سعوديون ضمن أول خبراء باللغة العربية في قاعدة عالمية للإدارة المستدامة للأراضي

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has achieved a new milestone in the field of sustainable land management by appointing young leaders as experts and reviewers in Arabic in the global database for sustainable land management under the (WOCAT) platform, becoming the first Arab country to achieve this milestone in documenting and reviewing sustainable land management practices with Arabic content. This contributes to supporting the Kingdom's efforts to enhance environmental sustainability and achieve the targets of Saudi Vision 2030.
The National Center for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification explained that this achievement came with technical support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), through its partnership with the (WOCAT) platform, and represents an important step towards including and documenting sustainable land management practices in arid regions in Arabic within one of the most prominent global specialized platforms.
It indicated that this achievement enhances the Kingdom's capabilities to document, review, and approve these practices according to recognized international methodologies and standards, and contributes to expanding the scope of Arabic-speaking technical expertise at the international level, supporting the Kingdom's contributions to regional and global efforts to restore lands and combat desertification.
The center clarified that the appointment of experts came after the completion of the national training program for reviewers of sustainable land management documentation on the global platform, which was organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) last April, as part of the Sustainable Agricultural Rural Development Program, in partnership with the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture. The national training was implemented in collaboration with the National Center for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification through the National Afforestation Program, while the FAO, through its oversight of developing methodologies, quality assurance procedures, and managing the global database of the platform, supports countries in enhancing their capabilities to document, evaluate, and exchange successful practices in the fields of land restoration and sustainable management at the global level.
The center noted that the training program witnessed the participation of specialists representing government agencies, universities, and technical institutions from various regions of the Kingdom, who received intensive practical training on documenting sustainable land management techniques and methodologies using the approved (WOCAT) tools and methodologies. It pointed out that the documentation, review, and quality assurance activities were based on experiences of land rehabilitation in several environments and ecological areas within the Kingdom, contributing to linking national field experiences with international technical requirements.
It added that the appointment of expert reviewers came after a joint evaluation process between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the (WOCAT) Secretariat, resulting in the approval and registration of ten Saudi specialists in the global database for sustainable land management under the platform, including five expert reviewers responsible for technical review and evaluating the quality of documented content, and five Saudi national experts responsible for national verification and approval of documented practices before publishing them on the global platform.
The center indicated that the accredited reviewers and experts represent several national entities, including the National Afforestation Program, the National Center for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification, King Saud University, King Faisal University, and the General Authority for Irrigation. The efforts of the experts will contribute to reviewing and approving sustainable land management documents in the Kingdom, as well as supporting similar efforts in the Arab region when needed.
It clarified that the accreditation of the first Arabic-speaking expert reviewers at the (WOCAT) platform represents an important regional dimension, as it allows for building specialized capacities to evaluate and review documents and technical practices prepared in Arabic, supporting the sharing of Arabic experiences and practices in the global knowledge system related to sustainable land management. This, through reliable systematic technical review and the development of a qualified network of Arabic-speaking reviewers and experts, enhances the Kingdom's role in raising the quality of knowledge related to sustainable land management, increasing its dissemination and international recognition, both locally and in the Arab region in general.
The center drew attention to the fact that this achievement complements the recognition of the National Afforestation Program as one of the leading global projects in the field of ecosystem restoration under the United Nations, during the proceedings of the seventeenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP17), which was held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, last August, as part of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration led by the United Nations Environment Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
This achievement supports the targets of the Saudi Green Initiative and the National Afforestation Program, and contributes to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
It is worth noting that (WOCAT) is a global platform and international initiative specialized in documenting, evaluating, and transferring best practices in the fields of ecosystem restoration, combating desertification, sustainable land management, and reducing land degradation worldwide.