RIYADH: The King Abdulaziz Royal Nature Reserve Development Authority held its first annual environmental meeting in Riyadh on Wednesday. The meeting, which was held in the presence of the reserve’s CEO, Maher Al-Gothmi, shed light on the authority’s latest developments and its plans to achieve national environmental goals, which include protecting and developing the environment through afforestation events and raising environmental awareness through media and social media platforms. On the sidelines of the first meeting, the authority launched an initiative to empower environmental associations to participate in developing vegetation cover in the reserve. A large select group of academics, experts and specialists, as well as environment enthusiasts and environmental associations, participated in the event. The King Abdulaziz Royal Nature Reserve is one of seven reserves in Saudi Arabia established by royal decree and is a government member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It is independently managed under the leadership of Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif and includes Al-Tanhat, Al-Khafs and Noura parks, and parts of the Al-Summan plateau and the Al-Dahna desert, which are areas with a rich historical heritage.