Article 32 of the Saudi Environment Law

This Article sets a general prohibition on anything that would harm protected areas or disturb the natural balance in them, and then lists acts prohibited in particular. The list gives prominent examples and does not cover every form of harm.

The prohibited acts listed are:

1. Harming the living and non-living components of the protected area.
2. Cutting trees, shrubs, grasses or plants, or uprooting them, moving them, stripping their bark, leaves or any part of them, or moving or scraping away their soil, or trading in them.
3. Lighting fires in places other than those designated for this that the competent authority specifies.
4. Leaving waste there, or burying it, burning it or dumping it in places other than those designated for it that the competent authority specifies.
5. Grazing or farming at sites and periods other than those the competent authority specifies.
6. Releasing any alien or invasive wildlife species in the area or in the sites around it, or cultivating them.
7. Damaging its fixed or movable facilities, cutting or damaging the fences that the competent authority places inside and around it, or tampering with its boundary or guidance signs.
8. Driving vehicles and the like outside the tracks designated for them.

Note that some of these acts are not prohibited absolutely: lighting fires, leaving waste, grazing and farming are permitted in the places, sites and periods the competent authority specifies, and what is prohibited is doing them outside those. Likewise, driving vehicles is permitted on the designated tracks.

This Article complements Article 31, under which the competent authority, in coordination with the Ministry of Interior, sets the controls for entering protected areas and using them for grazing, ecotourism or research. This Article does not state a penalty, so anyone facing a violation should refer to the Law's penalty provisions or consult a lawyer who specializes in environmental law.