Environment
From The Report: Saudi Arabia 2015
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With Saudi Arabia’s 10th Development Plan the Kingdom has committed itself to responsible stewardship of the environment. The plan emphasises the importance of creating incentives and regulations that will underpin environmentally sustainable growth moving forward. Initiatives currently under way include moves towards more fuel-efficient cogeneration plants, carbon capture and storage, and investment in various renewable energy sources. In urban areas, major population growth has prompted several sustainable rehabilitation projects, with the most high-profile scheme set to transform one of Riyadh’s main water courses from a sewer into a clean, green ribbon of riverside parkland. Meanwhile in Damman, on Saudi Arabia’s east coast, urban wastewater is being treated and used for irrigation purposes, in the hope that the initiative’s success will encourage similar undertakings across Saudi Arabia by both state authorities and the private sector.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Recycling resources: A new strategy for national development seeks to reduce energy waste and environmental impact
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While economic and social development may be at the forefront of the agenda in Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom has also committed itself to policies related to the responsible stewardship of the environment, including its marine and desert habitats and natural spaces in its cities. Although the extraction and sale of fossil fuels continues to fuel the economy, policymakers are passing initiatives to curb energy waste and to soften the environmental impact of growth and industrialisation. The Wadi Hanifa…

Analysis

Restoration efforts: Successful bio-mediation projects are being reproduced
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The population expansion that has taken place in Saudi Arabia in the last 50 years has not been without consequences for the environment, particularly in urban areas, and the country is now rehabilitating its cities. Local and international teams of engineers, ecologists and architects are working with government agencies, which in turn are attempting to attract investment in sustainable rehabilitation projects. WADI HANIFAH: The most high-profile scheme to have taken place saw one of the…

Analysis

Water from waste: Efforts to reuse urban wastewater for irrigation are under way
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During the Kingdom’s rapid process of urbanisation, the condition of Saudi Arabia’s natural waterways deteriorated. The wadis that first attracted settlers to Riyadh were neglected and their waters rendered undrinkable. These were replaced by desalinated water produced hundreds of kilometres away on the east coast. In Jeddah, flash floods claimed 123 lives in 2009 and struck the city once again in 2011. In recent years there has also been a resurgence of interest in the restoration of the…