The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is planting over 100 million mangroves.

As part of the Vision 2030 project the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has stated its intentions to plant over 100 million mangrove trees. The initiative will work in addition to providing other services, such as fencing and care. This takes place as part of the Kingdoms ambitious Vision 2030 plan which outlines the kingdoms route to developing a more sustainable future.

This initiative was announced in parallel with the 'International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem' event which was hosted in Jubail Industrial City, the National Centre for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification on July the 26th 2022.

Mangrove trees thrive in tropical and salty water where they not only provide the perfect environment for a wide diversity of species, but also provide natural infrastructure to help protect nearby populated areas. Their thick network of roots helps reduce erosion and absorb storm surge impacts during extreme weather events such as hurricanes. They are vitally important to the local environment and ecosystem.

They also sequester more C02 than rainforests with a single hectare being able to store an estimated 1025 tonnes of carbon which is vital to combating the effects of climate change.

The contracts are part of the Kingdom's afforestation efforts in the coastal environment of the country, where mangrove forests are considered one of its most important natural resources. The effort seeks to increase the density and number of these forests through afforestation projects in order to achieve the Vision 2030 goals.