Published on and written by Cyril Jarnias
Spanning over two million square kilometers at the heart of the Arabian Peninsula, Saudi Arabia is often summed up as a vast sea of sand. The reality is far more complex. Rugged mountains, high plateaus, extinct volcanoes, lush oases, coral coastlines, fossil basins brimming with water, and coastal megaprojects redraw a geography that is both harsh and strategic, situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe. Understanding the country’s geography in Saudi Arabia means grasping how a territory 95% desert has built a global oil economy, a high-tech agriculture sector, and today, an ambitious “greening” policy in the face of climate change.
A Pivotal Position at the Heart of the Peninsula
The country occupies about 80% of the Arabian Peninsula, making it the largest state in the region, the largest in the Middle East, and the fifth largest in Asia by area. Its borders stretch between latitudes 16° 22′ 46″ N and 32° 14′ 00″ N, and longitudes 34° 29′ 30″ E and 55° 40′ 00″ E. The Tropic of Cancer crosses its central part, a reminder that almost the entire territory lies within arid tropical climates.
Saudi Arabia has an irregular hexagonal shape and shares land borders with seven countries: Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Yemen. It is also bordered by two significant maritime fronts: the Red Sea to the west and the Arabian-Persian Gulf to the east. It is important to note that some of its borders, particularly with the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Yemen, are not fully defined due to historical difficulties in demarcating desert areas.
A Bi-Maritime Country, Unique in the Region
No other state has both a long coastline on the Red Sea and on the Arabian-Persian Gulf. The total length of the coastlines varies between sources from 2,640 to nearly 3,800 kilometers, with about 2,600 km on the Red Sea (including some 180 km on the Gulf of Aqaba) and around 1,200 km along the Arabian Gulf.
Saudi Arabia’s dual maritime opening onto the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea gives it a major geopolitical role. This implies complex maritime borders with countries like Iran, Bahrain, Egypt, Sudan, and Eritrea. This position offers direct access to strategic Indian Ocean trade routes via the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Suez Canal, justifying the importance of ports like Jeddah and Dammam, and influencing the location of major economic projects such as NEOM, the Red Sea Project, or the King Abdullah Economic City.
A legal framework governs this maritime presence: the territorial sea is set at 12 nautical miles, complemented by a contiguous zone of 18 nautical miles and an exclusive economic zone of about 228,600 km², of which nearly 186,400 km² is for the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba alone.
Two Major Geological Worlds: Shield and Plateau
The country’s geography in Saudi Arabia rests on an impressive geological foundation. The entire territory lies on the Arabian Plate, which gradually detached from the African continent through the opening of the Red Sea Rift. This process, which began in the Tertiary era, continues today: the Red Sea continues to widen by a few millimeters each year.
The Arabian Shield in the West
In the west, nearly one-third of the country—about 630,000 km²—is occupied by the Arabian Shield. This is a complex of Precambrian igneous and metamorphic rocks, sometimes over a billion years old. This ancient foundation forms the western highlands, from north to south, where the mountains drop abruptly toward the Red Sea in a spectacular escarpment.
Over 2,000 extinct volcanoes are counted in this geological zone.
The Sedimentary Plateau in the East
To the east, the remaining two-thirds—about 1.32 million km²—are composed of sedimentary rocks deposited from the Paleozoic to the Cenozoic eras. This “Arabian Plateau” holds two treasures: immense deep aquifers and the hydrocarbon deposits that made the country’s fortune. The layers of sandstone, limestone, dolomite, and evaporites in this eastern part host the major oil and gas fields of the East, both onshore and offshore.
This is also where the great fossil aquifer basins are located, like the Wasia basin, sometimes described as containing more water than the volume of the Arabian-Persian Gulf itself. This water, accumulated during the rainy periods of the Pleistocene, is now “mined” from over a kilometer deep for irrigation and municipal use.
Geological Description
Volcanism and the Makkah–Madinah–Nufud Line
The contact between the Red Sea Rift and the Arabian Plate gave rise to vast basaltic volcanic provinces. Between 30 million years ago and a few hundred years BCE, powerful eruptions covered large areas in the west with lava, creating one of the world’s largest alkali-basalt complexes (about 180,000 km²).
