JEDDAH: The King Salman bin Abdulaziz Royal Reserve Development Authority has been added to the World Database on Protected Areas.
It is the first Saudi reserve to be registered on the global website, the official source for data on protected lands with government agencies and international organizations.
The KSRNR tweeted: “This registration is an important step for the reserve toward joining the green list of globally managed reserves in the International Union for Conservation of Nature.”
The authority announced its commitment to joining the green list of the federation in October during a two-day symposium organized by KSRNR in Riyadh and called “Natural Reserves, International Principles, and Standards,” in cooperation with the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and with the participation of government agencies.
The symposium aimed at achieving the goals of the reserve in protecting nature and helping to restore environmental balance.
The Protected Planet website, the internet portal for WDPA, is the source for data on protected lands globally, and provides mechanisms for business planning and environmental conservation in natural reserves.
The website also provides the basis for monitoring and reporting on progress toward international environmental aims such as the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
KSRNR extends more than 130,000 sq. km and is characterized by its diverse topography, embracing 14 geographical formations of mountains, plains, and plateaus. It also includes six valuable minerals.
Animals within the area include 300 species, ranging from rare deer to birds, reptiles, and amphibians.
