Buraidah Oasis has received the first internationally accredited Water Footprint in the world, and the first internationally accredited Carbon Footprint in the Middle East and Europe, in a key milestone towards achieving environmental sustainability, reported the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
The Buraidah Oasis is a project launched by the National Water Company (NWC) in support of the Saudi Green Initiative, as well as to advance the Kingdom’s environmental sustainability efforts.
According to the carbon footprint report, certified by the German Board, the Buraidah Oasis has zero carbon emissions, and has become a giant reservoir that absorbs carbon from the surrounding atmosphere at a rate of 0.12% per year. The NWC CEO, Dr. Fuad Al AlSheikh Mubarak, received the certification.
The German Board Certification is a strong testament to the Oasis’ capacity for carbon absorption, and its strong commitment to environmental sustainability, owing to Germany’s global leadership in agricultural innovation, as well as its track record of combating carbon emissions over seven decades.
Meanwhile, the water footprint analysis for Buraidah Oasis measured water loss and irrigation efficiency near the trunk, which influences carbon absorption. The water footprint measures the amount of water a plant consumes to grow dynamically.
Buraidah Oasis is home to one million trees surrounding a vast lake of 86,000 cubic meters of renewable water produced from the NWC’s wastewater treatment plant. This approach is part of the NWC’s futuristic vision for sustainability and environmental regeneration.
Most recently, it has opened a reem antelope sanctuary, releasing 15 antelopes into the protected environment. The sanctuary extends over 50,000 square meters of the Buraidah Oasis’s total area of 19 million square meters.
