Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector-General Prince

Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz, who is also head of the Environment Committee, issued a statement on

the occasion of Arab Environment Day, which falls on October 14. The council of Arab

ministers in charge of environment was formed in 1986.

Prince Sultan declared that in line with the teachings of Islam, the Kingdom of Saudi

Arabia has been giving the utmost attention to preservation of the environment, setting up

educational programs and effecting an integrated plan for management of its coastal

regions. The Kingdom's strategy is ideal exploitation of natural resources to meet the

requirements of the current generation without affecting the inheritance of the future

generations. Saudi Arabia has also introduced environmental issues into the school

syllabus, has established a national library and museum dedicated to the environment, and

distributes publications.  He noted that the area of the national preserves for animals and

birds now exceeds 82,300 square kilometers. Saudi Arabia has hosted a number of regional

and international conferences and seminars on environmental problems, such as the June 1999

seminar on integrated management of waste materials organized in Jeddah under the

supervision of the Arab Institute for Urban Development.

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