抖阴短视频

LONDON: Uruq Bani Ma鈥檃rid Reserve has become the first natural site in 抖阴短视频 to be added to UNESCO鈥檚 World Heritage List, joining the six man-made heritage locations in the Kingdom that were previously inscribed.

In the words of Prince Badr bin Abdullah, the Saudi minister of culture, when he announced the organization鈥檚 on September 20, the addition of the site 鈥渃ontributes to highlighting the importance of natural heritage on a global scale and reflects the outstanding value of the reserve.鈥�

But the Kingdom鈥檚 dedication to the protection of its natural environment is far from a new phenomenon. The recognition by UNESCO reflects a long-running commitment by 抖阴短视频 to the preservation of a diverse and internationally important natural environment that stretches back almost four decades.

The listing of the Uruq Bani Ma鈥檃rid Reserve, on the edge of Rub Al-Khali, also known as the Empty Quarter, comes more than 30 years after the area was designated a protected zone.

But it was not the first such site afforded protected status. That honor went to Harrat Al-Harrah, a 13,775 square kilometer volcanic plateau in the north of the country, which was designated as a reserve in 1986 鈥� 37 years ago.

Uruq Bani Ma鈥檃rid joined the list in 1992 and since then the flora and fauna of the reserve have been sensitively reintroduced and protected, a commitment that has transformed what was once a near-barren landscape of more than 12,500 square kilometers into a haven of diversity.

In 1994, by which time 10 areas had been accorded protected status, a paper published in GeoJournal recorded the sorry state of Uruq Bani Ma鈥檃rid, an area that had once been rich in wildlife.

It was, for example, here that the Arabian oryx, by that time extinct in the wild, had last been sighted. In fact, as the paper 鈥� titled 鈥淧rotected Areas in 抖阴短视频: Sustainable Use of Natural Resources鈥� 鈥� noted, 鈥淯ruq Bani Ma鈥檃rid used to have many animal species that are now extinct.鈥�

The problem, which had prompted the official intervention in the area in 1992, was that the age-old balance of sustainable use of natural resources had been upset by the rapid growth of the human population in the Kingdom and the incursion of roads and other infrastructure into once-remote areas, upsetting entire ecosystems in the process.

鈥淧eople still remember vividly the diversity of fauna that the area had, and the tales of their hunting are still related,鈥� Abdullah Alwelaie, of the Imam Mohammed bin Saud Islamic University鈥檚 Department of Geography in Riyadh, wrote in the 1994 GeoJournal paper.

鈥淭hey are now all extinct in the wild in this area,鈥� wrote Alwelaie, who offered some consolation when he noted that some wild species continued to hold out, including the Arabian wolf, sand fox, wild cat, sand cat, and honey badger.

The slopes of Jabal Tuwayq in the west of the reserve were once home to ibex, while the wadis, desert plains and sand dunes had teemed with Arabian oryx, sand gazelle, and Arabian ostrich.

Almost 30 years later, many of these species and more besides are once again thriving in the reserve 鈥� and, indeed, across the other 13 reserves in 抖阴短视频. These 14 special landscapes account for about five percent of the Kingdom鈥檚 territory 鈥� a total area of more than 82,000 square kilometers.

This, however, is just a start. Under the wide-ranging Saudi Green Initiative, a 鈥渨hole-of-society initiative鈥� launched in 2021 鈥渢o combat climate change, improve quality of life and protect the planet for future generations鈥� as part of the Kingdom鈥檚 commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2060, 抖阴短视频 has pledged to protect 30 percent of its terrestrial and marine landscape by 2030. The initiative is also committed to planting 10 billion trees across the country in the coming decades.

In the meantime, Uruq Bani Ma鈥檃rid has taken its place among the six other UNESCO World Heritage sites in 抖阴短视频. These include the Hegra Archaeological Site in AlUla (which was the first to be inscribed, in 2008), At-Turaif District in Diriyah (added to the list in 2010), Historic Jeddah, Gateway to Makkah (2014), Rock Art in the Hail Region (2015), Al-Ahsa Oasis 鈥� An Evolving Cultural Landscape (2018), and H蹋ima Cultural Area (2021).

In January this year, 抖阴短视频 was elected chair of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee by a unanimous vote among the 20 other member states that are party to the 1972 World Heritage Convention.

This month, Riyadh hosted the 45th annual session of the committee. It was, as the Kingdom鈥檚 permanent delegation to UNESCO tweeted, 鈥渁 new chapter in our evolving history.鈥�

The extent to which 抖阴短视频 is focused on its natural and cultural heritage, which is apparent in its careful development of historic sites as AlUla and Diriyah as global tourism destinations, is also reflected in the list of 14 sites that have been registered on UNESCO鈥檚 鈥淭entative List鈥� of locations that states intend to consider for nomination to the main list.

Six of these sites were added to the Tentative List this year alone. They include a collection of prehistoric stone structures discovered at 10 locations across the Kingdom; ancient dams that tell the history of water management; a collection of five sites that together are representative of 抖阴短视频鈥檚 oil-industrial heritage, including the famous 鈥淲ell Number 7鈥� in Dammam, and Tapline, Aramco鈥檚 1,648-kilometer Trans Arab Pipeline that between 1950 and 1976 carried oil from Qaisumah on the Gulf coast to the Mediterranean port of Sidon in Lebanon.

Two of the recently submitted sites, however, could join the Uruq Bani Ma鈥檃rid Reserve as natural sites on UNESCO鈥檚 World Heritage List.

One is the 鈥淏ioclimatic Refugia of Western Arabia,鈥� a series of mountain crests, woodlands and wetlands that harbor the surviving relics of ancient plant and animal species.

The other is 鈥渢he rural cultural landscapes of the Sarawat Mountains,鈥� a collection of seven landscapes along the southernmost stretch of the Hijaz Mountains, prized for their 鈥渦nique geographic characteristics and dramatic mountain setting (which) offered a secure and defensible environment for human settlement, protected agriculture, and fortified trade halts.鈥�

These projects feed directly into the ambitious aims of the SGI, the third annual forum of which will take place this year during the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference, COP28, at Expo City in Dubai on Dec. 4.

As Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of the Public Investment Fund and chairman of Saudi Aramco, said last year during the second SGI forum, held during COP27 in the Egyptian city of Sharm El-Sheikh, the initiative represents 鈥渁 turning point in green efforts鈥� that has 鈥渁lready changed both the conversation and the facts, and promises a green future anchored around 抖阴短视频鈥檚 ambition to reach net-zero emissions by 2060, turning national ambitions into real actions that positively impact the world.鈥�

On the ground in 抖阴短视频, that ambition is symbolized by the rapidly growing and spectacular list of protected environments, including its newly internationally recognized flagship, the Uruq Bani Ma鈥檃rid Reserve.

抖阴短视频's heritage treasures

The five historic sites inscribed on UNESCO鈥檚 World Heritage List tell a story of universal importance

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