Aramco’s Board of Directors visited the company’s innovative Mangrove Eco-Park in Ras Tanura recently to celebrate the first public facility in the Kingdom dedicated to the preservation of mangrove forests. The park is an integral part of our initiative to plant and manage millions of mangrove seedlings in the Kingdom and across the world. Mangrove forests play a vital role promoting biodiversity and ecosystems to assist in mitigating climate change. IR 4.0 AI technology As well as receiving a presentation detailing Aramco’s Biodiversity and Environmental Stewardship Program, visitors experienced rooftop observation decks and boardwalks, and were welcomed at the Eco-Park’s technical laboratory — a facility that uses advanced IR 4.0 and AI technology to conduct studies related to carbon sequestration and storage in mangroves. Board members also had the opportunity to participate in planting mangrove trees at the park’s nursery. Longest mangrove boardwalk The 64-km2 park, which opened to the public in January, protects one of the last naturally occurring old growth mangrove forests in the Eastern Province and features the longest mangrove boardwalk (at 400 meters in length) in the Kingdom. More than 100 species of birds are observed within the park. Aramco’s Environmental Protection, Community Services, and Public Affairs teams collaborate to promote the park and attract visitors. The campaign is targeting annual visitation of more than 100,000 people, and initiatives include developing content across social media platforms to reach a target audience of 18 million. To date, more than 40,000 people have visited the park and have benefited from programming and educational initiatives to heighten awareness of mangrove forests and their unique benefits.