Saudi Green Initiative
Riyadh, Riyadh Province, Saudi Arabia 路 Government program 路 National 路 since 2021
Saudi Arabia's national drive to plant 10 billion trees and rehabilitate 40 million hectares of degraded land
About
The Saudi Green Initiative (SGI) was launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2021 as the Kingdom's umbrella environmental program. Its land targets are to plant 10 billion trees, rehabilitate about 40 million hectares of degraded land (an area the ministry later re-estimated at up to 74.8 million hectares in its feasibility study) and protect 30% of land and sea by 2030, with an interim goal of more than 600 million trees by 2030. Planting and rehabilitation are implemented mainly by the National Center for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification (NCVC) under the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, which also runs an annual National Greening Season (launched 2024) that mobilises government, private and nonprofit partners and volunteers. By March 2026 the government reported more than 159 million trees planted and the first million hectares restored; these are the Kingdom's own figures relayed through the Saudi Press Agency, and independent analysts have questioned long-term tree survival and the treated-wastewater volumes the plan requires.
What they run
Afforestation and land rehabilitation led by the National Center for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification with partner entities, planting native species across the Kingdom's regions and royal reserves.
Annual autumn-winter campaign (first held 2024) to expand vegetation cover, promote native species and encourage volunteering and partnerships across sectors.
The numbers
| Metric | Year | Value | Program | Confidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hectares restoredto date | 2024 | 111,000 | Organization-wide | Self-reported | sourceArab News, 16 Oct 2024, citing NCVC via SPA: 111,000 hectares of degraded land rehabilitated, 4.3 million ha under protection, 121 partners |
| Hectares restoredto date | 2025 | 500,000 | Organization-wide | Self-reported | sourceArab News, 26 Oct 2025 (via SPA): 'more than 500,000 hectares' of land rehabilitated under SGI to date |
| Hectares restoredto date | 2026 | 1,000,000 | Organization-wide | Self-reported | sourceArab News, 27 Mar 2026 (via SPA): Saudi Arabia 'restores first million hectares of degraded land' under SGI; restoration had reached 250,000 ha by 2024; target 2.5 million ha by 2030 |
| Trees plantedto date | 2024 | 95,000,000 | Organization-wide | Self-reported | sourceArab News, 16 Oct 2024, citing NCVC via SPA: 'over 95 million trees since the launch of the Saudi Green Initiative in 2021' |
| Trees plantedto date | 2025 | 151,000,000 | Organization-wide | Self-reported | sourceArab News, 26 Oct 2025 (via SPA), National Greening Season 2025 launch: 'more than 151 million trees' planted under SGI to date |
| Trees plantedto date | 2026 | 159,000,000 | Organization-wide | Self-reported | sourceArab News, 27 Mar 2026, citing the Saudi Press Agency and Minister of Environment Abdulrahman Al-Fadley: 'more than 159 million trees' planted under SGI since 2021 |
How they report
What earned it
- 0/20 Publishes annual tree figures: No year-by-year figures found
- 0/15 Figures are recent: No dated annual figure
- 10/10 Every figure has a public source: 6 of 6 figures link to a source
- 0/15 Publishes financials or cost per tree: No financial figure recorded
- 0/15 Reports survival or monitoring: No survival or monitoring figure
- 0/10 Independently verified figure: All figures are the organization's own
- 4/10 Breaks figures down by program: Programs named, figures not broken out
- 0/5 Reports volunteers or events: No volunteer figures or events
Upcoming events
None listed here right now. Send us their calendar feed.