The Marine and Coastal Protection Assessment Study for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will comprise several sections:

  • Characterize pollution threats to the Saudi Arabian coast from amongst other activities coastal construction, discharges from industrial activities, sewage, cooling water, desalination plants, etc., oil spills, over-fishing, and aquaculture;
  • Develop policies that manage and regulate pollution affecting the marine and coastal environment of Saudi Arabia and support the country to meet International commitments;
  • Developing an Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Plan;
  • Design and implement a nationwide integrated monitoring system in the Coastal Zone;
  • Design and implement a nationwide environmental command center to manage oil spills; and
  • Design and implementation of a maritime waste management plan.
  • Design of an Environmental Compensation Scheme, which will consider how revenues generated through the implementation could be used for restoration and/or remediation projects.

The Marine and Coastal Protection Assessment Study is national in scope and is intended to result in a nationwide Coastal and Marine Strategy that prioritizes actions to enable the sustainable development and management of the Coastal and Marine resources of the Kingdom. NCEC is committed to national ‘green’ investments which will make concrete meeting these objectives.

The Marine and Coastal Protection Assessment Study consists of six components:

  1. Preparation of a Status Quo Assessment and preparation of plans for monitoring and Integrated Coastal Zone Development Plans. The objective of this component is to prepare a national Status Quo Assessment, which will set national priorities in the Kingdom’s coastal environment by scaling the relative importance of sources and causes of coastal pollution problems, and will identify potential preventive and remedial actions along with detailed monitoring strategies and plans.
  2. Implementation of a National Marine Environmental Monitoring System which will provide data for the ongoing management of the coastal zone. The system shall be integrated with a Cloud-Based Environmental Data Management system with GIS and automatic capabilities. The training and continuous competency development of NCEC personnel will ensure the sustainability of the system.
  3. Development of an ICZM Plan for implementation through various sectoral agencies in the country;
  4. Establishment of infrastructure with municipal and port authorities for the handling and disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous, liquid or solid, waste generated by: Shipping, Fishing activities, Recreational activities, Yachts & Cruise vessels, offshore platforms, and port terminals and shipyards.
  5. Establishment of infrastructure for Early Warning and Response Centers for different pollutants.
  6. It is expected that the first component of the Marine and Coastal Protection Initiative will provide clear design for the later work streams.