National Strategy for Conservation of Biodiversity in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The National Biodiversity Strategy for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a sectoral document aiming at introducing the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity into the national planning process; providing the basic information and a significant contribution to the Convention on Biological Diversity ratified by Saudi Arabia. Because the Strategy covers many issues, its effective implementation requires a high level of political support as well as coordination between government, non-governmental organization, and the private sectors. The Strategy consists of V Parts, as follows: Purpose and scope (I); Islamic Vision (II); Status of terrestrial, marine and freshwater biodiversity (III); 17 Strategic Goals (IV); Mechanism of implementation and subsequent monitoring. The main purpose of the conservation and sustainable use of Biodiversity will be achieved through the following specific strategic goals: in-situ conservation both inside and outside protected areas; ex-situ conservation; conserving and developing forests and woodlands, desert rangelands, living marine resources and agricultural biodiversity; botanic and zoological gardens regulating access to genetic resources in addition to national parks and introducing national biosafety standards; enacting environmental legislation, supporting scientific research, enhancing environmental education, and achieving socio-economic development; encouraging collaborative management and promoting cooperation for biodiversity; generating income from wildlife resources and developing ecotourism and nature-based tourism.
In order to make agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and sustainable, the Strategy aims to: (i) protect and rehabilitate the forests and woodlands through reforestation programs, production of transplants of local trees and shrubs, involvement of local people in management of natural forests; (ii) manage and improve the natural rangelands where the current practices of pastoralism are unsustainable; (iii) conserve living marine resources by controlling over-fishing activities, limit land-filling and dredging activities on coastal areas, propagate marine species and promote fish farming; (iv) conserve and develop agricultural biodiversity to be reached by rehabilitation of deteriorated agricultural lands and replant, introduction of Integrated Pest Management system, establishment of seed banks, protection and encouragement of local varieties cultivation, development of a system for agricultural incentives, development of irrigation practices, encouragement of organic agriculture; (v) protect natural ecosystems and human health from the intended or accidental introduction of Genetically Modified Organisms taking precautionary measures, supporting Cartagena Protocols on biosafety, requiring certificates of origin and utilizing modern screening procedures to control genetically modified organisms.
To reduce rural poverty, the Strategy proposes the development of ecotourism as a one of the best ways of bringing economic benefits to remote areas by providing local employment, activating local markets and stimulating the improvement of transportation and roads, provided that it is conducted in a sustainable manner.
To enable inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems, the Strategy plans to encourage collaborative management realizing a partnership between stakeholders, from government and private sector, on sharing management consequences, rights and responsibilities for conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. It also proposes to regulate access to genetic resources and establish a fair and equitable sharing of benefits to recognize rights of indigenous communities over natural resources.
To increase the resilience of livelihoods to disasters, the following activities are planned by the Strategy: protection of terrestrial, marine and freshwater ecosystems in the following ways: (i) establishing a comprehensive system of protected areas or protecting their natural habitats outside the boundaries of recognized protected areas; (ii) creating botanic gardens, zoos, aquariums, public parks, gene banks to prevent extinction of wild plants and animals, encourage sustainable agriculture and minimize pesticides use; (iii) protecting and rehabilitating forests and woodlands; (iv) imposing measures to prevent use of natural rangelands by private sector companies dealing in livestock production; (v) introducing agricultural practices necessary for efficient water use.
In the context of Governance, to ensure that implementation of the Strategy is on course, monitoring and evaluation need to be done regularly. This will include: establish legal mechanism for implementation of Biodiversity Strategy and allocate sufficient budget for its implementation; update legislation to conserve wild flora and fauna; enact legislation to regulate access and use of genetic resources; update legislation to control use local domestic plants and animals; enact legislation protecting against the hazards of genetic engineering and genetically altered organisms; support scientific research and establish data base centers.