A remarkable volcanic line, the Makkah–al‑Madinah–al‑Nufud, stretches for nearly 900 km, aligning several major harrats like Harrat Khaybar or Harrat Rahat, the latter alone covering about 20,000 km². The al-Malsa volcano, on the northeastern margin of Harrat Rahat, is considered one of the most historically active, with a lava flow that came close to Medina in the 13th century.
Relief: From High Mountains to Coastal Plains
Anyone flying over Saudi Arabia can distinguish three major topographical ensembles: the mountains of the western edge, the vast central plateau, and the eastern and western coastal plains, to which are added the great sand deserts.
The Western Highlands: Sarawat, Hijaz, and Midian
Along the Red Sea rises a continuous mountain ribbon, a true “backbone” of the country. It is generally subdivided into three ensembles:
– In the south, the Sarawat Mountains, in the Asir and Jazan provinces, which peak beyond 3,000 m;
– In the center, the Hijaz Mountains, which dominate the Makkah and Al Madinah region;
– In the north, the Midian Mountains, near the Gulf of Aqaba and partly integrated into the perimeter of the NEOM project.
The officially recognized highest point is Jabal as‑Sudah (or Jabal Sawda) in Asir, with an altitude between 3,015 and 3,133 m depending on measurements. This southern mountainous area, well-watered by summer monsoons, contrasts sharply with the rest of the country with its juniper forests, terraced crops, and steep valleys.
Further north, the Hijaz Mountains, although high (with several peaks exceeding 2,000 m), are drier and are home to iconic cities like Makkah and Al Madinah on their foothills. The Midian Mountains, around Tabuk and the Jabal al‑Lawz massif (2,549 m), form the end of this mountain system and are often snow-capped in winter.
The Central Najd Plateau and the Tuwayq Escarpment
East of the western ranges, the relief softens but remains elevated: the Najd Plateau, sometimes situated at over 1,000 m above sea level, occupies a large part of the country’s center. On this plateau, the landscape alternates rocky surfaces, gravel plains, tabletop hills, and alignments of dry valleys.
An iconic relief dominates the Riyadh region: the Jabal Tuwayq Escarpment, a long limestone ridge in an arc shape, 100 to 250 m high above the surrounding plateau, stretching for about 800 to 1,200 km from north to south. Its cliffs, notched with canyons, are home to the often-photographed site of the “Edge of the World”. The Jurassic layers of this massif are central to hydrocarbon paleogeography, and Tuwayq has been chosen as a landscape icon for the giant Qiddiya entertainment project.
North of the Najd region, around Hail, spectacular mountain massifs dot the plateau, sheltering large oases.
Highest point in Najd with an altitude of 1,544 meters.
Granitic massif reaching 1,430 meters in altitude.
Like that of Hail, they developed in this spectacular granite setting.
The Tihamah Plain and the Eastern Coast
Between the Red Sea and the foot of the western escarpment lies a coastal strip: the Tihamah Plain. Over a thousand kilometers long, it generally remains narrow (about 60 to 65 km wide on average), but widens in places, notably near Jeddah. It features alluvial plains, coastal barriers, sandy beaches, and vast sabkhas (salt marshes) unsuitable for agriculture but hosting key coastal cities like Jeddah, Yanbu, or Jazan.
On the Arabian-Persian Gulf side, the eastern plain is wider (about 60 km), but of very low relief, covered with sands, gravels, and salt marshes. It is punctuated by large oases—Al‑Ahsa, Qatif—and massive industrial zones, notably in Jubail and Ras Tanura. It is in this coastal corridor that the major oil infrastructure and eastern ports are concentrated.
Deserts: An Ocean of Sand with Multiple Faces
Approximately one-third of the country is covered by continuous sand formations, and up to two-thirds if gravel plains and semi-desert areas are included. Furthermore, Saudi Arabia is the largest country in the world lacking permanent rivers. This fact summarizes the harshness of its environment, but also the country’s ability to manage extremely limited water resources.
