Saudi Arabia set to lead the world in ecotourism and marine conservation

Saudi Arabia set to lead the world in ecotourism and marine conservation

Boats anchored along the Red Sea coast, in Saudi Arabia. (AFP file photo)
Boats anchored along the Red Sea coast, in Saudi Arabia. (AFP file photo)
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Saudi Arabia has embarked on a race to explore unseen parts of the Red Sea, aiming to safeguard and preserve the Kingdom’s biodiversity under Saudi Vision 2030. The Red Sea Decade Expedition — a mission that endeavored to comprehensively explore the Red Sea — has already yielded a long list of discoveries.

The discovery of blue holes in Saudi Arabian waters was among the most remarkable. At about 40 nautical miles off the coast of Al-Qunfudhah, the blue holes can be viewed from the sky as perfectly circular coral reefs that encase a distinct blue color, marking deep water inside.

We sailed toward the southern Red Sea aboard OceanXplorer — a research vessel equipped with manned submersibles, deep-sea robots, a helicopter, and other advanced technologies.

We were aware that the Farasan Bank — a submerged carbonate platform boasting the world’s third-largest coral reef system — held extraordinary structural complexity beneath the sea’s surface, but what we found exceeded our expectations.

We reviewed nautical charts of the Farasan Bank, and an area of seemingly deep water between a labyrinth of extremely shallow coral reefs caught our attention. These areas had not been mapped in more than a century, nor had they been subject to targeted scientific exploration.

Blue holes’ discovery solidifies Saudi Arabia’s status as a world-class ecotourism destination and global leader in marine conservation.

Shannon Klein

Using OceanXplorer’s helicopter, we surveyed the sea’s surface and found 10 of the blue holes during our first flight. We were not alone in our interest in these unique formations. We were joined by sea turtles, dolphins, sharks, and whales with their newly born calves. Some of these animals even showed us how to gain access to the deep waters inside.

We followed a pod of dolphins through a small channel, just deep enough for us to scrape through in a small tender vessel. Once inside, we mapped the structure of the holes, retrieved samples and deployed sensors to characterize the conditions, while OceanXplorer deployed its submersibles and robots to explore the holes’ deep outer walls.

On the outside, shallow coral reefs support a diversity of marine life. Inside, the deep water plummets to 50 meters and the outside walls extend 300 meters below the sea’s surface. The deep-sea vehicles gathered the first images of coral reefs hidden deep below the surface, reaching down as far as 130 meters.

Some marine species cannot be seen with deep-sea vehicles due to their elusive nature. We used advanced technologies to extract DNA from the water samples to catalog the marine life that makes its home in these unique ecosystems.

I had the honor of leading the research team that discovered the blue holes alongside renowned scientists Dr. Mohammed Qurban, CEO of the National Center for Wildlife, and Prof. Carlos Duarte, the scientific coordinator for the expedition. Their strong leadership forged a multinational, collaborative environment.

Aligned with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 goals, the National Center for Wildlife is leading the initiative to expand Saudi Arabia’s protected marine areas to include these unique ecosystems. The blue holes’ discovery solidifies Saudi Arabia’s status as a world-class ecotourism destination and global leader in marine conservation.

Shannon Klein is a research scientist in the Tarek Ahmed Juffali Research Chair in the Red Sea Ecology research group at KAUST who focuses on environmental change in the world’s oceans and solutions for rebuilding tropical marine life. X: @Dr_ShannonKlein

 

Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect Arab News' point of view

Pro-Palestinian protesters take Israel sculptures from UK university

Pro-Palestinian protesters take Israel sculptures from UK university
Updated 14 min 51 sec ago
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Pro-Palestinian protesters take Israel sculptures from UK university

Pro-Palestinian protesters take Israel sculptures from UK university

LONDON: A pro-Palestinian group took two sculptures of Israel’s first president from a UK university in a protest marking the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, with police on Sunday confirming they were investigating reports of a burglary.
“Today, Palestine Action have marked 107 years since the Balfour Declaration, by taking two sculptures of Israel’s first president, Chaim Weizmann, from its display case at University of Manchester,” the protest group said in a press release.
Greater Manchester Police told AFP in a statement that it had received a report of a burglary at the north west England university at around 11.55pm (2355 GMT) on Friday.
The local Jewish Representative Council of GM & Region community group wrote on X that “overnight, criminals from Palestine Action broke into the University, smashed the case and stole the statue of Weizmann.
“We urge the authorities and Home Secretary to fully proscribe Palestine Action as it is essential they face the full force of the law,” it added.
In the Balfour Declaration, UK foreign minister Arthur Balfour spelled out plans to form “a national home for the Jewish people” in a 1917 letter to Walter Rothschild, a British politician and supporter of the idea of creating a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
The letter was endorsed and published by the government on Nov 2, 1917.
Palestine Action also sprayed the London office of charity Jewish National Fund (JNF) with red paint, and carried out a similar protest at the Britain Israel Communications and Research Center (BICOM) lobby group HQ in London.
It also collaborated with students from the University of Cambridge, where Balfour was educated, to spray the university’s Institute of Manufacturing and Senate House.


