Next Wednesday, June 5, 2024, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) will celebrate World Environment Day 2024, under the theme “Our land. Our future."
The ceremony, held at the King Abdul Aziz International Conference Center in Riyadh, will be attended by many dignitaries, including Highnesses, Excellences, and officials, as well as experts and specialists from various countries.
The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) explained that KSA's hosting of World Environment Day 2024 confirms Saudi Arabia's commitment to protecting the environment and promoting sustainable development aligning with the goals of Vision 2030.
In the global environmental ceremony, the focus will be on land restoration, desertification, and drought resilience. The event will emphasize the critical need for global investments in nature conservation, land rehabilitation, and sustainable practices. Highlighting the importance of both national and international collaboration, the ceremony aims to promote efforts to rehabilitate ecosystems worldwide in pursuit of sustainable development goals.
MEWA added that World Environment Day activities will bolster the Kingdom's efforts in land restoration and rehabilitation. These activities will showcase Saudi Arabia's initiatives at national, regional, and international levels, focusing on vegetation development, combating desertification, natural habitat protection, and carbon emission reduction. Additionally, the event will reinforce the G20 Global Land Initiative, launched during the Kingdom's 2020 G20 Summit presidency. The celebration aims to call for effective global participation in the sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), set to convene in Riyadh this December.
World Environment Day (WED) is one of the largest global platforms for environmental outreach, with tens of millions of people around the world. Additionally, WED contributes to supporting vital ecosystem restoration work globally. Countries have pledged to restore one billion hectares of land by protecting 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030.