The Rub’ al Khali, Giant “Empty Quarter”
In the southeast, the Rub’ al Khali—literally the “Empty Quarter“—is the world’s largest continuous sand desert. It covers about 550,000 km² in total, with some 430,000 km² within Saudi borders. Its dunes, sometimes over 200 m high, stretch for hundreds of kilometers, virtually devoid of vegetation. Some portions record almost no precipitation for several years, even a decade.
Despite its hyper-aridity, the Rub’ al Khali desert holds crucial underground wealth, including the gigantic Ghawar oil field on its margin and important fossil water basins beneath its sands. It also hosts unique geological phenomena, like the remarkably preserved Wabar meteorite impact crater amidst the dunes.
The Nafud and the Dahna Arc
To the north, another large desert, An Nafud al‑Kabir, forms a sea of red dunes over about 55,000 to 65,000 km², at an altitude of about 1,000 m. Its linear and parabolic dunes, often over 30 m high, alternate with isolated rocky massifs. At its margins, the Hisma, al‑Hajrah, and al‑Hamad plateaus announce the entry into the great Syrian Desert.
A major geographical link, the Ad Dahna Desert forms a sandy corridor in an arc that connects An Nafud to the Rub’ al Khali over more than 1,200 km. This tongue of dunes separates the Najd Plateau from the eastern plateaus (Summan, Dibdibah) and acts as a natural border between the central and eastern domains of the country. Further east, the small Al‑Jafurah desert, backed against the coast, extends the southern sands towards the Gulf.
Hydrology: A Country Without Permanent Rivers
The country’s geography in Saudi Arabia is characterized by an extreme scarcity of surface water. No permanent natural rivers or lakes traverse the territory, making Saudi Arabia the largest country on the planet without perennial watercourses.
Wadis, Basins, and Fossil Aquifers
The drainage network is organized around thousands of wadis, these seasonal riverbeds that remain dry most of the time but can turn into devastating torrents during storm rains. Among the most important:
– Wadi ar‑Rummah, 510 to 600 km long, which crosses a large part of the country’s center and is considered the longest valley in the peninsula;
– Wadi Hanifa, the historical hydrological axis of the Riyadh region, now rehabilitated as a green space and drainage corridor;
– Wadi ad‑Dawasir, featuring vast agricultural oases on the edge of the Rub’ al Khali;
– Wadi Bishah, Wadi Tathlith, Wadi Ranyah, and Wadi Najran in the southwest.
In the north, the Wadi as‑Sirhan basin is a vast depression that sinks up to 300 meters below the surrounding plateaus. This geological formation is considered the probable remnant of an ancient inland sea.
Beneath this relief, two main types of aquifers coexist. In the west, in the Arabian Shield, renewable but limited aquifers recharge each year (about 2.8 billion m³ annually). In the east, large fossil aquifers—Saq, Tabuk, Wajid, Wasia, Dammam, Umm Radmah, etc.—contain volumes of non-renewable water inherited from the wet periods of the Quaternary. Their intensive exploitation since the 1970s has allowed the greening of entire swaths of desert, at the cost of a rapid drop in water levels.
An Ultra-Technological Water Management System
Faced with the absence of permanent rivers, the country has multiplied engineering solutions. Over 570 dams capture wadi floods, about thirty desalination plants along the Red Sea and the Gulf produce more than 5 million m³ of fresh water per day, and deep pumping networks draw from fossil aquifers.
Percentage of irrigated areas in Saudi Arabia that use groundwater as the main source.
To improve the efficiency of this resource-intensive system, the Saudi Irrigation Organization (SIO) manages a network of nearly 1,957 km of distribution canals and 1,483 km of drainage. In 2023, it conveyed over 205 million m³ of water, 95% of which was treated wastewater, but the overall irrigation efficiency (about 50%) remains below global best practices (up to 85%). Hence the modernization programs, like the “Promoting Efficient Irrigation and Water Productivity Amongst Farmers” project led with the FAO, and the increasing integration of “smart” drip irrigation with moisture sensors and automated control.
