RIYADH — Deputy Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Eng. Mansour Bin Hilal Al-Mushaiti said that the Kingdom is celebrating this year"s World Environment Day through increasing public awareness on environment and implementing a set of environment protection and ecosystem restoration projects. Eng. Al-Mushaiti said that the theme for this year"s World Environment Day is "Ecosystem Restoration" which aims at protecting and reviving ecosystems around the world through a global campaign, which runs from 2021 to 2030, with the participation of individuals, civil society organizations and governments. Through the World Environment Day, he also said that the ministry carries out observance of environmental norms, practices and activities and increases public awareness on environment and ecosystems and on the protection of more than 8 million species of plants and animals on the planet.Eng. Al-Mushaiti also indicated that the ministry is exerting pioneering efforts towards decreasing environmental degradation and restoring ecosystems, including the implementation of the National Parks Rehabilitation and Development Initiative and the launch of other 17 environment protection initiatives as per the National Transformation Program 2020, which was developed to help fulfill the Saudi Vision 2030 objectives. As part of the Kingdom"s environmental protection efforts, Eng. Al-Mushaiti also said that work is under way to establish a specialized center for climate change after securing all necessary financial allocations. He added a decision has been made to halt the cultivation of crops that require a great quantity of water and convert to environment-friendly and water-saving technologies. He also said that a total of 64 initiatives have been launched, as per the National Environment Strategy, with the aim of protecting and restoring ecosystems. — SPA