Forests for People

[

] 285

Conservation and sustainable

management of forests in Saudi Arabia

Mohamed Al-Shiha, Deputy Minister of Agriculture Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture, Saudi Arabia

and El Mostafa Darfaoui, Natural Resources Expert, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

n the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), famous for its aridity

and immense deserts, there are approximately two million

hectares of forests, covering 1 per cent of the total area.

The

main forest cover is located in the Sarawat Mountains, charac-

terized by elevations ranging between 500 m and 3,100 m and

by higher rainfall than the rest of the country. Forest lands are

composed of evergreen coniferous juniper trees, growing in pure

stands at elevations exceeding 2,900 m above sea level and with

annual rainfall ranging between 350 mm and 500 mm.

The dominant species are

Juniperus phoenicea

in the Hijaz Mountains

in the north and

Juniperus procera

in the Assir Mountains in the

south and the two species are found mixed in between. At lower

altitudes, the junipers grow in varying mixtures with other trees.

The remainder of the forest stock is mainly

Acacia

trees growing

on the warmer western Sarawat slopes in addition to tree mixtures

scattered along valleys, meadows and catchment areas all over the

country. Mangrove forests dominated by the

Avecennia marina

and

Rhizophora mucronata

species exist in small patches along both the

Red Sea coast to the west and the Arabian Gulf shores to

the east, covering approximately 3,500 hectares.

Forest lands in Saudi Arabia are multi-purpose and

are 98 per cent State owned.

They produce negligible

volumes of roundwood; however, they have evolved

with the local populations for thousands of years and

have been providing them with invaluable social,

economic and cultural benefits, supplying wood and

non-wood products as well as grazing and recreational

sites. The environmental services provided by forests in

KSA are inestimable and include protecting watersheds

and soils, regulating the flow of rainwater, supporting

wildlife habitats and biodiversity, sequestering carbon

and providing oxygen.

Forest use trends

The total population living within the main forest lands

of the country in the provinces of Assir, Al-Baha and

Makkah is estimated at three million people, represent-

Abandoned terraces in Al-Baha

Urban expansion in Sarawat forest

Image: Ministry of Agriculture, KSA