A snapshot of agricultural areas shows how much the country has tried to defy water constraints:
| Agricultural Indicator | Value (reference year) |
|---|---|
| Arable Land (1971) | approx. 1.4 million ha |
| Cultivated Land (1976) | < 400,000 acres (~1,600 km²) |
| Cultivated Land (1993) | > 8 million acres (~32,000 km²) |
| Cultivated Land (2005) | 1,213,586 ha (–23% vs 1992) |
| Area equipped for irrigation | 1,348,696 ha |
This initial surge followed by a decline illustrates the tension between agricultural ambition and the frenetic depletion of fossil aquifers.
Climate: Extreme Heat, Rare Rains, and Regional Contrasts
Almost the entire Saudi territory is dominated by a hot desert climate (Köppen BWh type), with the exception of a few pockets of cold steppe climate (BSk) and subtropical highland climate in the southwest. Summers are long, scorching, and dry; winters are short, relatively cool, sometimes harsh in the north and at high altitudes.
Extreme Temperatures and Day-Night Range
In the interior, summer temperatures frequently exceed 45 °C in the shade and can climb to 54–55 °C in the deserts. Nights remain warm, but the day-night temperature range remains significant, with rapid drops after sunset. In winter, it is not uncommon for the mercury to drop below 0 °C in the north or on the high plateaus, with a record of –12 °C recorded in Turaif.
On the coasts, like in Jeddah, the heat is tempered by humidity, with averages of 19 to 29 °C in January and 27 to 38 °C in July, but the thermal sensation is amplified by air saturated with water vapor. Inland, like in Riyadh, winter (January) is cooler, between 8 and 20 °C, and summer (July) is hotter, with temperatures of 27 to 43 °C.
Sporadic Rains, Sudden Floods
Average annual precipitation remains very low at the country level, often less than 100 mm per year, sometimes 50 mm in the most arid regions. In Jeddah, about 50–65 mm per year is recorded; in Riyadh, around 75–100 mm. These low totals are concentrated in a few storm episodes, mainly between November and May. The intensity of downpours on dry, impermeable soils frequently causes flash floods in wadis and urban flooding.
Contrary to the rest of Saudi Arabia, the southwest (Asir and Jazan mountains) benefits from a particular climate. The relief captures the summer monsoon from the Indian Ocean, bringing significant precipitation (250 to over 500 mm per year), especially between May and October. This moisture allows for rainfed agriculture, dense pastures, and the growth of forests (junipers, acacias).
Further southeast, into the Rub’ al Khali, some summer rains of monsoon origin can occur, while the north receives most of its winter precipitation from disturbances coming from the Mediterranean.
Winds, Dust, and Sandstorms
The prevailing winds, notably the northwestern shamal, regularly raise immense quantities of dust and sand, abruptly reducing visibility and disrupting transport. These episodes can last several days, with wind speeds around 50 km/h. Frontal sandstorms, sometimes called “brown rollers,” can extend over 100 km wide.
In spring and early summer, these winds contribute to reshaping the dunes and transporting sand over long distances, adding an extra challenge to managing infrastructure, roads, and cities.
Biodiversity: Fauna and Flora of a Desert Far From Empty
Despite its image as a desolate land, Saudi Arabia hosts a richer biodiversity than one might imagine. Five major terrestrial ecoregions share the territory: Red Sea Nubo-Sindian tropical desert and semi-desert, Arabian Desert, Peninsula fog coastal desert, southwestern foothill savannas, and southwestern montane forests.
A Flora Adapted to Drought
Approximately 2,250 species of flowering plants are recorded in the country, of which nearly 250 are endemic. Most are xerophytic species, capable of surviving with very little water, or halophytic, tolerant of saline soils. The dominant vegetation consists of low shrubs, sparse herbaceous plants, tamarisks on oasis margins, and acacias in wadi beds.
In the Asir mountains, the cool, humid climate allows the development of juniper forests, wild olive groves, and agricultural terraces cultivated with grains, fruits, or coffee. In contrast, in the eastern dunes, vegetation is adapted to aridity, with grasses like *nasî* on sandy slopes, and euphorbias and thorny bushes in the regs, the stone deserts.
