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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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Nepali Becomes Youngest to Climb World's 8,000m Peaks

(FILES) This picture taken on May 31, 2021 shows peaks along the Himalayan range, as seen from the summit of Mount Everest. (Photo by Lakpa SHERPA / AFP)
(FILES) This picture taken on May 31, 2021 shows peaks along the Himalayan range, as seen from the summit of Mount Everest. (Photo by Lakpa SHERPA / AFP)
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Nepali Becomes Youngest to Climb World's 8,000m Peaks

(FILES) This picture taken on May 31, 2021 shows peaks along the Himalayan range, as seen from the summit of Mount Everest. (Photo by Lakpa SHERPA / AFP)
(FILES) This picture taken on May 31, 2021 shows peaks along the Himalayan range, as seen from the summit of Mount Everest. (Photo by Lakpa SHERPA / AFP)

An 18-year-old Nepali mountaineer on Wednesday broke the record for the youngest person to summit all 14 of the world's 8,000-meter peaks, his team said.

Nima Rinji Sherpa reached the summit of Tibet's 8,027-meter-high Shisha Pangma on Wednesday morning, completing his mission to stand on the world's highest peaks.

"He reached the summit this morning. He had trained well and I was confident he would do it," his father Tashi Sherpa told AFP.

Summiting all 14 "eight-thousanders" is considered the peak of mountaineering aspirations. Climbers cross "death zones" where there is not enough oxygen in the air to sustain human life for long periods.

"This summit is not just the culmination of my personal journey, but a tribute to every Sherpa who has ever dared to dream beyond the traditional boundaries set for us," Sherpa said in a statement.

"Mountaineering is more than labor, it is a testament to our strength, resilience and passion."

Sherpa is no stranger to the mountains, hailing from a family of record-holding mountaineers, who also now run Nepal's largest mountaineering expedition company.

The record was previously held by another Nepali climber, Mingma Gyabu 'David' Sherpa. He achieved it in 2019, at the age of 30.

Nima Rinji Sherpa, who already holds multiple records from his ascents of dozens of peaks, started high-altitude climbing at the age of 16, by climbing Mount Manaslu in August 2022.

By June this year, he had climbed his 13th mountain, Kanchenjunga, the world's third highest.

"This is a proud moment for our country," Nima Nuru Sherpa, president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, told AFP.

"Nima broke all the stereotypes, and his success has given a message that nothing is impossible if you have a strong determination."

Nepali climbers -- usually ethnic Sherpas from the valleys around Everest -- are considered the backbone of the climbing industry in the Himalayas.

They carry the majority of equipment and food, fixing ropes and repairing ladders.

Long in the shadows as supporters of foreign climbers, they are slowly being recognized in their own right.

In 2021, a team of Nepali climbers made the first winter ascent of K2, the world's second-highest peak -- the notoriously challenging 8,611-meter "savage mountain" of Pakistan.