The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia pays great attention to environment protection and conservation. Article 32 of the Basic Law stipulates that “the State shall endeavor to preserve, protect, and improve the environment and prevent its pollution.” And according to the Saudi Vision 2030:“By preserving our environment and natural resources, we fulfill our Islamic, human and moral duties. Preservation is also our responsibility to future generations and essential to the quality of our daily lives.” To achieve this, the National Transformation Program (17) included an initiative for protecting the environment and developing meteorological services, as well as two initiatives for developing forests and pastures and developing and investing in the national parks.
The Ministry of Environment was established by virtue of the Royal Decree no. (A/133), dated 30/07/1437 H, upon which the name of the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) was changed to the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA), and assigned the environment-related tasks to it.
The establishment of the Deputy-Ministry for Environment was approved by the Ministerial Resolution no. 115/1/1438, dated 16/02/1438 Hـ.
• The Deputy-Ministry for Environment is responsible for drawing up policies, strategies and environmental legislations, as well as launching awareness programs and conducting environmental studies and research;
• Supervising and following up meteorological activities;
• Preserving environmental systems and biodiversity;
• Supervising, developing and sustainably managing forests, postures and national parks;
• Preparing plans and programs for adapting with the climate change in cooperation with the concerned authorities to curb the effects of climate change;
• Combating desertification and protecting the marine and coastal environment;
• Activating partnerships with environmental associations and activists;
• Building cooperation channels with the universities and research centers concerned with the environment;
• Taking part in, and following up, environmental agreements;
• Initiating regional and international cooperation in the fields related to the environment sector;
• Achieving optimal investment of water resources through rationalization and use of treated water and renewable water resources;
• Building a full-fledged project for waste management; and
• Protecting beaches and natural reserves.