An emblematic tree, the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) structures the great oasis systems, notably in Al‑Ahsa, Al‑Qassim, or Al‑Madinah. It provides shade, fruit, wood, and symbolizes both the resilience and agricultural ingenuity of populations in an arid environment.
Terrestrial and Marine Fauna
On the terrestrial fauna side, the list of emblematic species speaks volumes about the variety of habitats: Arabian leopard, Arabian wolf, striped hyena, mongoose, baboon, Cape hare, sand cat, gerbil, desert fox. Several species have been decimated by hunting and human pressure—gazelles, oryx, cheetah, Asiatic lion—but reintroduction or protection programs have allowed some to return, like the Arabian oryx or the Nubian ibex.
Birds are numerous, resident or migratory: falcons, eagles, buzzards, vultures, bustards, partridges, sandgrouse, flamingos, herons. The Saker falcon, in particular, is at the heart of a Bedouin falconry tradition recognized by UNESCO. Venomous snakes, varied lizards (including the large monitor lizard and the “dab,” a thick-tailed lizard prized in Bedouin cuisine) complete this picture.
Saudi waters are home to over 1,800 species of fish, including 44 species of sharks.
The coastlines, especially along the Red Sea, are also fringed with mangroves (Avicennia and Rhizophora) covering about 200 km², essential for erosion protection, water filtration, and as nurseries for many species.
Protected Areas and Environmental Challenges
Aware of the fragility of these ecosystems, Saudi Arabia has multiplied protected areas: Harrat al‑Harrah, At‑Tubayq, Jabal Aja, Farasan, Raydah escarpment, Mahazat as‑Sayd reserves, national parks in Asir, Taif, Al‑Baha, etc. Over 80,000 km² are now protected, a little over 4% of the territory.
Threats remain considerable, however: desertification accelerated by overgrazing, urbanization, and agricultural expansion; marine pollution from hydrocarbons, especially after the Gulf War; habitat destruction by infrastructure; chronic water stress.
The Weight of Geography in Agriculture and the Economy
The rugged relief, hyper‑aridity, and absence of rivers have shaped a unique economic model, first centered on nomadic pastoralism and a few strategic oases, then, from the 20th century, on hydrocarbon exploitation. The country’s geography in Saudi Arabia continues to condition the distribution of populations, crops, and industries.
Oases, Wadis, and Agricultural Regions
Less than 7% of the territory is theoretically cultivable. The distribution of these agricultural lands follows water availability:
– the great oasis systems of the East (Al‑Ahsa, Qatif, Hofuf) are supplied by shallow aquifers and artesian springs;
– the oases of Najd (Buraydah, Unaizah, Riyadh, Al Kharj) rely on the exploitation of wadis and underground aquifers;
– in the north, Al Jawf and Sakakah depend on Wadi as‑Sirhan and deep aquifers;
– in Hijaz and Asir, wetter valleys and mountain terraces allow rainfed and irrigated crops.
World ranking achieved by Saudi Arabia among wheat exporters in the 1980s thanks to fossil water irrigation.
Today, agriculture focuses on less resource-intensive productions or those better integrated into markets: dates (of which the country is the world’s second-largest producer with 1.3 million tons), vegetables, fruits, fodder, poultry, dairy products, farmed fish. Some companies, like the Al‑Jouf Agricultural Development Company, irrigate over 60,000 ha with desalinated water, while hundreds of high-tech greenhouses (over 200 for NADEC alone) produce fruits and vegetables in controlled environments.
Technology and the “Greenhouse Green Revolution”
The contrast between extreme aridity and agricultural ambition has pushed the country to become a laboratory for agriculture in hostile environments. The rise of greenhouse agriculture, hydroponics, and vertical farms significantly reduces water consumption per kilogram produced. Partnerships, like those with the Dutch company Van der Hoeven, import expertise in climate-controlled greenhouses, managed by IoT systems, which optimize light, nutrients, and irrigation.
Programs like the Al‑Hikmah station in Jazan develop tropical crops for hot and humid climates, while genetic selection aims to create salt- and drought-tolerant plants for a “neo‑domestication” of local flora.