Saudi project clears 636 Houthi mines in Yemen

Saudi project clears 636 Houthi mines in Yemen
Updated 36 min 6 sec ago
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Saudi project clears 636 Houthi mines in Yemen

Saudi project clears 636 Houthi mines in Yemen
  • The explosives were planted indiscriminately and posed a threat to civilians, including children, women and the elderly

Riyadh: Members of Saudi Arabia’s Project Masam removed 636 explosive devices from various regions of Yemen last week.

The total included four anti-personnel mines, 36 anti-tank mines and 596 unexploded ordnances, according to a recent report.

Ousama Al-Gosaibi, the initiative’s managing director, said a total of 468,067 mines had been cleared since its inception in 2018.

The explosives were planted indiscriminately and posed a threat to civilians, including children, women and the elderly.

Project Masam is one of several initiatives undertaken by Saudi Arabia on the orders of King Salman to help the Yemeni people, clearing routes for humanitarian aid to reach the country’s citizens.

The demining operations took place in Marib, Aden, Jouf, Shabwa, Taiz, Hodeidah, Lahij, Sanaa, Al-Bayda, Al-Dhale and Saada.

The initiative trains local demining engineers and provides them with modern equipment. It also offers support to Yemenis injured by the devices.

Teams are tasked with clearing villages, roads and schools to facilitate safe movement for civilians and the delivery of humanitarian aid.

About 5 million people have been forced to flee their homes since the start of the conflict in Yemen, many of them displaced by the presence of land mines.


Grenade attack wounds several in Indian-administered Kashmir — police

Grenade attack wounds several in Indian-administered Kashmir — police
Updated 43 min 16 sec ago
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Grenade attack wounds several in Indian-administered Kashmir — police

Grenade attack wounds several in Indian-administered Kashmir — police
  • Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between rivals India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947
  • The region is home to a long-running insurgency that has killed tens of thousands of civilians, soldiers and militants since 1989

SRINAGAR: Indian-administered Kashmir’s chief minister on Sunday condemned a “deeply disturbing” grenade attack on a busy market in the main city of Srinagar, which police and media reported left several wounded.

“A grenade attack on innocent shoppers at the ‘Sunday market’ in Srinagar is deeply disturbing,” Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said in a statement.

“There can be no justification for targeting innocent civilians.”

Abdullah did not say how many were wounded, but a senior police officer, who was not authorized to speak to journalists, said nine people were wounded, all civilians.

The Press Trust of India (PTI) showed dozens of armed police and soldiers cordoning off the area in the Himalayan city.

The Hindustan Times quoted Tasneem Showkat, a doctor at Srinagar’s SMHS Hospital, as saying at least eight injured had been taken for treatment.

“The injured include eight men and one woman,” Showkat said, the newspaper reported. “All are so far stable.”

Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between rivals India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947 and is home to a long-running insurgency.

At least 500,000 Indian troops are deployed in the territory, battling an insurgency that has killed tens of thousands of civilians, soldiers and separatist militants since 1989.

The grenade attack comes a day after Indian troops killed three suspected militants in two separate firefights.

In October, gunmen ambushed an army vehicle and killed five people, including three soldiers.

That came a week after seven people were shot dead near a construction site for a strategic road tunnel to Ladakh, a high-altitude Himalayan region bordering China.

New Delhi regularly blames Pakistan for arming militants and helping them launch attacks, an allegation Islamabad denies.

“The security apparatus must do everything possible to end this spurt of attacks at the earliest so that people can go about their lives without any fear,” Abdullah added.


Saudi Arabia’s PIF to acquire 54% stake in MBC Group

Saudi Arabia’s PIF to acquire 54% stake in MBC Group
Updated 55 min 33 sec ago
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Saudi Arabia’s PIF to acquire 54% stake in MBC Group

Saudi Arabia’s PIF to acquire 54% stake in MBC Group
  • Share price of MBC Group increased by 9.98% to SR45.75
  • Its net profit for the second quarter witnessed a rise of 66.5% to SR116.4 million

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is set to acquire a 54 percent stake in media giant MBC Group for SR7.46 billion ($1.99 billion). 

