Promoting biodiversity

At Aramco, we strive to create a culture that prioritizes community’s understanding of ecological habitats, plants and animals, and promotes their protection. Through our office in Singapore, we have mobilized our resources to generate opportunities that help make a positive impact on people and their communities in the Southeast Asia and Oceania regions.

Biodiversity conservation initiative

Malaysia

Promoting and protecting biodiversity through educational programmes and positive interventions is a key focus of Aramco's commitment to the environment. The Sungai Johor (Johor River) is the largest river in Johor dotted with mangrove forests that provide a critical habitat for birds and marine life.

With this ecosystem under pressure from development, Aramco Singapore is with Global Environmental Centre, a local non-government organisation in Malaysia, to preserve and protect this natural resource for future generations.

Since 2018, more than 500 volunteers from Aramco, our partners and the community in Johor planted 5,000 mangrove saplings to rehabilitate 2.5 hectares mangrove area in Johor. Through a community-based mangrove conservation programme, we plan to plant a total of 10,000 mangrove saplings by end of 2020.

Indonesia and Vietnam

Since 2023, Aramco has partnered with Global Environmental Centre to expand mangrove conservation programs to Indonesia and Vietnam. These programs aim to engage and empower the local communities in the rehabilitation and conservation of mangroves, promoting sustainable development.

Mangroves play a vital role as protective barriers along coastlines. For instance, Buruk Bakul Village in Riau, Indonesia, has experienced significant coastal erosion over the past five years. Without effective mitigation measures, the situation can eventually lead to the destruction of the village land. Similarly, the Mekong Delta in Vietnam, home to the largest mangrove expanse in the country, is highly vulnerable to the combined impacts of climate crisis and coastal development.

In 2024, we have rehabilitated an additional 12 hectares of mangroves, bringing the total rehabilitated area in these two countries to 21 hectares. This effort involved planting 45,000 mangrove seedlings.

Australia

Aramco, together with Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA), has launched a community-based biodiversity conservation project across Australia in 2024 to plant over 18,000 native trees and create 150 nest boxes for threatened animal species. The project is expected to protect and restore over 125 hectares of incredibly valuable and yet threatened pockets of native habitat across the major cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.

A recent CVA research¹ revealed that Australia’s threatened species list exceeded 2,000 for the first time in history. In addition, the share of species now listed as critically endangered – the last step before extinction – has doubled in the past decade. About half of threatened species also lived in urban areas, alongside 96% of the population.

Through Aramco’s support, community groups will also have the opportunity through to do their part for nature and in turn raise awareness on the importance of conserving Australia’s biodiversity.

¹Source: 'Biodiversity in your Backyard report'