Hydraulic Infrastructure and Pilot Projects
Numerous projects illustrate how geography dictates hydraulic engineering. In the Al‑Ahsa region, in Suwaidra, reservoirs of 15,000 m³ are being built to secure the supply of vast irrigated perimeters. In the Jazan region, a dam on the eponymous wadi is connected to pumping stations and a network covering nearly 10,000 ha. Other projects, in Asir, aim to supply fourteen parks and “agricultural cities” over 41,000 ha, relying on surface water and recycled water.
A summary table allows visualization of some key figures related to irrigation managed by the SIO:
| Indicator (SIO – 2023) | Value |
|---|---|
| Irrigation network length | 1,957 km |
| Drainage network length | 1,483 km |
| Water volume distributed | 205.571 million m³ |
| Share of reused treated water | 95 % |
| Total managed area | 29,736 ha |
| Effectively irrigated area | 7,421 ha |
| Average irrigation efficiency | ~50 % (vs ~85 % best practices) |
This agricultural geography, highly dependent on engineering, remains vulnerable to aquifer depletion and climate hazards. It has, in fact, led the country to acquire agricultural land abroad to secure part of its food security (United States, Argentina, Indonesia, Thailand, African countries).
Cities, Population, and Territorial Organization
The country’s geography in Saudi Arabia is not limited to relief and climate: it also shapes the distribution of populations. Out of about 35 million inhabitants, the average density barely reaches fifteen inhabitants per km², but the reality is one of settlement highly concentrated in a few regions.
A Territory Divided into 13 Regions, Structured by Coasts and Oases
Since 1992, the country has been officially divided into 13 administrative provinces, grouped into five major planning regions: center (Riyadh), west (Hijaz), east, north, and southwest. Four of them particularly structure land use:
Presentation of the Kingdom’s main provincial divisions, highlighting their geographical, demographic, and economic characteristics.
The largest region (540,000 km², 27% of the territory). Strategic hydrocarbon center, home to the great Al-Ahsa oasis and the major industrial ports of Dammam and Jubail.
Political and administrative heart of the country (380,000 km², 19% of the territory). Characterized by a vast plateau area.
Religious and economic pillars of the Kingdom, located on the Red Sea coast.
Groups the mountainous provinces of Asir, Jazan, Al-Baha, and Najran. Smaller in area but the most densely populated.
Jazan, for example, has the highest density (over 100 inhabitants per km²) thanks to the combination of a fish-rich coastline, fertile valleys, and well-watered mountains. In contrast, the Northern Borders Province peaks at about 3.5 inhabitants/km².
Coastal and Oasis Urbanization
Within a few decades, the nomads and semi-nomads who constituted the majority of the population until the 1960s have massively settled. Today, over 80% of inhabitants live in cities, and urbanization is expected to reach around 97% by 2030 if trends continue.
The main concentrations are found:
– on the Red Sea: Jeddah, Mecca, Medina, Yanbu, soon to be complemented by the tourist hubs of the Red Sea Project and the cities of NEOM;
– in the interior: Riyadh, Hail, Buraydah, Unaizah, Al Kharj, on oases and valleys;
– on the Gulf: Dammam, Dhahran, Al‑Khobar, Jubail, Al‑Hofuf (Al‑Ahsa).
The ten main urban centers of Saudi Arabia (Riyadh, Jeddah, Mecca, Medina, Dammam, Hofuf, Taif, Buraydah, Al-Khobar, Yanbu, Dhahran) gather the vast majority of the population. This distribution closely follows the country’s physical geography, settling mainly along the coasts, in wadi corridors, and near major aquifers.
Pressure on Ecosystems and Urban Planning
Accelerated urbanization has direct effects on the environment: increasing water consumption (mainly desalinated or pumped), CO₂ emissions, expansion of built-up areas at the expense of agricultural land and natural habitats, air pollution in large conurbations. Municipalities must constantly extend water, electricity, sanitation, and transport networks over very large distances.
To manage this growth, a set of planning policies is underway. The “Future Saudi Cities” program, led with UN‑Habitat, aims to promote more compact, better-connected urbanization and limit speculative urban sprawl. “Urban labs” develop diagnoses and proposals for 17 major cities, integrating indicators of urban prosperity, functional mix, mobility, social inclusion, and gender.