In a bourse filing, MBC Group, listed on the Kingdom’s main market, said that it was notified by Istedamah Holding Co., one of its major shareholders, on the finalization of a sale and purchase agreement with the Public Investment Fund on Nov. 1.

According to the agreement, Istedamah will sell its entire stake in MBC, valued at 179.55 million shares, representing 54 percent of the company’s total capital, to PIF through a private transaction. 

Touted to be Saudi Arabia’s economic engine, PIF is spearheading the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 journey by making strategic investments in various sectors. 

Some prominent telecom, media, and technology firms backed by the wealth fund include Saudi Co. for Artificial Intelligence, Saudi Information Technology Co., Elm Co., and Saudi Telecom Co. 

“The completion of the transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including obtaining the necessary approvals and non-objections that might be required from the relevant entities,” said MBC Group. 

It added: “The transaction will be executed as a negotiated deal in accordance with the Saudi Exchange’s trading and membership procedures at the completion of the transaction.” 

Followiing the announcement, the share price of MBC Group increased by 9.98 percent to SR45.75 as of 11:.37 a.m. Saudi time. 

Established in 1991 and formerly known as the Middle East Broadcasting Center, MBC Group currently owns several television channels, including Al Arabiya, MBC Max, and MBC Bollywood, as well as the OTT platform Shahid. 

In August, the media giant said its net profit for the first six months of this year surged 359.8 percent to SR237.8 million compared to the same period in 2023. 

The company added that its net profit for the second quarter witnessed a rise of 66.5 percent to SR116.4 million, compared to the same period of the previous year. 

PIF is set to reach $2 trillion in assets under management by 2030, propelling it from fifth to second place globally among sovereign wealth bodies, according to a report by Global SWF in April. 

As per SWF’s release, PIF took the lead as the top investor among all sovereign wealth funds, allocating $31.6 billion across 49 deals in 2023, representing a 33 percent increase from the prior year.

In March, PIF’s assets under management surpassed $925 billion, up from $700 billion at the end of 2022, securing its position as the fifth-largest global sovereign wealth fund. 


Saudi Arabia climbs 15 places to 12th in global tourist spending: UN Tourism

Saudi Arabia climbs 15 places to 12th in global tourist spending: UN Tourism
Updated 56 min 12 sec ago
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Saudi Arabia climbs 15 places to 12th in global tourist spending: UN Tourism

Saudi Arabia climbs 15 places to 12th in global tourist spending: UN Tourism

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia has made a remarkable leap, climbing 15 places to rank 12th in global tourist spending for 2023, according to the latest UN Tourism report. This is the largest jump among the top 50 countries.

The ranking follows a September report from the UN Tourism, which highlighted the Kingdom’s leadership among G20 nations with a 73 percent increase in international visitor growth and a staggering 207 percent rise in international tourism receipts from January to July 2024 compared to the same period in 2019.

These achievements reinforce Saudi Arabia’s status as a premier global tourism destination, showcasing travelers’ growing confidence in the Kingdom's diverse and appealing offerings. In a bid to capitalize on this momentum, the tourism sector has raised its target for 2030 from 100 million to 150 million visitors, with potential for further increases if this goal is met ahead of schedule, according to Mahmoud Abdulhadi, deputy minister of destination enablement at the Ministry of Tourism.

Speaking at the Future Hospitality Summit in Riyadh last week, Abdulhadi noted that targets are continually assessed and adjusted based on sector performance.

The UNWTO praised the Kingdom’s tourism progress as a “significant milestone” in its quest to become a global leader in the industry. The report indicated that tourism-related spending surpassed $37 billion in 2023, accompanied by substantial growth in hotel capacity across the country.

In the first seven months of 2024, Saudi Arabia welcomed approximately 17.5 million international tourists. For 2023, the Kingdom hosted 27.4 million visitors, marking a 56 percent increase from 2019. This surge has placed Saudi Arabia at the top of the UN’s list for tourism growth among major destinations.

Additionally, the Kingdom’s tourism surplus reached a record SR48 billion ($12.8 billion) in 2023, a 38 percent year-on-year increase.

The International Monetary Fund, in its 2024 Article IV Consultation report released in September, commended the significant progress made by Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector under the Saudi Vision 2030 initiative. The IMF underscored the sector’s vital role in diversifying the Kingdom’s economic base, particularly within the services sector, where it has become a key growth driver in terms of visitor numbers, spending, job creation, and contribution to GDP.

According to the latest UNWTO Barometer report, global international tourist arrivals have rebounded to 96 percent of pre-pandemic levels from January to July 2024, totaling approximately 790 million — an 11 percent increase compared to the same period in 2023. The UNWTO also noted that the Middle East led global growth with a 26 percent rise in international arrivals compared to 2019 levels.