torok, who grows olives on Hungary's warm southern slopes near Lake Balaton, believes his trees from southern Europe have found a successful new home as Europe's climate gets warmer.

Torok, 55, got his first three small olive trees from Spain around 2008. Two froze to death the first winter but one survived, prompting Torok to buy around 200 more over the years to plant in his vineyard on Hegymagas, a volcanic butte formation with sunny slopes, ample rain and rich soil.

"I see these trees as an integral part of the future landscape here," Torok said, as he harvested the olives with friends, noting the local microclimate increasingly suits the trees.

He takes his hand-picked olive crop to neighboring Slovenia where his virgin olive oil is made and which he sells for 4500 forints ($12.35) per 0.1 liters.

As southern Europe is hit by more frequent droughts and scorching heatwaves, the areas where olive groves can flourish appear to be shifting northwards, he said.

Hungary's winters have become palpably milder over the past years. Europe is the fastest warming continent in the world, the European Environment Agency said last month, and faces a greater risk of drought in the south.

Spain, which usually supplies around 40% of the world's olive oil, has suffered poor olive harvests in the past two years due to heatwaves and a prolonged drought, doubling olive oil prices to record levels.

Last week, the Spanish farm ministry said the first estimates for this year's harvest indicated a recovery, with 2024-2025 olive production forecast at 1,262,300 tons, up 48% from the previous harvest.

In southern Hungary, near the city of Pecs, Gabor Stix has been experimenting with an olive grove for years, cultivating trees for sale. Stix expects all his trees grown this year to be sold by March.

"Olive trees love this climate. ... One would think Hungary is not suitable for olive production, but it is," Stix said.

Even north of Hungary, in Slovakia, people have been buying olive trees for their gardens to have a "Mediterranean feeling". In the village of Iza, garden center owner Istvan Vass has imported 25 truckloads of olive trees from Spain this year, selling them for 300-500 euros each.

As buyers arrived to choose trees, Vass warned that during the first winter the trees might suffer damage from sub-zero temperatures, but covering them helps.

"There are lots of olive trees planted outside in the gardens and they cope really well," he said.