The Saudi Green Initiative: Reshaping the Landscape in the Climate Era
The country’s geography in Saudi Arabia is now also being played out in a political and environmental register. Faced with desertification, land degradation, and aquifer depletion, Saudi Arabia has launched a strategy to transform its landscapes.
Planting 10 Billion Trees, Restoring 40 Million Hectares
Launched as part of Vision 2030, the Saudi Green Initiative (SGI) announces staggering numerical targets: 10 billion trees to plant, 40 million hectares of degraded land to restore, 30% of the territory to be classified as protected areas, 278 million fewer tons of CO₂ annually by 2030, and 50% of electricity from renewable sources. The initiative is backed by an overall budget of about $187 billion, distributed among afforestation programs, air quality improvement, marine and coastal protection, carbon circular economy, and energy efficiency.
Survival rate achieved in some plantations thanks to precision irrigation and soil rehabilitation.
A Lever for Territorial Recomposition
The expected effects of this “re‑geography” are multiple: reduction of local temperatures in urban centers through shade and evapotranspiration, combating wind and water erosion, restoration of pastoral rangelands, stabilization of dunes near infrastructure, improvement of air quality via an announced 70% reduction in pollution in major cities like Riyadh, Jeddah, or Dammam.
The initiative aligns with flagship projects like NEOM, whose linear city “The Line” aims to be a showcase for low‑footprint planning in a desert environment, or the Red Sea Project, conceived as a “regenerative” tourist destination where coral reefs and mangroves are to be protected or even expanded.
A simplified table summarizes the main environmental objectives of the Saudi Green Initiative:
| SGI Goal (2030 horizon) | Announced Target |
|---|---|
| Trees planted | 10 billion |
| Land restored | 40 million ha (≥ 74 million ha rehabilitated total) |
| Share of territory in protected areas | 30 % |
| Annual CO₂ emissions reduction | 278 million tons |
| Share of renewables in electricity production | 50 % |
| Green jobs created (direct + indirect) | ~700,000 |
In parallel, Saudi Arabia leads the Middle East Green initiative, which plans for an additional 40 billion trees at the regional scale, bringing the total targeted for the Middle East to 50 billion, or about 5% of the global reforestation goal.
Institutions and International Cooperation
To coordinate these efforts, the National Center for Vegetation Development and Combating Desertification (NCVC), attached to the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA), plays a pivotal role. It develops tools like a “Land Rehabilitation Manual“, a monitoring platform (Land Rehabilitation Watch), and a network of “living labs” experimenting with new practices for managing rangelands, wetlands, mangroves, or national parks.
This is the amount, in dollars, pledged for land restoration under the ‘Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership’ announced at COP16.
A Geography that Conditions Resources and the Future
The country’s geography in Saudi Arabia, as outlined through its relief, deserts, coastlines, and aquifers, largely explains its economic trajectory. The eastern sedimentary plateau, saturated with oil and gas, enabled the kingdom’s meteoric rise in the 20th century. The southwestern mountains, better watered, preserved ancient agricultural practices and today inspire landscape restoration policies. The immense deserts, long considered empty spaces, are becoming as many testing grounds for high‑tech agriculture, futuristic mega‑cities, or renewable energy capture projects.
Saudi Arabia faces major environmental challenges: near-absence of surface water, vulnerability of fossil aquifers, exposure to sandstorms, and fragility of coastal ecosystems (coral reefs, mangroves) in the face of warming and pollution. Vision 2030 and the Saudi Green Initiative aim to transform these constraints into levers for economic diversification, via the development of mining, green hydrogen, coastal tourism, controlled agriculture, smart cities, and the long-term goal of carbon neutrality.
Ultimately, the face of tomorrow’s Saudi Arabia will be read as much in the shape of its cities as in how it redraws its landscapes. Geography, far from being a fixed backdrop, is a central actor—one of the most powerful, but also one of the most demanding.
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Cyril Jarnias is an independent expert in international wealth management with over 20 years of experience. As an expatriate himself, he is dedicated to helping individuals and business leaders build, protect, and pass on their wealth with complete peace of mind.
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