Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Nature Reserve

Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Nature Reserve is a royal reserve in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, located between the NEOM Project, the Red Sea Project, and al-Ula. It was established by a Royal Decree in 2018.

The Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Nature Reserve spans an area of up to 16,000 km. It is dubbed by scientists as a geologists' paradise. It is overseen by the Council of Royal Reserves chaired by the Crown Prince, Prime Minister, His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

The Council of Royal Reserves works to upgrade protected areas under its ambit, and performs several tasks and roles, chiefly: protecting wildlife and preserving the natural and plant environment; encouraging ecotourism; organizing movement within the reserves without prejudice to villages, hamlets, and citizens' properties within these reserves; and providing a conducive environment for citizens and residents of the Kingdom to enjoy nature reserves.

The Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Nature Reserve is rich in Arabian Shield and Arabian shelf rocks, which are more than 542 million years old. It contains various types of rocks, metals, geological formations, folds, and faults, as well as modern and ancient sedimentary environments.

Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Nature Reserve includes Wadi al-Disah, which lies southwest of Tabuk Province and northwest of the reserve, about four hundred m above sea level. The area is distinct for its diversity of mountain shapes and rocky cliffs that form high-rise pillars, as well as the availability of freshwater springs, in addition to containing various archaeological sites, such as the facades of Nabataean tombs carved into the rock, and the remains of walls containing Nabataean and Arabic writings in Kufic style calligraphy. The valley is replete with palm trees, and temperatures vary between 12 degrees Celsius in winter and 31 degrees Celsius in summer, with sporadic and consistent rainfall for eight months a year.

With respect to educational and community environmental edification, the Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Royal Reserve Development Authority, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, implemented the first environmental edification workshop in 2021. The workshop aimed to educate and edify school students about the impact of waste-dumping on marine life, and included a sensitization program on how to preserve beaches and a general explanation of the reserve’s areas, in order to inculcate and promote the concepts of marine hygiene and environmental conservation among members of society.