Within 90 Days, 11,000 Environmental Compliance Inspections Target High-Impact Activities

Makkah: The National Center for Environmental Compliance (NCEC) carried out more than 11,000 inspection tours during the first quarter of 2026, targeting environmentally sensitive sites such as areas near residential communities, groundwater sources, valleys, and natural reserves. This comes as part of the center's adoption of an inspection system to analyze data and direct monitoring efforts toward activities posing the greatest environmental risk, enhancing inspection efficiency and reducing waste of time and resources. According to Saudi Press Agency, NCEC Spokesperson Saad Al-Matrafi said the risk assessment methodology directed inspections toward higher-impact activities such as mining, energy, and recycling, in addition to activities requiring intensive monitoring, alongside oversight of high-emission activities and waste management. He said this approach improved the effectiveness of environmental monitoring. He added that targeted monitoring helped focus efforts on activities with the highest enviro nmental impact, which was reflected in execution efficiency and led to a reduction of about 2,000 inspection tours compared with the previous quarter. Inspection tours were geographically distributed based on operational density and environmental impact. Makkah Region recorded the highest number of inspection tours at around 3,000, coinciding with the Umrah season, followed by Riyadh Region and Eastern Region with more than 2,000 tours each. Southern regions and Madinah recorded more than 1,000 tours, while the remaining tours were distributed across various sites and activities throughout the Kingdom.