RIYADH — The King Abdulaziz Royal Reserve in Riyadh launched the first phase of its afforestation campaign, aiming to plant 500,000 seedlings. The campaign is being carried out, in cooperation with the Special Forces for Environmental Security (SFES) and the National Center for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification. The launching ceremony was held in the presence of Prince Miteb Bin Fahd Al-Faisal Al-Farhan, adviser to chairman of the Board of Directors of the King Abdulaziz Reserve and the King Salman Reserve, Dr. Khaled Al-Abdul Qadir, CEO of the Center, Col. Nasser Al-Selis, commander of the Special Force for Environmental Security in the Riyadh region, and a number of environmentalists and activists. The first phase of the Reserve’s afforestation campaign includes the planting of 100,000 seedlings. The afforestation project in the reserve consists of seven phases, targeting the cultivation of 500,000 seedlings, which will be irrigated by water harvesting method. The campaign comes as a cooperative initiative between environment-related sectors represented by the King Abdulaziz Royal Reserve, SFES, National Center for Plant Cover Development and Combating Desertification, with the aim of enhancing integration between them to preserve environment, develop natural vegetation cover, achieve sustainability and combat desertification in the Kingdom. Afforestation of the King Abdulaziz Royal Reserve aims to preserve endangered plants, reproduce them through cultivation, and rehabilitate degraded vegetation sites with the aim of reducing the effects of desertification and restoring biodiversity in natural environments. King Abdulaziz Royal Reserve is a natural reserve located in the Riyadh region in an area covering 15700 square kilometers. It was established in June 2018, and its development is supervised by an administrative body headed by Minister of Interior Prince Abdulaziz Bin Saud Bin Naif. The reserve includes within its borders Tanhat nursery, which is the largest in the Kingdom in terms of area. Its neighborhood is a natural environment suitable for the habitat of wild animals and plants, and is protected from hunting, overgrazing and logging.