Soudah Development (SD), a closed joint-stock real estate development company fully owned by the Public Investment Fund, today announced its participation at the 2nd Saudi Green Initiative Forum, running from 11-12 November accompanied by a gallery that runs from 7-18 November under the theme 'From Ambition to Action', bringing together government and corporate leaders, heads of international organizations, as well as sustainability, environment and energy experts, to build on the progress made towards its climate action targets. The Saudi Green Initiative Forum is taking place on the sidelines of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 27) in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
SD initiatives include a plan to plant more than one million trees by 2030, reintroduce endangered wildlife - such as ibex- back into their natural habitat and conserve the extraordinary biodiversity to accelerate a greener future through three flagship sustainability initiatives demonstrating its commitment to protect, restore and rewild the Kingdom's highest peak.
This year, Soudah Development continues its reforestation efforts to increase vegetation cover and help to restore the natural mountain ecosystems by reintroducing 23 ibex individuals to their natural mountain habitat, and rewilding natural areas vital to the biodiversity of Soudah and Rijal Almaa, in efforts to contribute to the Saudi Green Initiative targets, which include reducing emissions by more than 278 million tons per annum by 2030, planting 10 billion trees, and raising protected areas to more than 30% of total marine and terrestrial areas.
"We are delighted to return to the Saudi Green Initiative Forum and look forward to demonstrating our commitment to sustainability, responsible tourism and the Kingdom's comprehensive environment goals," said Saleh Aloraini, CEO of Soudah Development. "Our initiatives aim to restore the natural ecosystem on the Kingdom's highest peak allowing nature to take care of itself. With unique natural resources and dense vegetation cover, the project area has an extraordinary biodiversity that we are determined to conserve. As the world's top sustainability leaders gather in Egypt, we look forward to using this landmark conference to promote a new era of sustainable mountain tourism in Saudi Arabia and develop Soudah as one of the leading global sustainable destinations."
Soudah Development's sustainability efforts have received a strong recognition from the United Nations. During the UN's 77th General Assembly, a global report by the UN Secretary General highlighted SD as the Gulf's only developer to join the UN Mountain Partnership - a voluntary organization of more than 400 global members, including governments, public entities, private companies and civil society groups committed to improving the lives of local communities and protecting mountain ecosystems.
